Kuwait
Country Guide

Explore Kuwait

Kuwait with its capital Kuwait City is located in Asia (Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf). It covers some 17,819 square kilometers (slightly smaller than New Jersey) with 2,875,420 citizens. Arabic and English are the common languages used in Kuwait. As an interesting fact, is sharing borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Kuwaitis a country in the Middle East. It is located at the head of the Arabian Gulf, with Iraq to the north and west, and Saudi Arabia to the southwest.Kuwait City is a bustling metropolis of high-rise office buildings, luxury hotels, wide boulevards and well-tended parks and gardens. Its seaport is used by oil tankers, cargo ships and many pleasure craft. Its most dominant landmarks are the Kuwait Towers. Kuwait City is not, however, an attractive city to visit as much of the architecture and its general feel is one of sand blown, dustiness.

Popular Destinations in Kuwait

Administrative regions of Kuwait

• Al Asimah
• Al Farwaniyah
• Muhafazat Hawalli
• Muhafazat Mubarak al Kabir
• Muhafazat al Ahmadi
• Muhafazat al Jahra'

About the country

The topography is flat to slightly undulating desert plain. The average density of population is about 161 per km². The climate in Kuwait can be described as dry desertintensely hot summers, short, cool winters. Potential natural disasters are sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses

To reach someone Kuwait dial +965 prior to a number. The local cellular networks are operated on 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3G, 4G. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".kw". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery chaarger), keep in min the local 240 V - 50 Hz (plugs: G). The sign for the locally used currency Dinar is KWD.

Three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; colors and design are based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I; green represents fertile fields, white stands for purity, red denotes blood on Kuwaiti swords, black signifies the defeat of the enemy.

Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family returned to power in 1991 and established one of the most independent legislatures in the Arab World. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidoon, staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups' repeated rallies in 2011 for the dismissal of a prime minister seen as being corrupt, ultimately led to his resignation in late 2011. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an Amiri decree amending the electoral law. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. However, the opposition, expressing strong opposition to the government’s fiscal reforms, participated in the November 2016 National Assembly and won almost half of the positions. Since coming to power in 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.

Geography

Area
Total (World Rank: 158)	17,818	sq km
Land (World Rank: 156)	17,818	sq km
Forest (World Rank: 141)	7.60	%
Comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Coastline
499
Landborder
475
Elevation
Highest point (World Rank: 236)	4	m
Agricultural land
Total (World Rank: 198)	8.50	%
Arable (World Rank: 206)	0.60	%
Permanent crops (World Rank: 166)	0.30	%
Permanent pastures (World Rank: 141)	7.60	%
Irrigated land (World Rank: 140)	105	sq km
Map reference
Middle East
Environment
Issues	- air and water pollution - desertification - limited natural freshwater resources - some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water
Agreement party	- Biodiversity - Climate Change - Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol - Desertification - Endangered Species - Environmental Modification - Hazardous Wastes - Law of the Sea - Ozone Layer Protection
Agreement signed	Marine Dumping
Hazzards	- sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August - sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses
Location
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Climate
dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Terrain
flat to slightly undulating desert plain

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People

Population
Total (World Rank: 139)	2,875,420
Deathrate (World Rank: 221)	0.22	%
Birthrate (World Rank: 83)	1.92	%
Growthrate (World Rank: 78)	1.46	%
Migration rate (World Rank: 134)	-0.24	%
Fertility rate (World Rank: 83)	2.40	%
Median age
Male (World Rank: 107)	30.40
Female (World Rank: 140)	27.40
Age structure
0 14 male (World Rank: 135)	374,259
0 14 female (World Rank: 138)	345,104
15 24 male (World Rank: 137)	238,451
15 24 female (World Rank: 143)	195,700
25 54 male (World Rank: 124)	948,902
25 54 female (World Rank: 140)	554,050
55 64 male (World Rank: 141)	82,366
55 64 female (World Rank: 147)	63,505
65 x male (World Rank: 155)	33,561
65 x female (World Rank: 154)	39,524
Health
Infant mortality rate (World Rank: 158)	0.70	%
Life expectancy total (World Rank: 61)	78	years
Life expectancy female (World Rank: 83)	80	years
Life expectancy male (World Rank: 47)	77	years
Physicians per 1000 (World Rank: 74)	1.95
Hospital bed per 1000 (World Rank: 96)	2.20
Sanitation access total (World Rank: 17)	100.00	%
Obesity adult (World Rank: 11)	37.90	%
Drinking water access (World Rank: 65)	99.00	%

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Energy

Electricity
Production (World Rank: 45)	63,840,000,000	kWh
Consumption (World Rank: 45)	54,110,000,000	kWh
Source fossil (World Rank: 22)	100.00	%
Crude oil
Production (World Rank: 9)	2,924,000	bbl / day
Exports (World Rank: 9)	1,656,000	bbl / day
Proved reserves (World Rank: 6)	101,500,000,000	bbl
Refined products
Production (World Rank: 22)	920,000	bbl / day
Consumption (World Rank: 34)	500,000	bbl / day
Export (World Rank: 19)	400,000	bbl / day
Import (World Rank: 135)	11,900	bbl / day
Natural gas
Production (World Rank: 34)	16,910,000,000	m³
Consumption (World Rank: 35)	33,180,000,000	m³
Import (World Rank: 11)	0	m³
Carbon footprint
107000000

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Nation

Budget
Military (World Rank: 9)	5	% of GDP
Health (World Rank: 182)	3	% of GDP
Surplus (World Rank: 194)	-11	% of GDP
National symbol
golden falcon
National colours
white
Adjective
Kuwaiti
Noun
Kuwaiti(s)
Background
Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family returned to power in 1991 and established one of the most independent legislatures in the Arab World. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidoon, staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups' repeated rallies in 2011 for the dismissal of a prime minister seen as being corrupt, ultimately led to his resignation in late 2011. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an Amiri decree amending the electoral law. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. However, the opposition, expressing strong opposition to the government’s fiscal reforms, participated in the November 2016 National Assembly and won almost half of the positions. Since coming to power in 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; colors and design are based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I; green represents fertile fields, white stands for purity, red denotes blood on Kuwaiti swords, black signifies the defeat of the enemy

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Economy

Gdp
Purchasing power parity (World Rank: 53)	303,700,000,000	USD
Real growth rate (World Rank: 111)	2.50	%
Per capita purchasing power parity (World Rank: 11)	71,900	USD
Source agriculture (World Rank: 209)	0.40	%
Source industry (World Rank: 2)	59.60	%
Source service (World Rank: 210)	40.00	%
Labourforce
Total (World Rank: 112)	2,612,000
Products
Industries	- cement - construction materials - food processing - petrochemicals - petroleum - repair - shipbuilding - water desalination
Agriculture	fish
Exports	- fertilizers - oil - refined products
Imports	- clothing - construction materials - food - parts - vehicles

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Communication

Phone
Landline total (World Rank: 100)	403,234
Landline per 100 (World Rank: 120)	14.00
Mobile per 100 (World Rank: 7)	190.00
Assessment	0
Internet
Users (World Rank: 108)	2,219,970
Population (World Rank: 51)	78.40	%

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Transport

Air
Airports paved (World Rank: 152)	4.00
Airports unpaved (World Rank: 162)	3.00
Heliports (World Rank: 40)	4.00
Road
Total length (World Rank: 148)	6,608

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