Kuwait is located on the Persian Gulf between Iraq and Saudi
Arabia. It is a small country of only 17,820 square kilometers.
Kuwait’s total population was estimated in 2001 at 2,041,961,
of which 1,159,913 are non-nationals (35 % Arab, 9% South Asian,
4% Iranian, 7% other). Population growth rates have risen to
3.38 percent in 2001 reflecting pre-Gulf crisis immigration patterns,
while birth rates have declined to 2.19 percent. The population
is 85 percent Muslim (45% Sunni, 40% Sh’i’te) while
Christians, Hindus and Parsis make up the other 15 percent. Arabic
is the official language. Kuwait is a nominal constitutional
monarchy, with a unicameral National Assembly elected by popular
male vote to serve for four year terms. The Council of Ministers
is appointed by the prime minister but must also be approved
by the monarch, and all cabinet ministers are ex officio members
of the National Assembly. Kuwait’s legal system combines
civil law with Islamic shar`a law especially with regards to
personal status matters. Kuwait has 10 percent of the proved
oil reserves in the world, and petroleum accounts for nearly
half of GDP, 90 percent of export revenues, and 75 percent of
government income. Its GDP per capita is estimated at $15,000
(2000 est.). 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
completely liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait has spent more
than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91.
For Library of Congress contact information and materials, consult
the Kuwait
Country page of the Near East Section of the African and
Middle Eastern Division , and the Library
of Congress Online Catalog. To track bills and other Congressional
materials having to do with the topic, consult the Library’s Thomas
Legislative Information page.
These sites have been chosen for their utility in providing
information, directories and portals on all aspects of Kuwaiti
life and culture. As the links to Kuwait are sometimes inactive,
we recommend that you try again if you are not successful the
first time.
Al-Bab.com (http://www.al-bab.com)
Provides a quick briefing via links to other sites including information on travel
and cites recent publications about Kuwait.
Al-Bawaba (http://albawaba.com/)
It is a major portal site that links a number of other websites on all the Arab
countries. It contains up-to-date information on the political, business, social,
cultural and religious aspects of a particular country. Just click on the name
of the country for information in English and Arabic.
Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development (http://www.arabfund.org/)
Search for information on projects funded throughout the Arab world.
Arab German Consulting (http://www.arab.de/links.htm)
Major portal site on the Arab countries. Includes up-to-date information on the
government, history, economy, education systems.
Arab Net (http://www.arab.net/)
It is a major Arab website that contains information on the government, history,
geography, business, culture, transport, tourism of each country, and provides
links to other relevant websites.
CIA -- The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/)
An annual publication of the CIA, contains up-to-date information on all aspects
of the political, social and military history of a particular country.
Country Reports about ... (http://www.countryreports.org/)
Offers links to sites about many countries by such subjects as government, the
military, economy, the weather, etc.
Development Gateway Country Overview (http://www.developmentgateway.org/)
“The Development Gateway helps communities, organizations, and individuals
build partnerships, share ideas, and work together to reduce poverty.” Search
by development projects as well as by country to identify additional web sites
and documents.
Encyclopedia.com (http://www.encyclopedia.com)
From the Electronic Library, searching the Encyclopedia.com by country provides
numerous narrative articles on its history, culture, politics.
Fares.net (http://www.fares.net)
Site includes a directory and a list of sites on a wide range of subjects including
tourism, entertainment, culture, the media, news and business in English and
Arabic. Search under the name of the country.
The Gulf / 2000 Project - SIPA -
Columbia University (http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/)
This site was developed by the Gulf/2000 Project at the School of International
and Public Affairs of Columbia University in New York City. It is designed to
make available in a single location a wealth of information on the eight countries
of the Persian Gulf region--Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
and the United Arab Emirates. Click on a flag above to visit one of these countries.
Infoplease (http://www.infoplease.com/)
Part of the electronic Learning Network, this homepage allows searches by country
which yield articles in almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical works,
etc. Additional reference links are provided as well.
Islamic Calendar
Converter (http://www.oriold.unizh.ch/static/hegira.html )
This English language website not only converts the present Gregorian date, in
common use in the West, to its modern Hijra equivalent (in common use in the
Islamic World), it also provides a mechanism, based on software developed by
Waleed A. Muhanna, to convert all past dates from Gregorian-Hijra or Hijra-Gregorian.
Kuwait Links KEMS (http://moc.kw.net/)
This is an official site that was put together by the Ministry of Communication
of Kuwait and a number of international carriers to provide general information
about Kuwait. It has links with other important media, business and government
websites.
Library of Congresss.
Virtual Reference Shelf (http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/virtualref.html)
The Library of Congress has mounted this useful site on its home page to give
scholars and researchers access to common online sources which are excellent
for initial stages of research. These online tools are organized by subject and
format, e.g., "Almanacs and Fast Facts," "Directories," "Libraries," etc.
Lonely Planet - Destinations (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/)
Search by country to find information on travel, attractions, history, culture,
and environment. of that location.
Middle
East – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (http://www.carnegieendowment.org/programs/global/index.cfm?fa=proj&id=107&proj=zme)
The main feature of the Carnegie Arabic Web Portal is the Arabic-language
version of the Arab Reform Bulletin, an online monthly journal on the latest
political reform developments from Arab and Western perspectives. Also
included are Arabic translations of select Carnegie Papers, commentaries
on the Middle East and related subjects such as nuclear nonproliferation,
as well as writings originally published in Arabic.
OneWorld.net (http://us.oneworld.net/)
Searchable by country, regions and topics; includes current headlines and special
reports.
Princeton University
Library: Near Eastern Studies Resources (http://www.princeton.edu/%7Epressman/neareast.htm)
Princeton Library’s site dedicated to Near Eastern Studies provides not
only invaluable information about Princeton’s programs and collections,
but also extensive links to sites (libraries, universities, institutes, think
tanks, directories, gateways, newspapers, etc.) around the world concerning all
aspects of the discipline.
United Nations (http://www.un.org)
The official site of the United Nations provides articles, reports, etc. in several
languages on all aspects of the initiatives and mission of that organization
as well as on the contemporary life, culture, society, international relations,
etc. of all the countries and peoples of the world.
United Nations ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?openForm)
“ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)... serving the information needs of the humanitarian
relief community” Offers news updates to crisis situations around the world
and includes information about refugee camps and other relief efforts.
United States. Agency for International Development.
Development Experience Clearinghouse
(DEC) (http://dec.usaid.gov/)
“The purpose of the DEC is to strengthen USAID's development projects,
activities, and programs by making ... development experience documents available
to USAID offices and mission staff, PVO's, NGO's, universities and research institutions,
developing countries, and the public worldwide.”
United States. Department of State (http://www.state.gov)
Numerous documents concerning diplomatic and international relations, travel
advice and warnings relating to the countries of the world are available on the
State Department’s official site by searching under a particular country’s
name.
United States. Library of Congress Country
Studies (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/)
A series published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress
under the Country Studies/Area Studies Handbook Program sponsored by the Department
of the Army.
University of Texas Middle
East Website (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/)
Excellent website on the government, politics, news and media, education and
the social sciences in the Middle East.
World Desk Reference (http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/)
Searchable by country, this is the online version of the handbook with more than
5000 illustrations and maps.
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