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Travel to Kuwait — Unbiased reviews and
great deals from TripAdvisorKuwait
| State of Kuwait National
name: Dawlat al-Kuwayt Emir:
Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (2006) Prime Minister: Sheik Nasser Muhammad
al-Ahmad al-Sabah (2006)
Current government officials
Total area: 6,880 sq mi (17,819 sq
km) Population (2008 est.): 2,596,799
(growth rate: 3.5%); birth rate: 21.9/1000; infant mortality rate:
9.2/1000; life expectancy: 77.5; density per sq km: 145
Capital (2003 est.):
Kuwait, 1,709,800 (metro. area), 32,600 (city
proper) Largest city:
as-Salimiyah, 146,900 Monetary unit:
Kuwaiti dinar (KD)
Languages:
Arabic (official), English
Ethnicity/race:
Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%,
Iranian 4%, other 7%
Religions:
Islam 85% (Sunni 70%, Shiite 30%); Christian,
Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%
National Holiday:
National Day, February 25 Literacy rate: 93.3% (2005 census) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$130.1 billion; per capita $39,300. Real growth rate: 4.6%.
Inflation: 5%. Unemployment: 2.2% (2004 est.). Arable
land: 1%. Agriculture: practically no crops; fish. Labor
force: 1.167 million; note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of
the labor force; agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a.
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and
repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials.
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas.
Exports: $59.57 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): oil and refined
products, fertilizers. Imports: $17.74 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.): food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing.
Major trading partners: Japan, South Korea, U.S., Singapore,
Taiwan, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, China (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 510,300 (2005); mobile cellular: 2.536 (2006). Radio broadcast
stations: AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 1.175
million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 13 (plus several
satellite channels) (1997). Televisions: 875,000 (1997).
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2,013 (2007). Internet
users: 816,700 (2006). Transportation:
Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 5,749 km; paved: 4,887 km;
unpaved: 862 km (2004). Waterways: none. Ports and
harbors: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah,
Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud. Airports: 7 (2007). International disputes: the Kuwait 1994 land
and Khawr 'Abd Allah channel boundary demarcation ended Iraqi claims
to Kuwait and Bubiyan and Warbah islands; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are
negotiating maritime boundary with Iran.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Kuwait is situated northeast of Saudi Arabia at
the northern end of the Persian Gulf, south of Iraq. It is slightly larger
than Hawaii. The low-lying desert land is mainly sandy and barren.
Government
Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy, governed by
the al-Sabah family.
History
Kuwait is believed to have been part of an early
civilization in the 3rd millennium B.C. and to
have traded with Mesopotamian cities. Archeological and historical traces
disappeared around the first millennium B.C.
At the beginning of the 18th century A.D., the
'Anizah tribe of central Arabia founded Kuwait City, which became an
autonomous sheikdom by 1756. 'Abd Rahim of the al-Sabah became the first
sheik, and his descendants continue to rule Kuwait today. In the late 18th
and early 19th centuries, the sheikdom belonged to the fringes of the
Ottoman Empire. Kuwait obtained British protection in 1897 when the sheik
feared that the Turks would expand their hold over the area. In 1961,
Britain ended the protectorate, giving Kuwait independence, but agreed to
give military aid on request. Iraq immediately threatened to occupy the
area, and the British sent troops to defend Kuwait. Soon afterward the
Arab League sent in troops, replacing the British. Iraq's claim was
dropped when the Arab League recognized Kuwait's independence on July 20,
1961. Kuwait typically followed a neutral and mediatory policy among Arab
states.
Oil was discovered there in the 1930s, and
Kuwait proved to have 20% of the world's known oil resources. Since 1946
it has been the world's second-largest oil exporter. The sheik, who
receives half of the profits, devotes most of them to the education,
welfare, and modernization of his kingdom. In 1966, Sheik Sabah designated
a relative, Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, as his successor. By 1968, the
sheikdom had established a model welfare state, and it sought to establish
dominance among the sheikdoms and emirates of the Persian Gulf.
In July 1990, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
blamed Kuwait for falling oil prices. After a failed Arab mediation
attempt to solve the dispute peacefully, Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2,
1990, set up a pro-Iraqi provisional government, and drained Kuwait of its
economic resources. A coalition of Arab and Western military forces drove
Iraqi troops from Kuwait in a mere four days, from Feb. 23–27, 1991,
ending the Persian Gulf War. The emir returned to his country from Saudi
Arabia in mid-March. Martial law, in effect since the end of the Gulf War,
ended in late June. The U.S. sent 2,400 troops to the country in Aug.
1992, ostensibly as part of a training exercise, though it was widely
interpreted as a show of strength to Saddam Hussein. Iraqi
“training” maneuvers near the Kuwaiti border in Oct. 1994
renewed fears of aggression in the country. A Kuwaiti appeal brought the
quick deployment of U.S. and British troops and equipment.
In 1999, the emir gave women the right to vote
and run for parliament, but later that year parliament defeated the
ruler's decree. Kuwaiti society has grown increasingly conservative under
the influence of Islamic fundamentalists. In 2003, traditionalists won a
sweeping victory in parliamentary elections. The emir and crown prince
(who served as prime minister) were elderly and ailing; in July 2003, the
country's de facto leader, foreign minister Sheik Sabah, replaced the
crown prince as prime minister.
In May 2005, Kuwait abandoned its 1999 ban on
women's suffrage, and in June a woman was appointed to the cabinet. In
April 2006, women voted for the first time. Saudi Arabia is now the only
country with suffrage that does not allow its women to vote.
In Jan. 2006, the emir, Sheik Jabir, died. His
cousin, Crown Prince Sheik Saad, briefly became the nation's ruler, but he
was forced to abdicate because of extremely ill health. The prime
minister, Sheik Sabah, was then nominated and unanimously confirmed by
parliament as emir. Sheik Sabah named his brother, Sheik Nawaf, as crown
prince, and his nephew, Sheik Nasser, as prime minister.
Prime Minister Sheik Nasser Muhammad al-Ahmad
al-Sabah dissolved the opposition-led parliament in March 2008 and called
for new elections. In May's parliamentary elections, radical Islamists
took more than half of the body's 50 seats. No women were elected to
Parliament. Prime Minister Sabah and his cabinet resigned in November in a
dispute with Parliament over the visit to Kuwait by a controversial
Iranian cleric. The emir reappointed Sabah in December, and he formed a
new government in January 2009, composed largely of previous cabinet
members.
See also Encyclopedia: Kuwait
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Kuwait
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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