Upgrade your Encarta experience

Also on Encarta

Also on MSN
Kuwait Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name State of Kuwait
Capital Kuwait City
Area 17,818 sq km
6,880 sq mi
Kuwait: Flag and Anthem
Kuwait: Flag and Anthem
Expand
People
Population 2,505,559 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 3.56 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 4,175,172 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 6,374,800 (2007 estimate)
Population density 141 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
364 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 96 percent (2003 estimate)
Share rural 4 percent (2003 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
As Sālimīyah 130,215 (1995)
Jalīb ash Shuyūkh 102,178 (1995)
Hawalli 82,238 (1995)
Kuwait City 28,259 (1995)
Ethnic groups
Kuwaiti 45 percent
Other Arab 35 percent
Indian, Pakistani 9 percent
Iranian 4 percent
Other 7 percent
Languages
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Religious affiliations
Sunni Muslim 45 percent
Shia Muslim 40 percent
Roman Catholic 9 percent
Hindu 3 percent
Nonreligious 1 percent
Other 2 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 77.4 years (2007 estimate)
Female 78.5 years (2007 estimate)
Male 76.2 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 10 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 656 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 455 people (2002)
Literacy rate
Total 84.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 82.9 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 85.8 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 5 percent (1997)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 8 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 13 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Nominal constitutional monarchy
Voting qualifications
Adult males and as of May 16, 2005, adult females, who have been citizens for 20 years and are not in the security forces
NOTE: Only 14 percent of all citizens are eligible to vote.
Constitution
16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since July 1986)
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 15,500 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 9.4 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $80.8 billion (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $31,860.60 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 0.5 percent (2003)
Industry 58.5 percent (2003)
Services 41 percent (2003)
Employment
Number of workers 1,374,111 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 1 percent (1990)
Industry 25 percent (1990)
Services 74 percent (1990)
Unemployment rate 0.8 percent (2001)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $21,161 million (2005)
Total expenditure $30,027 million (2005)
Monetary unit
1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD), consisting of 1,000 fil
Major trade partners for exports
Japan, South Korea, United States, Singapore, and Taiwan
Major trade partners for imports
United States, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and United Kingdom
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 100 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 603 (1999 estimate)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 201 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 450 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 11 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 376 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 332 (2003)
Paved road as a share of total roads 81 percent (1999)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
© 2008 Microsoft