KUWAIT
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LAND
16,058 km2 (excluding neutral zone but including islands); insignificant amount forested; nearly all desert, waste, or urban
Land boundaries: 459 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 nm
Coastline: 499 km
PEOPLE
Population: 1,553,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 6.2%
Nationality: noun—Kuwaiti(s); adjective—Kuwaiti
Ethnic divisions: 42% Kuwaitis, 41% other Arabs, 7% South Asians, 4% Iranians, 6% other
Religion: 99% Muslim, 1% Christian, Hindu, Parsi, other
Language: Arabic; English commonly used foreign language
Literacy: about 60%
Labor force: 360,000 (1978 est.); 74% services, 11% industry, 11% construction; 70% of labor force is non-Kuwaiti
Organized labor: labor unions, first authorized in 1964, formed in oil industry and among government personnel
GOVERNMENT
Official name: State of Kuwait
Type: nominal constitutional monarchy
Capital: Kuwait
Political subdivisions: 3 governorates, 25 voting constituencies
Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; constitution took effect in 1963; popularly elected 50-man National Assembly (the 15 Cabinet members can also vote) reinstated in March 1981 after being suspended in 1976; judicial review of legislative acts not yet determined; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: 25 February
Branches: Council of Ministers
Government leader: Amir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al SABAH
Suffrage: native born and naturalized males age 21 or over; law requires 20 years residency after naturalization
Elections: National Assembly elected in February 1981
Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited, some small clandestine groups are active
Communists:' insignificant
Other political or pressure groups: large (300,000) Palestinian community
Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
ECONOMY
GDP: $27.2 billion (1980), $18,390 per capita est.
Agriculture: virtually none, dependent on imports for food; approx. 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported
Major industries: crude petroleum production average for 1980, 1.7 million b/d; refinery production 123 million bbls (1980), average b/d refinery capacity equaled 645,000 bbls at end of 1976; other major industries include processing of fertilizers, chemicals; building materials; flour
Electric power: 2,578,000 kW capacity (1980); 9.05 billion kWh produced (1980), 6,382 kWh per capita
Exports: $20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1980), of which petroleum accounted for about 90%; nonpetroleum exports are mostly reexports, $2.1 billion (1980 est.)
Imports: $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 1980 est.); major suppliers—US, Japan, UK, West Germany
Budget: (1980) $25.5 billion revenues, expenditures $7.9 billion, capital $2.3 billion
Monetary conversion rate: 1 Kuwaiti dinar=US$3.69 (1980)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: none
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