1981 Edition

Area

16,058 km2 (excluding neutral zone but including islands); insignificant amount forested; nearly all desert, waste, or urban

Coastline

499 km

Communists

negligible

Government leader

King and Prime Minister Khalid ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Al SA'UD

Land boundaries

459 km

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nni

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Ethnic divisions

42% Kuwaitis, 41% other Arabs, 7% South Asians, 4% Iranians, 6% other

Labor force

360,000 (1978 est); 74% services, 11% industry, 11% construction; 70% of labor force is non-Kuwaiti

Language

Arabic; English commonly used foreign language

Literacy

about 60%

Nationality

noun — Kuwaiti(s); adjective — Kuwaiti

Organized labor

labor unions, first authorized in 1964, formed in oil industry and among government personnel

Population

1,553,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 6.2%

Religion

99% Muslim, 1% Christian, Hindu, Parsi, other

Branches

Council of Ministers

Capital

Kuwait

Communists

insignificant

Elections

National Assembly elected in February 1981 Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited, some small clandestine groups are active

Government leader

Amir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al SABAH

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

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

National holiday

25 February

Official name

State of Kuwait

Other political or pressure groups

large (300,000) Palestinian community

Political subdivisions

3 governorates, 25 voting constituencies

Suffrage

native born and naturalized males age 21 or over; law requires 20 years residency after naturalization

Type

nominal constitutional monarchy

Agriculture

virtually none, dependent on imports for food; approx. 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported

dates, grains, livestock; not self-sufficient in food

Budget

(1980) $25.5 billion revenues, expenditures $7.9 billion, capital $2.3 billion

FY82 appropriation $88.7 billion; current expenditure $27.5 billion, project expenditure $61.2 billion

Electric power

2,578,000 kW capacity (1980); 9.05 billion kWh produced (1980), 6,382 kWh per capita

10,460,800 kW capacity (1980); 27,490 billion kWh produced (1980), 2,719 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.)

$110 billion (f.o.b., 1981); 99% petroleum and petroleum products

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

follows Islamic year; the 1980-81 Saudi fiscal year covers the period 15 May 1980 through 4 May 1981

GDP

$27.2 billion (1980), $18,390 per capita est.

$115 billion (FY80 est), $9,500 per capita; annual growth in real nonoil GNP approx. 15% (1976/80 average, nonoil)

Imports

$6.9 billion (f.o.b., 1980 est.); major suppliers — US, Japan, UK, West Germany

$34 billion (f.o.b., 1981); manufactured goods, transportation equipment, construction materials, and processed food products

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

petroleum production 10.2 million b/d (1980); payments to Saudi Arabian Government, $54 billion (1979); cement production and small steel-rolling mill and oil refinery; several other light industries, including factories producing detergents, plastic products, furniture, etc.; PETROMIN, a semipublic agency associated with the Ministry of Petroleum, has recently completed a major fertilizer plant

Major trade partners

exports — US, Western Europe, Japan; imports — US, Japan, West Germany

Monetary conversion rate

1 Kuwaiti dinar=US$3.69 (1980)

1 Saudi riyal=US$0.30 (1980; linked to SDR, freely convertible)

Airfields

157 total, 122 usable; 52 with permanentsurface runways; 7 with runways over 3,659 m, 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 62 with runways 1,220-2,439 m, 4 with runways over 3,660 m

Civil air

112 major transport aircraft, including 22 leased in

Highways

30,100 km total; 16,500 km paved, 13,600 km improved earth

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 30 April 1982, $24,640 million; about 28% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 2,562,000; 1,464,000 fit for military service; about 93,000 reach military age (18) annually

Pipelines

5,850 km crude oil; 386 km refined products; 1,570 km natural gas, includes 1,370 km of natural gas liquids

Ports

3 major (Jidda, Ad Damman, Ras Tanura), 6 minor

Railroads

none

575 km standard gauge (1.435 m)

Telecommunications

good system exists, major expansion program nearly complete with microwave, coaxial cable, satellite systems; 200,000 telephones (2.5 per 100 popl.); 6 AM, 1 FM, 27 TV stations, 1 submarine cable; 1 Atlantic and 1 Indian Ocean satellite station; 13 domestic satellite stations DEFENSE FORCES