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Executive branch:

chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah

head of government: Prime Minister NASIR MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Faysal al-HAJJI (since 5 April 2007)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the Amir

elections: none; the amir is hereditary; the amir appoints the prime minister and deputy prime ministers

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; all cabinet ministers are also ex officio voting members of the National Assembly)

elections: last held 17 May 2008 (next election to be held in 2012)

election results: percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Sunni 21, Islamic Salafi Alliance 10, Liberals 7, Shiites 5, Popular Action Bloc 4, Islamic Constitutional Movement 3

Judicial branch:

High Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:

none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal but is not forbidden by law

Political pressure groups and leaders:

other: Islamists; merchants; political groups; secular liberals and pro-governmental deputies; Shia activists; tribal groups

International organization participation:

ABEDA, AfDB (nonregional members), AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah

chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702

FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Deborah K. JONES

embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City

mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000

telephone: [965] 259-1001

FAX: [965] 538-0282

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I

Economy Kuwait

Economy - overview:

Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 104 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. High oil prices in recent years have helped build Kuwait's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of this positive fiscal situation, the need for economic reforms is less urgent and the government has not earnestly pushed through new initiatives. Despite its vast oil reserves, Kuwait experienced power outages during the summer months in 2006 and 2007 because demand exceeded power generating capacity. Power outages are likely to worsen, given its high population growth rates, unless the government can increase generating capacity. In May 2007 Kuwait changed its currency peg from the US dollar to a basket of currencies in order to curb inflation and to reduce its vulnerability to external shocks.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$130.1 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$111.3 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

4.6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$39,300 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 0.3%

industry: 51.5%

services: 48.1% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

2.093 million

note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: NA%

industry: NA%

services: NA%

Unemployment rate:

2.2% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

5% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

21.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $84.76 billion

expenditures: $36.8 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:

7.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

practically no crops; fish

Industries:

petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials

Industrial production growth rate:

2.2% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

41.11 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100%

hydro: 0%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

36.28 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

2.669 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

333,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

2.2 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:

2,611 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:

101.5 billion bbl (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production:

11.8 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

11.8 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

1.521 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

$52.73 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$61.43 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

oil and refined products, fertilizers

Exports - partners:

Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006)

Imports:

$19.4 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing

Imports - partners:

US 14.1%, Japan 7.8%, Germany 7.7%, Saudi Arabia 6.8%, China 5.7%, UK 5.4%, Italy 4.6% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$2.6 million (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$16.78 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$34.67 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$963 million (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$19.88 billion (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$128.9 billion (2006)

Currency (code):

Kuwaiti dinar (KD)

Currency code:

KWD

Exchange rates:

Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)

Fiscal year:

1 April - 31 March

Communications Kuwait

Telephones - main lines in use:

510,300 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

2.536 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: the quality of service is excellent

domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones

international: country code - 965; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 6 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean, and 2 Arabsat)

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 country code:

.kw

Internet hosts:

2,013 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

3 (2000)

Internet users:

816,700 (2006)

Transportation Kuwait

Airports:

7 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 4

over 3,047 m: 1

2,438 to 3,047 m: 2

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 3

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports:

4 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2007)

Roadways:

total: 5,749 km

paved: 4,887 km

unpaved: 862 km (2004)

Merchant marine:

total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,195,831 GRT/3,566,308 DWT

by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21

registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 1, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Az Zawr (Mina' Sa'ud), Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi

Military Kuwait

Military branches:

Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; reserve obligation to age 40 with 1 month annual training; women have served in police forces since 1999 (2006)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,032,408

females age 16-49: 568,657 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 892,816

females age 16-49: 500,540 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

males age 16-49: 17,737

females age 16-49: 18,519 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

5.3% (2006)

Transnational Issues Kuwait

Disputes - international:

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Kuwait is a destination country for men and women who migrate legally from South and Southeast Asia for domestic or low-skilled labor, but are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by employers in Kuwait including conditions of physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement to the home, and withholding of passports to restrict their freedom of movement; Kuwait is reportedly a transit point for South and East Asian workers recruited for low-skilled work in Iraq; some of these workers are deceived as to the true location and nature of this work, and others are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in Iraq

tier rating: Tier 3 - insufficient efforts in 2007 to prosecute and punish abusive employers and those who traffic women for sexual exploitation; the government failed for the fourth year in a row to live up to promises to provide shelter and protective services for victims of involuntary domestic servitude and other forms of trafficking (2008)

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Kyrgyzstan

Introduction Kyrgyzstan

Background:

A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, most of Kyrgyzstan was formally annexed to Russia in 1876. The Kyrgyz staged a major revolt against the Tsarist Empire in 1916 in which almost one-sixth of the Kyrgyz population was killed. Kyrgyzstan became a Soviet republic in 1936 and achieved independence in 1991 when the USSR dissolved. Nationwide demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of President Askar AKAYEV, who had run the country since 1990. Subsequent presidential elections in July 2005 were won overwhelmingly by former prime minister Kurmanbek BAKIYEV. The political opposition organized demonstrations in Bishkek in April, May, and November 2006 resulting in the adoption of a new constitution that transferred some of the president's powers to parliament and the government. In December 2006, the Kyrgyz parliament voted to adopt new amendments, restoring some of the presidential powers lost in the November 2006 constitutional change. By late-September 2007, both previous versions of the constitution were declared illegal, and the country reverted to the AKAYEV-era 2003 constitution, which was subsequently modified in a flawed referendum initiated by BAKIYEV. The president then dissolved parliament, called for early elections, and gained control of the new parliament through his newly-created political party, Ak Jol, in December 2007 elections. Current concerns include: privatization of state-owned enterprises, negative trends in democracy and political freedoms, reduction of corruption, improving interethnic relations, and combating terrorism.

Geography Kyrgyzstan

Location:

Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates:

41 00 N, 75 00 E

Map references:

Asia

Area:

total: 198,500 sq km

land: 191,300 sq km

water: 7,200 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries:

total: 3,878 km

border countries: China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone

Terrain:

peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) 132 m

highest point: Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m

Natural resources:

abundant hydropower; significant deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc

Land use:

arable land: 6.55%

permanent crops: 0.28%

other: 93.17%

note: Kyrgyzstan has the world's largest natural-growth walnut forest (2005)

Irrigated land:

10,720 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

46.5 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural):

total: 10.08 cu km/yr (3%/3%/94%)

per capita: 1,916 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

NA

Environment - current issues:

water pollution; many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells; as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices

Environment - international agreements: