Kuwait

• dry desert;
• intensely hot summers;
• short, cool winters

total:

0.44 cu km/yr (45%/2%/52%)

per capita:

164 cu m/yr (2000)

• sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses;
• sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August

• limited natural fresh water resources;
• some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water;
• air and water pollution;
• desertification

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

Marine Dumping

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.78 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.66 male(s)/female

total population:

1.54 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Kuwaiti(s)

adjective:

Kuwaiti

conventional long form:

State of Kuwait

conventional short form:

Kuwait

local long form:

Dawlat al Kuwayt

local short form:

Al Kuwayt

name:

Kuwait City

geographic coordinates:

29 22 N, 47 58 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 21 years of age;
• universal (adult);
• note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote;
• adult females were allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005;
• all voters must have been citizens for 20 years

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 AL-MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007);
• First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBAREK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006);
• Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD AL-SABAH al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006)

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

other:

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

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) 364-2868

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Deborah K. JONES

embassy:

Bayan 36302, Block 13, 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

• 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

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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)

total:

5,749 km

country comparison to the world: 150

paved:

4,887 km

unpaved:

862 km (2004)

• 18-30 years of age for compulsory and 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service;
• women age 18-30 may be subject to compulsory military service;
• conscription suspended in 2001 (2009)

males age 16-49:

1,032,408

females age 16-49:

568,657 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

935,525

females age 16-49:

519,854 (2009 est.)

male:

18,122

female:

18,865 (2009 est.)

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)