Country Name: Kuwait

Capital: Kuwait City

Government Type: constitutional monarchy (emirate)

Background: Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq in August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault in February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. In 1992, the Amir reconstituted the parliament that he had dissolved in 1986. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as Bidoon, staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Other demographic groups, notably Islamists and Kuwaitis from tribal backgrounds, soon joined the growing protest movements, which culminated in late 2011 with the resignation of the prime minister amidst allegations of corruption. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an amiri decree amending the electoral law that lessened the voting power of the tribal blocs.

An opposition coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribal populists, and some liberals, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. Faced with the prospect of painful subsidy cuts, oppositionists and independents actively participated in the November 2016 election, winning nearly half of the seats, but a cohesive opposition alliance largely ceased to exist with the 2016 election and the opposition became increasingly factionalized. Between 2006 and his death in 2020, the previous Kuwaiti Amir dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly elections in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.

The current Amir, who assumed his role in 2020, launched a "National Dialogue" in September 2021 meant to resolve political gridlock. As part of the "National Dialogue," the Amir pardoned several opposition figures who had been living in exile, and they returned to Kuwait. Legislative challenges remain, and the cabinet has been reshuffled six times since late 2020. 

Continent: Middle East

Population: 3,103,580 (2023 est.) note: Kuwait's Public Authority for Civil Information estimates the country's total population to be 4,420,110 for 2019, with non-Kuwaitis accounting for nearly 70% of the population

Ethnic Groups: Kuwaiti 30.4%, other Arab 27.4%, Asian 40.3%, African 1%, other 0.9% (includes European, North American, South American, and Australian) (2018 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Religions: Muslim (official) 74.6%, Christian 18.2%, other and unspecified 7.2% (2013 est.)

Economic Overview: small, high-income, oil-based Middle East economy; renewable energy proponent; regional finance and investment leader; maintains oldest sovereign wealth fund; emerging space and tourism industries; mid-way through 25-year development program

Currency: Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD)

Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $52.462 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $210.884 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars

Real GDP Growth Rate: 8.86% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP per Capita: $49,400 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars

Exports: 

• $110.923 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 46

Export Commodities: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas, industrial hydrocarbon products, industrial alcohols (2021)

Export Partners: China 20%, South Korea 16%, India 15%, Japan 10%, Taiwan 6%, Vietnam 5% (2019)

Imports: 

• $55.909 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 64

Import Commodities: cars, broadcasting equipment, natural gas, packaged medicines, jewelry (2019)

Import Partners: China 14%, United Arab Emirates 12%, United States 10%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Japan 6%, Germany 5%, India 5% (2019)

Natural Resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

Agricultural Products: eggs, dates, tomatoes, cucumbers, poultry, milk, mutton, potatoes, vegetables, eggplants

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

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 

• -12.2% (2020 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

• Comparison Ranking: 213

Labor Force: 2.422 million (2022 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 2.2% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Natural Hazards: 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

Geography:

• Total: 17,818 sq km

• Land: 17,818 sq km

• Water: 0 sq km

(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)

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