Basics of Kuwait

Kuwait, a Middle Eastern country bordering the Persian Gulf, is located between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.  Until the country gained its independence on June 19^th 1961, Kuwait had been colonized and overseen by Great Britain. 

Kuwait stretches a total of 17,820 sq km with 499 km of coastline.  Thus, two of Kuwait’s four natural resources, fish and shrimp, derive from the Persian Gulf; the other two natural sources of revenue are petroleum and gas.  Kuwait does not reap much from the land besides oil as freshwater availability is meager and it’s .84% of arable land only yields .17% of arable crops.  A lack of freshwater is one of Kuwait’s current environmental setbacks; however, the country possesses some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated desalination plants that supply the majority of the water.  Air pollution and desertification are two other environmental issues that the people of Kuwait face. 

Kuwait is a country of 2,596,799 with a moderately high birth rate of 21.9/1,000 and a low death rate of 2.37 deaths/1,000.  The total fertility rate is above replacement rate at 2.81 children born/woman.  The average life expectancy of those who live in Kuwait is 77.53 years.  Inhabitants of Kuwait compose a variety of different ethnic groups with 45% Kuwait, 35% Arab, 9% South Asian, 4% Iranian, and 7% other.  The Muslim religion makes up 85% of the population (70% Sunni and 30% Shia) and other notable religions of the country are Christian and Hindu.  The official language of the country is Arabic, although English is widely spoken, and the total literacy rate of the country is at an impressive 93.3%.

Kuwait’s government type is constitutional emirate with a civil law system that places an emphasis on Islamic law when it comes to personal matters.  Women were recently granted the right to vote on May 16^th, 2005.  There are no political parties in Kuwait as their formation is considered illegal.

As touched on before, much of Kuwait’s “small, rich [and] relatively open economy” is dominated by its crude oil reserves that account for 8% of the world’s total oil reserves.  In 2007, Kuwait was producing 2.613 million bbl/day of oil and exporting 2.356 million bbl/day.  Petroleum exports account for 95% of total export revenue, 80% of government income, and nearly half of the country’s GDP.  Kuwait’s economy has experienced rapid growth in the last decade due to it’s oil reserves, but is and will continue to experience reduced success what with the current global financial crisis.  Kuwait’s GDP is $157.9 billion and its GDP per capita is a steady $60,800.  Of the country’s GDP, agricultural production accounts for .3% of the revenue, industry accounts for 52.2% of the revenue, and service account for 47.5% of the revenue.  Kuwait exports $95.46 billion worth of goods and services and imports $26.54 billion worth of goods and services. Kuwait’s main export partners are Japan (19.9%), South Korea (17%), and Taiwan (11.2%), whereas Kuwait’s main import partners are the US (12.7%), Japan (8.5%), Germany (7.3%), and China (6.8%).  Kuwait has a relatively unemployment rate of 2.2%; however this estimate was collected in 2004.

The major transnational issue that Kuwait faces is human trafficking.  Most victims are lured or imported to Kuwait from South and Southeast Asia where they are subjected to involuntary servitude, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, withholding of passports, and countless human rights violations.  Kuwait is a Tier 3 country in terms of trafficking in persons, meaning that the issue is severe and the country’s government is essentially condoning it by failing to cooperate and eradicate it.