Kuwait Information

Kuwait is a country that is located in the Middle East on the border of the Persian Gulf and is located between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The size of the country could be compared to the size of New Jersey. The population of Kuwait is estimated to be over 3 million people. Kuwait is known for being the one of the richest countries in the world because of the oil reserves that they have.
The people of Kuwait are called Kuwaitis with over one million of them being Kuwait citizens while the other two million and some are non-Kuwait nationals. Over 70% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64 with more men than women. There are many different ethnic groups represented in the country with Kuwaiti being the highest but with others such as other Arab, South Asian, and Iranian. Muslim is the primary religion but others such as Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and Sikh being represented. Even though there are many different ethnic and religion groups throughout the country Arabic is the official language but English is widely spoken. Out of the total population 93% are literate which is a very high amount.
Kuwait became independent from the United Kingdom on June 19, 1961 with the constitution being approved on November 11, 1962 which calls for an elected National Assembly and details the powers of the branches of government and the rights of citizens. Even with this constitution Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary emirate ruled by princes. The executive branch is made of many members including chief of state, head of government, and cabinet members. The chief if state is the highest power which includes the Amir and the Crown Prince. The head of government is made up of the Prime Minister, First Deputy Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime Ministers. The cabinet is made up of members that are appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the Amir. There are also Legislative and Judicial Branches.
Kuwait has a small but rich open economy. The country has about 8% of the world’s reserves of oil which is about 104 billion barrels. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. The economy of Kuwait seems to be growing every year especially with the way oil prices are increasing at times. Agriculture is not a big money maker in Kuwait because the lack of water and arable land. One of the only things that they do have is fish which provides larger scale commercial fishing.
Since Kuwait’s economy provides finance they have been able to help aid other countries in need. They created the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) which gives loans to different countries when needed. Kuwait has helped several countries including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, and the Palestine Authority. In the past the government has contributed $50 million to the Pakistan earthquake relief, $50 million for Hurricane Katrina relief, and money toward tsunami relief efforts.