Oil was first discovered in Kuwait in the 1930s and the government became
more proactive in establishing internationally recognized boundaries. After
World War
I, the Ottoman Empire was financially crippled and the invading
British Indian Army invalidated the Anglo-Ottoman Convention, declaring
Kuwait to be an "independent sheikdom under British protectorate".
Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah.[13]
The Gulf
rupee, issued by the
Reserve Bank of India, was replaced by the
Kuwaiti dinar. The discovery of large
oil fieldss, such as the
Burgan
field, triggered a large influx of foreign investments into Kuwait. The
massive growth of the petroleum industry transformed Kuwait into one of the
richest countries in the
Arabian Peninsula and by 1952, the country became the largest exporter of
oil in the
Persian
Gulf region. This massive growth attracted many foreign workers, especially
from Egypt and
India.
Kuwait settled its boundary disputes with Saudi Arabia and agreed on sharing
equally the neutral zone's petroleum reserves, onshore and offshore. After a
brief stand-off over boundary issues, Iraq formally recognized Kuwait's
independence and its borders in October 1963. During the 1970s, the Kuwaiti
government nationalized the
Kuwait Oil Company, ending its partnership with
Gulf Oil
and
British Petroleum.
In 1982, Kuwait experienced a major economic crisis after the
Souk Al-Manakh stock market crash and
decrease in oil price.[14]
However, the crisis was short-lived as Kuwait's oil production increased
steadily to fill the gap caused by decrease in Iraq's and Iran's oil production
levels following the events of the
Iran–Iraq War. In 1983, a
series of six bomb explosions took place in Kuwait killing five people. The
attack was carried out by
Shiite
Dawa Party to retaliate Kuwait's financial support to Iraq during its war
with Iran.[15]
Kuwait had heavily funded Iraq's eight year-long
war
with Iran. After the war ended, Kuwait declined an Iraqi request to forgive
its US$65 billion debt.[16]
An economic warfare between the two countries followed after Kuwait increased
its oil production by 40 percent.[17]
Tensions between the two countries increased further after Iraq alleged that
Kuwait was
slant drilling oil from its share of the
Rumaila field.[17]
On 2 August, 1990 Iraqi forces
invaded and annexed Kuwait.
Saddam Hussein, then President of Iraq, deposed the emir of Kuwait,
Jaber Al-Sabah, and installed
Ali Hassan al-Majid as the new governor of Kuwait.[18]
After a series of failed diplomatic negotiations, the
United States-led coalition of thirty-four nations fought the
Persian Gulf War to remove the Iraqi forces from Kuwait. On February 26,
1991, the coalition succeeded in driving out the Iraqi forces, restoring the
Kuwaiti emir to power.[19]
Kuwait paid the coalition forces US$17 billion for their war efforts.[19]
During their retreat, the Iraqi armed forces carried out a
scorched earth policy by damaging 737
oil wells in Kuwait, of which approximately
600 were set on fire.[20]
It was estimated that by the time Kuwait was liberated from Iraqi occupation,
about 5 to 6 million barrels (950,000 m3) of oil was being burned in
a single day because of these fires.[21]
Oil and soot accumulation had affected the entire Persian Gulf region and large
oil lakes were created holding approximately 25 to 50 million barrels
(7,900,000 m3) of oil[22]
and covering 5% of Kuwait's land area.[20]
In total, about 11 million barrels (1,700,000 m3) of oil was released
into the Persian Gulf[23]
and an additional 2% of Kuwait's 96 billion barrels (1.53×1010 m3)
of crude oil reserves were burned by the time the oil fires were brought under
control.[24]
The fires took more than nine months to extinguish fully and it took Kuwait
more than 2 years and US$50 billion in infrastructure reconstruction to reach
pre-invasion oil output.[25]
Kuwait has since largely recovered from the socio-economic, environmental, and
public health effects of the Persian Gulf War.
Politics
Kuwait is a
constitutional monarchy and has the oldest directly elected parliament among
the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The head of state is the
Emir or
Sheikh, a hereditary office. A
council of ministers, also known as cabinet ministers, aids the Prime
Minister in his task as the head of
Government of Kuwait which must contain at least one elected member of the
Kuwaiti parliament, known as
Majlis Al-Umma (National Assembly). The National Assembly has the power to
dismiss the Prime Minister or any member of cabinet through a series of
constitutional procedures. All cabinet ministers are answerable to the National
Assembly.[26]
The National Assembly consists of fifty elected members, who are chosen in
elections held every four years. Government ministers are also granted
membership in the parliament and can number up to sixteen excluding the fifty
elected members. According to the
Constitution of Kuwait, nomination of a new Emir or Crown Prince by the
ruling Al-Sabah family has to be approved by the National Assembly. If the
nominee does not win the votes of the majority of the assembly, the royal family
must submit the names of three other candidates to the National Assembly, and
the Assembly must approve one of them to hold the post. Any amendment to the
constitution can be proposed by the Emir but it needs to be approved by more
than two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly before being
implemented.[27]
There have been several conflicts between the Emir, the government and the
National Assembly over various policies. The National Assembly was suspended
from 1976 to 1981, from 1986 to 1991 and from May 1999 to July 1999 due to
irresolvable conflicts between some members of the government and the Assembly.[26][28]8]
Nationwide elections were held on May 16 2009.[29]
More than two-thirds of those who reside in Kuwait do not hold Kuwaiti
citizenship and thus cannot vote in parliamentary elections. Additionally, prior
to 2005, only 15% of the Kuwaiti citizen population was allowed to vote, with
all "recently naturalized" citizens (i.e. those of less than thirty years'
citizenship), and members of the
Kuwaiti Armed Forces excluded. On 16 May 2005, Parliament permitted
women's suffrage by a 35-23 vote, subject to official interpretation of
Islamic law and effective for the 2006 parliamentary election.[30]
The decision raised Kuwait's eligible voter population from 139,000 to about
339,000. In 2006, Kuwaiti citizens were estimated to be more than 960,000. In
2005, the former Prime Minister Sheikh
Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced the appointment of the first women as a
cabinet minister,
Massouma Mubarak. She was designated the post of Planning Minister and
Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs.[31]
During the
2008 parliamentary elections, 27 of the 275 candidates were women. However,
none of them won.[32]
In the parliamentary elections on 16 May 2009, 16 female candidates contested
for 50 seats for a four-year term. Four female candidates won their seats and
became Kuwait's first female lawmakers.[33]
Geography
and climate
Located in the north-east corner of the Arabian Peninsula, Kuwait is one of
the smallest countries in the world in terms of land area. The flat, sandy
Arabian Desert covers most of Kuwait. There is little difference in the
country's altitude with the highest point in the country being 306 m above
sea-level.[9]
It has
nine islands, all of which with the exception of
Failaka Island are uninhabited.[34]
With an area of 860 km², the
Bubiyan is the largest island in Kuwait and is connected to the rest of the
country by a 2,380 m long bridge.[35]
The land area is considered arable[9]
and sparse vegetation is found along its 499 km long coastline.[9]
Kuwait City is located on Kuwait Bay, a natural deep-water harbor.
Kuwait has some of the world's richest
oil fields with the
Burgan
field having a total capacity of approximately 70 billion barrels (1.1×1010 m3)
of proven oil reserves. During the 1991
Kuwaiti oil fires, more than 500 oil lakes were created covering a combined
surface area of about 35.7 km².[36]
The resulting soil contamination due to oil and soot accumulation had made
eastern and south-eastern parts of Kuwait uninhabitable. Sand and oil residue
had reduced large parts of the Kuwaiti desert to semi-asphalt surfaces.[21]
The oil spills during the
Persian Gulf War also drastically affected Kuwait's marine resources.[37]
Kuwait has a hyper-arid continental climate.[38]
Summer, which lasts from May to September, is extremely hot and dry with
temperatures easily crossing 45 °C (113 °F) during daytime, with temperatures
usually around 52 °C at midday.[39]
Kuwait has a fairly high day-night temperature range. Winter, from November
through February, is cool with some precipitation and average temperatures
around 13 °C (56 °F) with extremes from -2 °C to 27 °C. Annual rainfall averages
less than 127 mm (5 in.) and occurs chiefly between October and April.[40]
The spring season in March is warm and pleasant with occasional
thunderstorms. The frequent winds from the northwest are cool in winter and
spring and hot in summer. Southeasterly winds, usually hot and damp, spring up
between July and October; hot and dry south winds prevail in spring and early
summer. The shamal, a northwesterly wind common during June and July, causes
dramatic sandstorms.[40]
Economy
An oil refinery in Mina-Al-Ahmadi, Kuwait.
Kuwait has a GDP (PPP)
of
US$138.6 billion[41]
and a
per capita income of US$60,800,[41]
making it the eleventh richest country in the world.[8]
Kuwait's
human development index (HDI) stands at 0.912, the
second highest in Middle East after
Israel, and the
highest in the
Arab world. With a GDP growth rate of 5.7%, Kuwait has one of the fastest
growing economies in the region.[41]
According to the 2008
Index of Economic Freedom, Kuwait has the second-most free economy in the
Middle
East.[42]
In March 2007, Kuwait's foreign exchange reserves stood at US$213 billion.[43]
The
Kuwait Stock Exchange, which has about 200 firms listed, is the
second-largest
stock exchange in the Arab world with a total market capitalization of
US$235 billion.[44]
In 2007, the Kuwaiti government posted a budget surplus of US$43 billion.[45]
Kuwait has a proven crude
oil
reserves of 104 billion barrels (15 km³),[41]
estimated to be 10% of the world's reserves. According to the Kuwaiti
constitution, all natural resources in the country and associated revenues are
government property.[46]
Being a tax-free
country,
Kuwait's oil industry accounts for 80% of government revenue.
Petroleum
and
petrochemicals accounts for nearly half of
GDP and 95% of export revenues.
Increase in oil prices since 2003 resulted in a surge in Kuwait's economy.[47]
Kuwait's current oil production of 2.8 million bpd is expected to increase to
4 million bpd by 2020.[48]
To realize this production target,
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation plans to spend US$51 billion between 2007 to
2012 to upgrade and expand the country's existing refineries.[49]
However, the country's economy was badly affected by the
global financial crisis of 2008.[50]
In 2009, the
Central Bank of Kuwait devised a US$5.15 billion stimulus package to help
boost the economy.[51]
Other major industries include
shipping,
construction,
cement, water
desalination, construction materials and
financial
services.[41]
Kuwait has a well developed banking system and several banks in the country date
back to the time before oil was discovered. Founded in 1952, the
National Bank of Kuwait is the largest bank in the country and one of the
largest in the Arab world.[52]
Other prominent financial institutions based in Kuwait include the
Gulf Bank of Kuwait and
Burgan
Bank, which is named after the largest oilfield in the country.
Kuwait's climate limits
agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of
fish, it depends
almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be
distilled or imported. The government is keen on decreasing Kuwait's
dependence on oil to fuel its economy by transforming it into a regional trading
and tourism hub. The planned US$77 billion
City of Silk is the largest real estate development project in the
Middle East.[43]
The Central Bank issues Kuwait’s currency, the
Kuwaiti dinar. In December 2007, the dinar was the
highest valued currency unit in the world.[53]
In 2007, estimated exports stood at US$59.97 billion and imports were around
US$17.74 billion.
Petroleum,
petrochemical products,
fertilizers and financial services are major export commodities. Kuwait
imports a wide range of products ranging from food products and textiles to
machinery. Kuwait's most important trading partners are
Japan, United
States, India, South Korea, Singapore, China, European Union and Saudi Arabia.[41]
Japan is the largest customer of Kuwaiti oil followed by India, Singapore and
South Korea.[54]
Demographics
Shoppers at a local mall.
As of 2007, Kuwait's population was estimated to be 3 to 3.5 million people
which included approximately 2 million non-nationals.[55]
Kuwaiti citizens are therefore a minority of those who reside in Kuwait. The
government rarely grants citizenship to foreigners to maintain status quo.[56]
About 57% of the Kuwaiti population is
Arab, 39%
Asian,
and 4% are classified Bidoon.[13]
Bidoons are a group of stateless Arab residents of Kuwait. In 2008, 68.4% of the
population consisted of
expatriates[57]
most of whom are from other Arab nations and
South Asia.
In 2009, more than 580,000
Indian nationals lived in Kuwait, making them the single largest expatriate
community there.[58][59]
In 2003, there were also an estimated 260,000 Egyptians, 100,000 Syrians and
80,000 Iranians in Kuwait.[60]
After Kuwait was liberated from Iraqi occupation, most of the 400,000
Palestinians living in Kuwait were
expelled because of their government's open support for the Iraqi forces.
Only a few thousand Palestinians remain in Kuwait.[61]
The population of ethnic
Armenians in Kuwait also shrank drastically following the events of the
Iraq-Kuwait war.[62]
Kuwait's official language is
Arabic, though
English is widely spoken. Other important languages include
Persian,[63]
Malayalam,
Tamil, Hindi,
Urdu,
Bengali, and
Filipino.
About 85% of Kuwait's population practises
Islam.[13]
Of the Muslims in Kuwait, 85% are
Sunni and 15% are
Shia
Muslims.[9]
Despite Islam being the
state religion,[64]
Kuwait has large communities of
Christians (est. 300,000 to 400,000),
Hindus
(est. 300,000),
Buddhists (est. 100,000), and
Sikhs (est.
10,000).[65]
Hindus account for the largest number of expatriates in Kuwait.[66]
Culture
Kuwait Towers, one of the country's most famous landmarks.
The influence of Islamic and
Arab
culture on its architecture, music, attire, cuisine and lifestyle is
prominent as well.[67]
The most distinctive characteristic of local Kuwaiti culture are the
diwaniyas, a large reception room used for social gatherings attended mostly
by close family members. While, unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia,the
Islamic dress code is not compulsory, many of the older Kuwaiti men prefer
wearing thawb,
an ankle-length white shirt woven from wool or cotton while the minority of
women wear abaya, black over-garment covering most parts of the body.
This attire is particularly well-suited for Kuwait's hot and dry climate.[68]
Western-style clothing is also fairly popular, especially among Kuwait's youth.
Seafood
has been the mainstay of the Kuwaiti diet for centuries.[69]
The Arabs in the Persian Gulf region played a crucial role in the spice trade
between India and Europe and spices have remained an important ingredient of
Kuwaiti cuisine. Traditional Kuwaiti cuisine includes Machboos or
Kabsa which
borrows heavily from
South Asian cuisine. As in other Persian Gulf states, Kuwait takes part in
the tradition of
Qarqe'an
during the month of Ramadan.
Before the discovery of oil,
pearling
formed a crucial part of Kuwait's economy. Pearl fishery, known as ghaus,
suffered decline after the advent of Japanese pearl farming.[70]
However, Kuwait's pearl industry laid the foundation of its rich maritime
history.
Dhows, large wooden
ships made from teak wood imported from India,[70]
became an indistinct part of Kuwait's maritime fleet and dhow building is still
practiced in this Persian Gulf state.[71]
Kuwait's architecture is largely inspired by
Islamic architecture. The most prominent landmark in country, the
Kuwait Towers, were designed by
Swedish
architect
Sune Lindström and are a unique blend of traditional
minaret and
modern architectural designs. The
National Assembly of Kuwait, another famous landmark building, was designed
by the famous
Danish architect
Jørn Utzon
and completed in 1972.
Sawt is the most prominent style of Kuwaiti music and is performed by
'ud
(plucked lute) and
mirwas (a
drum), with a
violin later supplementing the arrangement. The
Bedouins are
known for an instrument called the
rubabah, while the use of
oud,
tanbarah (string instrument) and
habban (bagpipe)
are also widespread.[72]
Transportation
A highway in Kuwait City.
Kuwait has an extensive, modern and well-maintained network of
highways.
Roadways extended 5,749 km, of which 4,887 km is paved.[9]
In 2000, there were some 552,400 passenger cars, and 167,800 commercial taxis,
trucks, and buses in use. Since there is no railway system in the country, most
of the people travel by automobiles.[73]
The government plans to construct US$11 billion rail network which will include
a city metro for its capital.[74]
Bus services are provided by City Bus and state-owned Kuwait Public
Transportation Corporation.[75]
There are a total of seven airports in the country, of which four have paved
runways.
Kuwait International Airport serves as the principal hub for international
air travel. State-owned
Kuwait Airways is the largest airline in the country. In 2001, the airline
carried 2,084,600 passengers on domestic and international flights.[73]
In 2004, the first private airline of Kuwait,
Jazeera Airways, was launched.[76]
In 2005, the second private airline,
Wataniya Airways of Kuwait was founded.
Kuwait has one of the largest shipping industries in the Persian Gulf region.
The Kuwait Ports Public Authority manages and operates ports across Kuwait.[77]
The country’s principal commercial seaports are Shuwaikh and Shuaiba which
handled combined cargo of 753,334 TEU in 2006.[78]
Mina Al-Ahmadi, the largest port in the country, handles most of Kuwait's oil
exports.[79]
Construction of another major port located in
Bubiyan island started in 2005. The port is expected to handle 1.3 million
TEU when operation starts in 2008.[80]
Media
Kuwait has one of the most vocal and
transparent media in the Arab World.[81]
In 2007, Kuwait was ranked second in the Middle East after Israel in the
freedom of press index.[82]
Though the government funds several leading newspapers and satellite channels,[83]
Kuwaiti journalists enjoy greater freedom than their regional counterparts.[81]
State-owned Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) is the largest media house in the country.
The Ministry of Information regulates all media and communication industry in
Kuwait.[84]
In 1998, there were 15 media stations, which are 6 AM and 11 FM radio
stations and 13 television stations. In 2000, there were 624 radios and 486
television sets for every 1,000 people. In 2001, there were 165,000 Internet
subscribers served by three service providers.[85]
Kuwait has ten
satellite television[85]
Government-funded Radio Kuwait also offers daily informative programming in four
foreign languages including Persian, Urdu, Tagalog and English on the AM and SW.
In 2009, Kuwait had seventeen newspapers companies in circulation. In 2002,
the Arab
Times was the most popular English daily, followed by the
Kuwait
TimesAl-Anabaa, with a circulation of 106,800 copies, was the
most widely read Arabic daily.[85]5]
Currently, there are around 15 Arabic daily newspapers besides the English
newspapers. A press law forbids insulting references to God and
Islamic prophet
Muhammad.
Another law which made leading newspaper publishers eligible for hefty fines for
criticizing the ruling family was lifted in 1992. Leading newspapers continue to
impose self-restraint while being critical of the emir.[86]
However, no such restraint is observed while criticizing the government.[85]
Sudan
_headquarter.jpg)
