(1992)
Total fertility rate:
4.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Kuwaiti(s); adjective - Kuwaiti
Ethnic divisions:
Kuwaiti 50%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 2%
Religions:
Muslim 85% (Shi`a 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and
other 15%
Languages:
Arabic (official); English widely spoken
Literacy:
74% (male 78%, female 69%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985)
Labor force:
566,000 (1986); services 45.0%, construction 20.0%, trade 12.0%,
manufacturing 8.6%, finance and real estate 2.6%, agriculture 1.9%, power
and water 1.7%, mining and quarrying 1.4%; 70% of labor force was
non-Kuwaiti
Organized labor:
labor unions exist in oil industry and among government personnel

:Kuwait Government

Long-form name:
State of Kuwait
Type:
nominal constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Kuwait
Administrative divisions:
5 governorates (mu'hafaz'at, singular - muh'afaz'ah); Al Ah'madi, Al Jahrah,
Al Kuwayt, 'Hawalli; Farwaniyah
Independence:
19 June 1961 (from UK)
Constitution:
16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29 August 1962)
Legal system:
civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
National Day, 25 February
Executive branch:
amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
National Assembly (Majlis al `umma) dissolved 3 July 1986; elections for new
Assembly scheduled for October 1992
Judicial branch:
High Court of Appeal
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Amir Shaykh JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister and Crown Prince SA`UD al-`Abdallah al-Salim al-Sabah (since
8 February 1978); Deputy Prime Minister SALIM al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah
Political parties and leaders:
none
Suffrage:
adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at
age 21; note - out of all citizens, only 10% are eligible to vote and only
5% actually vote
Elections:
National Assembly:
dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections are scheduled for October 1992
Other political or pressure groups:
40,000 Palestinian community; small, clandestine leftist and Shi`a
fundamentalist groups are active; several groups critical of government