Kuwait

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Its wealth makes Kuwait vulnerable to foreign invasion. This has led to military spending, which is 7.1 percent of its GDP, or US$7.7 billion. This makes Kuwait the 27th highest military spender in the world and represents 0.4 percent of total global military expenditure.

Military membership

Kuwait is also a member of four international military organizations which makes it the 119th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Kuwait has partaken in five international wars. These are:

Six-Day War 1967-1967
Samita border skirmish 1973-1973
Iran–Iraq War 1980-1988
Gulf War 1990-1991
Persian Gulf crisis 2019-present

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Kuwait is a member of 12 international political organizations which makes it the 88th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Asia Cooperation Dialogue
Gulf Cooperation Council
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Kuwait is characterized as the 112th most democratic state in the world. This is largely due to the presence of political parties that rival each other, but do not have a legal status.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The political system of Kuwait consists of an autocratic political system. This means that the government is mainly appointed by the Royal family with the Emir of Kuwait serving as head of state as well as head of government.

Arab League
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health

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Literally translated from a fortress built near water, the territory of Kuwait has been inhabited for more than five millennia. During this period, Kuwait, due to its location near Mesopotamia has been on one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The territory of Kuwait became part of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century when it became a British protectorate. After gaining independence from Britain in 1961, it became recognized as an independent state with the support of the Arab league. Since then, Kuwait has been invaded by Iraq at the end of the 20th century due to its vast oil reserves. After regaining its independence, Kuwait has become one of the most developed states in the middle east. .

Located on the northwestern part of the Persian Gulf, the geography of Kuwait is mainly made up of flat land with low lying hills to its west. In total, Kuwait borders Saudi Arabia to its south and Iraq to its west and north.

It is the 152nd largest state in the world with 17,907 square kilometers or 6914 square miles. This makes Kuwait slightly larger than eSwatini or Swaziland and slightly smaller than Fiji.

Most of the area of Kuwait is made up of desert which means that it has no permanent bodies of water residing within its territory.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

The main source of drinking water comes from underground aquifers as well as large water desalination treatment plants. Large investments in the latter have given Kuwait the possibility to produce one of the highest water quantities in the world.

The climate of Kuwait is characterized as an arid desert climate within the subtropical zone. Because of its location, Kuwait rarely has cold winters and has among the lowest amount of rainfall in the world. Its average temperature is 25 degrees Celsius or 77 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 52nd warmest state in the world.

Its average high temperature is 31.9 degrees Celsius or 89.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Its average low temperature is 18.9 degrees Celsius or 66 degrees Fahrenheit.

With an annual precipitation of 10.7 centimetres or 4.2 inches, Kuwait is the 190th state with the highest amount of precipitation. The precipitation mainly occurs during its winter period's which spans from December to February with January being the rainiest month.

The capital of Kuwait, Kuwait City, has a population of 2.3 million people. The capital that is closest located to Kuwait City is Manama of Bahrain with a distance of 412.4 kilometers or 256.3 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Kuwait City is Nuku'alofa Tonga with a distance of 15,628 kilometers or 9711 miles.

The economy of Kuwait is characterized as an economy that is based on hydrocarbons, and particularly oil. Despite its size, Kuwait has more than five percent of the world's total oil supply which contributes to nearly all of its GDP. Despite its high dependence on oil, Kuwait was making large efforts to diversify its economy. Currently, Kuwait imports most of its goods from the United States and China which combined represent more than 25 percent of all imports. Most of its exports go to China and India which are responsible for nearly 60 percent of all exports.

Kuwait is a member of 12 international economic organizations which makes it the 96th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

African development Bank
Bank for International Settlements
Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges
International Development Law Organization
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 77

It has the 60th highest GDP in the world which is US$124.5 billion and represents 0.15 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is US$6.9 million per square kilometer or US$18 million per square mile. This makes Kuwait the 23rd highest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is the 33rd highest in the world with US$29,119.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is the 18th highest in the world with 54,498 US dollars.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Before the end of the 20th century, a large number of Palestinians resided within Kuwait. However, after siding with Saddam Hussein during his invasion of Kuwait, and the regaining of control by the Kuwaitis, many Palestinians were expelled from Kuwaiti territory. Currently, there are 4.3 million people residing within Kuwait. The vast majority of its citizens are not indigenous and mainly consist of migrant workers. The official language of Kuwait is Arab, with English and being widely spoken by its 4.3 million citizens.

Around 4.6 percent of Kuwaitis, or just over 200,000 people, migrated to other states. This represents 0.08 percent of total global migration and makes Kuwait the 136th state with the highest number of migrants.

Immigration to Kuwait is mainly stimulated for economic reasons. These are mainly highly skilled labourers that are attracted from all over the world. In total, around 2.9 million people have migrated to Kuwait which represents 65 percent of the population and makes it the 20th state with the highest number of immigrants.

Immigration to Kuwait is represented by around 3.3 million people, which is over 70 percent of the total population. This makes Kuwait one of the countries with the highest share of immigrants worldwide. Most immigrants in Kuwait originate from India, Egypt, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, mainly arriving for work in the construction, domestic, and service sectors. Despite its high immigrant population, Kuwait maintains strict naturalisation laws.

Education is free and compulsory for all Kuwaitis between the age of five and 15. Contrary to other states in the Middle East, the literacy rate for women is a higher than for men. On average, the literacy rate is 95.7 percent which makes it the 84th most literate state in the world.

Aside from free education, Kuwait also provides free health-care towards all Kuwaiti citizens. Noncommunicable diseases are the most prevalent with diabetes and cancers being the leading causes of death. On average, the life expectancy is 75.9 years with women reaching 77.1 years and men reaching 75.1 years. This places Kuwait as the 36th state with the highest life expectancy.

Despite being a Muslim majority state, Kuwait is tolerant towards other religions and provides freedom of religion towards the major religions.

Christianity is represented by 11.9 percent of the population which makes it the 148th most Christian state in the world.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is the largest religion within Kuwait with approximately 75 percent of the population adhering to Islam. This makes Kuwait the 38th most Islamic state in the world. The largest denomination is the Sunni denomination, which is represented by 60 percent of the population closely followed by the Shia denomination which is approximately 40 percent of the Islamic population.

Buddhism is represented by 2.8 percent of the population and mainly consists of migrant workers that come from Nepal. Most Nepali migrant workers work as housemaids.

Hinduism is represented by 9.7 percent of the population and mainly come from the Indian subcontinent. Most Hindu workers work in construction or other forms of hard labour.

Judaism is represented by zero percent of the population. All Jews have migrated to during the second half of the 20th century due to political tensions.

Other religions are mainly represented by the Baha'i faith which represents 0.23 percent of the population.

Irreligion is represented by 0.03 percent of the population. However, it is estimated that this number is much higher, but because blasphemy is punishable by death, this number remains low.