Kuwait
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Kuwait City |
|
Borders |
Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
|
Government type |
constitutional emirate |
|
Population |
2,692,526[1] |
|
Population growth |
3.549%[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
77.71 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
2.2% (2004 est.)[1] |
|
42[2] | |
|
66[3] | |
|
61[4] | |
Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991 and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive. The country witnessed the historic election in May 2009 of four women to its National Assembly.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (ISO code: KWD)
- Central bank discount rate: 2.5% (10 February 2010)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 5.9% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $16.05 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $71.79 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1983[5]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[6] | 30 121 | 37 718 | 34 891 | 38 139 | 47 876 | 59 441 | 80 798 | 101 561 | 114 739 | 148 024 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8] | 33.406 | 45.246 | 42.532 | 38.648 | 37.164 | 46.125 | 47.217 | 47.392 | ||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9] | 40.168 | 40.164 | 33.644 | 30.776 | 26.190 | 22.827 | 31.250 | 23.955 | ||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Kuwait", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Kuwait", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Kuwait", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Kuwait", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 372. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.
- ↑ World Bank. "Kuwait: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Kuwait: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Kuwait: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Kuwait: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
Links
- Kuwait on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Kuwait
- Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
- BBC country profile
