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 8.3% are eligible to vote and only 3.5% actually vote
Elections: National Assembly—dissolved 3 July 1986 and no elections are planned
Communists: insignificant
Other political or pressure groups: large (350,000) Palestinian community; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist groups are active
Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IPU, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Shaikh Saud Nasir AL-SABAH;
Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 966-0702;
US—Ambassador W. Nathaniel HOWELL; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar (opposite the
Hilton Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat,
Kuwait City); telephone [965] 242-4151 through 4159
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side
- Economy Overview: The oil sector dominates the economy. Of the countries in the Middle East, Kuwait has oil reserves second only to those of Saudi Arabia. Earnings from hydrocarbons generate over 90% of both export and government revenues and contribute about 40% to GDP. Most of the nonoil sector is dependent upon oil-derived government revenues to provide infrastructure development and to promote limited industrial diversification. The economy is heavily dependent upon foreign labor—Kuwaitis account for less than 20% of the labor force. The early years of the Iran-Iraq war pushed Kuwait's GDP well below its 1980 peak; however, during the period 1986-88, GDP increased each year, rising to 5% in 1988.
GDP: $20.5 billion, per capita $10,500; real growth rate 5.0% (1988)