Capital:
Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al 'Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, Hawalli, Al Farwaniyah

Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 25 February (1948)

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
Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote

Executive branch:
chief of state: Amir Shaykh JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the Amir

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly (Majlis al-umma): dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections were held on 5 October 1992 with a second election in the 14th and 16th constituencies held February 1993

Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: none
Other political or pressure groups: small, clandestine leftist and Shi'a fundamentalist groups are active; several groups critical of government policies are publicly active
Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 966-0702
FAX: (202) 966-0517
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Ryan CROCKER
embassy: Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Kuwait International Hotel), Kuwait City
mailing address: P.O. Box 77 SAFAT, 13001 SAFAT, Kuwait; Unit 69000, Kuwait; APO AE 09880-9000
telephone: [965] 242-4151 through 4159
FAX: [956] 244-2855

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

NOTE: The information regarding Kuwait on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kuwait Government 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kuwait Government 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.