Country name:
conventional long form:
State of Kuwait
conventional short form:
Kuwait
local long form:
Dawlat al Kuwayt
local short form:
Al Kuwayt
etymology:
the name derives from the capital city, which is from Arabic "al-Kuwayt" a diminutive of "kut" meaning "fortress," possibly a reference to a small castle built on the current location of Kuwait City by the Beni Khaled tribe in the 17th century
Government type:
constitutional monarchy (emirate)
Capital:
name:
Kuwait City
geographic coordinates:
29 22 N, 47 58 E
time difference:
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak al Kabir
Independence:
19 June 1961 (from the UK)
National holiday:
National Day, 25 February (1950)
Constitution:
history:
approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
(2016)
amendments:
proposed by the amir or supported by at least one-third of the National Assembly; passage requires two-thirds consent by the Assembly membership and promulgation by the amir; constitutional articles on the initiation, approval, and promulgation of general legislation cannot be amended
(2016)
Legal system:
mixed legal system consisting of English common law, French civil law, and Islamic sharia law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth:
no
citizenship by descent only:
at least one parent must be a citizen of Kuwait
dual citizenship recognized:
no
residency requirement for naturalization:
not specified
Suffrage:
21 years of age and at least 20-year citizenship
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah
head of government:
Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 30 November 2011); First Deputy Prime Minister NASIR al-Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 12 December 2017); Deputy Prime Ministers SABAH al-KHALID al-Sabah (since 4 August 2013), KHALID al-Jarrah al-Sabah (since December 2016), Anas al-SALEH (since 2015)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by the amir
elections/appointments:
amir chosen from within the ruling family, confirmed by the National Assembly; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir; crown prince appointed by the amir and approved by the prime minister and National Assembly
Legislative branch:
description:
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (65 seats; 50 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 15 ex-officio members - cabinet ministers - appointed by the prime minister; members serve 4-year terms)
elections:
last held on 26 November 2016 (next to be held in 2020)
election results:
seats won - oppositionists and independents, including populists, Islamists, and liberals 26, pro-government loyalists 24; composition for elected members only - men 49, women 1, percent of women 1.5%
Judicial branch:
highest courts:
Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges); Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (organized into several circuits, each with 5 judges)
judge selection and term of office:
all Kuwaiti judges appointed by the Amir upon recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, a consultative body comprised of Kuwaiti judges and Ministry of Justice officials
subordinate courts:
High Court of Appeal; Court of First Instance; Summary Court
Political parties and leaders:
none; although the formation of political parties is practically not permitted, their formation is not explicitly forbidden by law
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB (nonregional member), AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CD, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, Paris Club (associate), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 10 October 2001)
chancery:
2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 966-0702
FAX:
[1] (202) 966-8468
consulate(s) general:
Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lawrence R. SILVERMAN (since 5 October 2016)
embassy:
Bayan 36302, Block 13, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City
mailing address:
P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000
telephone:
[965] 2259-1001
FAX:
[965] 2538-6562
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; colors and design are based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I; green represents fertile fields, white stands for purity, red denotes blood on Kuwaiti swords, black signifies the defeat of the enemy
National symbol(s):
golden falcon; national colors: green, white, red, black
National anthem:
name:
"Al-Nasheed Al-Watani" (National Anthem)
lyrics/music:
Ahmad MUSHARI al-Adwani/Ibrahim Nasir al-SOULA
note: adopted 1978; the anthem is only used on formal occasions
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Kuwait on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kuwait Government 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kuwait Government 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 08-Feb-19