Kuwait is a small country on the Arabian Peninsula, bordering Saudi Arabia (to the west and south), Iraq (to the north) and the Persian Gulf (to the east). A stony desert covers most of its national territory.
The country has large oil reserves, approximately 10% of the world's oil reserves are located in Kuwait. The exploration of this product stimulated migratory flows to the country, a fact observed in its population, where the Most of the inhabitants are immigrants, with highlights for the Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Iranians and Pakistanis.
Oil is the main responsible for the country's wealth. Kuwait is one of the world's largest oil and natural gas producers. In order to make the national economy more flexible, the government has been developing measures to attract international investments, offering economic advantages to transnational companies.
Kuwait, in 1990, was accused by Iraq of selling more oil than the amount established by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Iraq's then-president Saddam Hussein demanded that Kuwait forgive the $10 billion debt in addition to paying a $2.4 billion indemnity to Iraq. With the proposed non-payment, Saddam Hussein proclaimed the annexation of Kuwait as an Iraqi province. This decision sparked the 1991 Gulf War, where US-led allied troops from 30 countries attacked Iraq. This conflict claimed the lives of 30,000 Kuwaitis, 107,000 Iraqis and 510 coalition soldiers.
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Kuwait Coat of Arms
Kuwait data:
Territorial extension: 17,818 km².
Location: Middle East.
Capital: Kuwait City.
Climate: Subtropical arid.
Government: Islamic Monarchy.
Administrative division: 6 governorates.
Language: Arabic (official).
Religion: Islam 85.7%, Christianity 9.8% (Catholics 6.9%, others 2.9%), others 3.7%, no religion and atheism 0.8%.
Population: 2,985,046 inhabitants. (Men: 1,777,238; Women: 1,207,808).
Ethnic Composition: Kuwaiti Arabs 31.5%, other Arabs 48.5%, South Asians 9%, Iranians 4%, others 7%.
Demographic density: 167.5 inhab/km².
Average annual population growth rate: 2.4%.
Population residing in urban areas: 98.37%.
Population residing in rural areas: 1.63%.
Undernourished population: less than 5%.
Life expectancy at birth: 77.4 years.
Illiterate population: 5.5%.
Human Development Index (HDI): 0.771 (high).
Currency: Kuwaiti Dinar.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 112.1 billion dollars.
GDP per capita: $38,574.
External relations: World Bank, IMF, WTO, UN, OPEC.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
countries - geography - Brazil School
