Population: 2.69 million (2009 estimate, includes 1,291,354 non-nationals)

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Religions: Muslim (Sunni, Shia), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi)

Ethnic Groups: Kuwaiti, other Arab, South Asian, Iranian, other

Capital: Kuwait City

Date of Independence: June 19, 1961 from Great Britain

Government: Constitutional monarchy

Last Elections: May 16, 2009 (parliamentary)

Suffrage: Universal at 21 (military not allowed to vote)

GDP: $149.1 billion (2008, CIA estimate)

GDP Per Capita: $57,400 (2008, CIA estimate)

External Debt: $36.93 billion (2008, CIA estimate)

Unemployment: 1.3% (2006)
(Foreign labor force up over 60% of the population. US State Department).

Poverty Rate: N/A

Ratio of Richest 10% to Poorest 10%: N/A

Gini Index: N/A

Literacy: male 95.2%, female 93.1% (2007)

Human Development Index: 0.916 (2007)

Major Exports: oil and refined products, fertilizers

Major Industries and Natural Resources:
petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials; petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

HIV/AIDS Prevalence in Adults: less than 0.2% (2006, UN)

Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births): 9 (2006, WHO)

Maternal Mortality Adjusted Ratio (per 100,000 live births): 4 (2005, WHO)

Tourism: $164 million in total receipts (2005), 91,000 visitors (2004)

Arms Imports/Exports: Major conventional weapons imported from US, UK, China, Australia, Egypt, France, Germany.
Major conventional weapons exported to Brazil.
Small arms imported from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyrprus, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, US.
Small arms exported to Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia.

Military Expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2007, SIPRI)

US Military Personnel: 171,500 active duty US military personnel (DOD June 30, 2009, deployment figure for Iraq and Kuwait)

US Military Bases: 15 active facilities: 11 camps, 2 naval bases, 1 training range, 1 air base

US Aid:

* FY2010 estimates listed here are based on the amounts requested in FY2009.

- Foreign operations appropriation bills were not enacted for FY2007, and Congress instead passed a series of continuing resolution, funding agencies at or near FY2006 levels. FY2007 estimates listed here are based on the amounts requested in FY2006.

[Military Aid]

IMET: International Military Education and Training

[Economic Aid]

NAD/NADR: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs

NADR-EXBS: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs - Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance (focused on preventing the spread of WMD and advanced conventional weapons)

NADR-ATA: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs - Anti-terrorism Assistance

NADR-TIP: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs - Terrorist Interdiction Program

NADR-HD: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs - Humanitarian Demining Program

NADR-SALW: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs - Small Arms/Light Weapons Destruction

[Food Aid]

P.L. 480: Public Law 480 (food aid, not included in total)

--
All figures in US dollars.

Sources: Unless stated otherwise, data are current CIA estimates from the World Factbook.

Ethnic Groups -- US Department of State

External Debt -- World Bank

Unemployment (age 15+) -- International Labor Organization

Poverty Rate (below $2 a day, unless otherwise stated) -- UNDP Human Development Report 2009

Ratio of Richest 10% to Poorest 10% (ratio of income or expenditure share) -- UNDP Human Development Report 2009

Gini Index (a scale of 0-100 where 0 equals perfect equality) -- UNDP Human Development Report 2009

Literacy (adult) -- UNDP Human Development Report 2009

Human Development Index (measurement based on life expectancy, education, and GDP index in 2007) -- UNDP Human Development Report 2009

HIV/AIDS Prevalence in Adults -- “Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic,” UNAIDS 2008

Infant Mortality Rates – World Health Organization

Maternal Mortality Rates – World Health Organization

Free Trade Agreements -- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, European Commission

Tourism -- World Tourism Organization

Military Expenditures -- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Arms Imports/Exports (1995 to present): Major conventional arms -- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute; Small arms -- The Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers

US Military Personnel -- Defense Manpower Data Centre (DoD), Statistical Information Analysis Section (2009)

US Military Bases -- Global Security

US Aid -- US Department of State Bureau of Resource Management