Kuwait

Kuwait

AREA	17,818 sq km (6880 sq miles).
POPULATION	1,866,104 (1998).
POPULATION DENSITY	104.7 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Kuwait City.
CAPITAL POPULATION	28,859 (1995).
GEOGRAPHY	Kuwait shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. To the southeast lies the Persian Gulf, where Kuwait has sovereignty over nine small islands (the largest is Bubiyan and the most populous is Failaka). The landscape is predominantly desert plateau with a lower, more fertile coastal belt.
GOVERNMENT	Traditional Arab monarchy. Head of State: Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed as-Sabah since 1978. Head of Government: Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah as-Salim as-Sabah since 1978. Gained full independence from the UK in 1961.
LANGUAGE	Arabic, but English is widely understood, especially in commerce and industry.
RELIGION	95% Muslim (mostly of the Sunni sect), with Christian and Hindu minorities.
STANDARD TIME	GMT + 3.
ELECTRICITY	240 volts AC, 50Hz; single phase. UK-type flat 3-pin plugs are used.
COMMUNICATIONS	Telephone: Full IDD is available. Country code: 965. Outgoing international code: 00. Fax: Most hotels have facilities. Telegram: 24-hour telegram services are available at the Ministry of Post and Telegraph Offices, Abdullah Al Salem Square, Kuwait City, but must be handed to the post office (opening hours: 0700-1400 Saturday to Wednesday; 0700-1200 Thursday). Post: Airmail to Western Europe takes about five days. Press: The English-language newspapers are the Arab Times and the Kuwait Times. Although remaining loyal to the Royal family, the press enjoys a fair degree of freedom.

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