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Strategically located at the head of the Gulf Population numbers about 3.5m people Education and development remain priorities Boubyan Island set to receive a new port facility
COUNTRY PROFILE
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COUNTRY PROFILE
Public education is completely free for nationals, with the government also covering most related costs
continued infrastructure development will stimulate private consumption and the real estate market. RELIGION & CULTURE: According to the Kuwaiti constitution, Islam is the official state religion, and sharia law is one of the key sources of legislation. Compared to other Gulf nations, such as the UAE, Bahrain or Qatar, Kuwait adheres to a fairly conservative interpretation of Islam. However, Islamic practices in Kuwait are considered more liberal than those in Saudi Arabia, where Wahabism is dominant. Though most of Kuwaits Muslims are Sunni, including the ruling family, there is a substantial Shia minority that represents between 15% and 30% of the total population. Kuwait also has sizeable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities, which have been granted freedom of worship under the constitution. LANGUAGE: The official language in Kuwait is Arabic, which is used in all government announcements and documentation. It is recommended correspondence with government offices be conducted in Modern Standard Arabic, as English speakers are not always available. Nevertheless, English is widely used and understood, especially in academia and the business community. English is also included in the national curriculum, and it is quite common for Kuwaitis to study abroad at universities located in the US or UK. The Kuwait Times and the Arab Times are the countrys two main English-language newspapers. EDUCATION: Overseen by the Ministry of Education (MoE), public schooling is compulsory for all children aged 6-14. After kindergarten, the general education system is divided into three tiers elementary, intermediate and secondary each of which entails four years of study. Although public schools are segregated by sex, women are granted the same rights to education as men, and account for just under half of enrolment in domestic universities. Public education is completely free for nationals, with the government paying for transportation, meals, books and medical attention for students. The government also provides
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generous subsidies for nationals attending private and international schools, which are monitored by the Private Education Department at the MoE. Private schools have expanded rapidly in recent years, with Kuwaiti families increasingly opting to send their children to academies that offer Western-style curricula taught in English. Private schools also cater to the countrys large expatriate population. Post-secondary schooling is overseen by the Ministry of Higher Education, which regulates university accreditation and staff qualification. Established in 1966, Kuwait University is the countrys first and only public higher education institution. There are also a number of private tertiary schools, including the Gulf Institute of Science and Technology, the American University of Kuwait, the Arab Open University and the Australian College of Kuwait. Overall, around 75% of the eligible population is currently using higher education facilities in one form or another. GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE: Kuwait is strategically located at the head of the Gulf in the north-east corner of the Arabian peninsula. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq in the north, and a sea border to the east with Iran. At 17,818 sq km, it is one of the worlds smallest countries, though it has 500 km of coastline, and its sovereign territory includes nine Gulf islands. The island of Failaka, at the mouth of Kuwait Bay, is densely populated and contains an ancient Greek temple built by the army of Alexander the Great. Boubyan Island, meanwhile, has been slated for significant development, with nearly $4bn allocated for a new port facility. Kuwait is primarily flat desert plain, and only 20% of the nations land area is currently inhabited. The country has no access to natural water reservoirs, and has one of the lowest per capita fresh water supplies in the world, with roughly 90% of its water resources derived from seawater desalination. The country has an arid climate, with hot and dry summers lasting from April to September, when temperatures can climb past 50 Celsius. Winter weather typically begins in November, when temperatures range from 15-20 Celsius, but can drop in the evening, sometimes to as far as 0 Celsius. Rainfall only averages 110 mm per year, occurring intermittently in the winter and spring seasons. NATURAL RESOURCES: Kuwait has an abundant supply of hydrocarbons, as it contains nearly 10% of the worlds oil reserves. In the 2010/11 fiscal year, oil revenues grew 17% to KD19.4bn ($69.9bn), accounting for 93% of total revenue. Each day, the countrys major refineries produce over 3m barrels of oil, with plans in place to boost production capacity to 3.5m barrels per day by 2015, and 4m by 2020. Outside of the oil and gas section, the country has sufficient seafood to support an active fishing industry. Overall, around 50% of seafood comes from local fisheries, though concerns exist regarding overfishing and seafood depletion. Generally, the nations overall food requirements are served by imports from a variety of foreign markets, instead of domestically.