Kuwait is a small country in Southwest Asia. The population of Kuwait is centered in just a few areas of the country. As of today's date, the population of Kuwait is 3, 480, 940 people. 59.6 % of this is male (2, 075, 754), with 40.4 % female (1, 405, 186). To date, there have been 20, 979 births and 2, 076 deaths in 2015. With a net migration of 1, 820 to date, the current population growth of Kuwait for 2015 is 20, 723. These numbers reflect a population density of 194.2 persons per square kilometer of land. During 2015, the population of Kuwait is expected to grow to 3, 533, 089. Among births, deaths, and migration, this is roughly an increase of 200 people daily. This information and more on the topic of population in Kuwait can be found at the Country Meters website.
http://countrymeters.info/en/Kuwait
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| Population Map from Mapcruzin.com |
Population Concentration
As you can see from the above map, the population of Kuwait is concentrated mainly in the areas of towns and cities. The labor force of Kuwait is generally small and unskilled, with most of the population being from immigrant workers composing the bulk of the labor force. The labor force and industry of Kuwait will be expanded upon later in the land-use portion. More information on the population concentration can be found at the Encyclopedia of the Nations Kuwait webpage.
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Kuwait.html
The people of Kuwait-A Personal Perspective
There are a lot of facts and figures to be found on the population of Kuwait, as I have explored at the beginning. But, facts and figures don't put the reader on a personal level with the people. It has been 12 years since I last spent any time in Kuwait, but I cannot imagine that much has changed over a dozen years. All of the people that I encountered in Kuwait were extremely friendly, and at that time had a pro-American attitude. While still very traditional in their beliefs and practice of Islam, the people were very Western in appearances. Women were not covered from head to toe as in a lot of Muslim countries. The majority of the women that I encountered during my stay appeared as women do in the United States; not just in their manner of dress, but also in their attitudes and opinions. While the standard language of the country is Arabic, most Kuwaiti people spoke English quite well. The people also mainly drove nice cars (mostly American models), and had all of the same technology as we have. Kuwait also had many of the same modern amenities in Kuwait City that we have in the U.S., such as shopping malls and fast food restaurants. All-in-all, spending time in Kuwait City was not much different than spending time in any major American city.
Education in Kuwait
Now that we know a little about the people in Kuwait, I would like to discuss education. The goal of the state is to provide a free education for all children in Kuwait. The education system in Kuwait has four tiers, not much different than our own. In the Primary Tier, children do five years of gender-segregated schooling from grades one through five. This schooling is much like elementary school educations in the U.S. The next tier is Middle school. In the middle schools, classes are of a fixed curriculum, and are co-educational. This is also the last required tier of education, and is a five-year program of grades six through ten. Secondary education is like high school, and encompasses grades 11 and 12. This is also voluntary. The basic curriculum of Middle education is further followed during these years. The last tier is Tertiary education. This tier encompasses vocational and university education. Major universities in Kuwait are Kuwait University (including a Medical School), the College of Basic Education, and the Institute for Theater and the Music Arts.
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| Kuwait University photo from Classbase.com. |
Detailed information on educational opportunities in Kuwait can be found on the Classbase website.
http://www.classbase.com/countries/Kuwait/Education-System
Land Use and Industry
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| Kuwait physical map from ezilon.com |
World Bank Indicators - kuwait - Land use
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural land (sq. km) in Kuwait | 1410.0 | 1480.0 | [+] | |
| Agricultural land (% of land area) in Kuwait | 7.9 | 8.3 | [+] | |
| Arable land (hectares) in Kuwait | 4000.0 | 10000.0 | [+] | |
| Arable land (hectares per person) in Kuwait | 0.0 | 0.0 | [+] | |
| Arable land (% of land area) in Kuwait | 0.2 | 0.6 | [+] | |
| Permanent cropland (% of land area) in Kuwait | 0.1 | 0.1 | [+] | |
| Forest area (sq. km) in Kuwait | 35.0 | 50.0 | 60.0 | [+] |
| Forest area (% of land area) in Kuwait | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | [+] |
| Average precipitation in depth (mm per year) in Kuwait | [+] | |||
| Land area (sq. km) in Kuwait | 17820.0 | 17820.0 | 17820.0 | [+] |
| Surface area (sq. km) in Kuwait | 17820.0 | 17820.0 | 17820.0 | [+] |
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/kuwait/land-area-sq-km-wb-data.html
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| Land Use Map from www.lib.utexas.edu |
As you can see from the maps and charts, the majority of the land is used for grazing and nomadic herding, with very little arable and agricultural land. As well, there is an incredibly small area of urban development outside of Kuwait City, and much of the population is concentrated in this urban area. With very little water, and the vast majority of the land used for nomadic herding, it seems that at face value there is very little that Kuwait has to offer.
Industry and Services
As Kuwait is poor in many resources, it is a country rich with oil. In 1998, Kuwait was responsible for three percent or the world's output in oil. Despite the Iraqi Army destroying approxiimately 60% of the wells in Kuwait in the early 1990s, Kuwait holds around 10% of the worlds oil reserves. Although rich in oil, the majority of industry comes from petrochemicals and fertilizer production; and the country is capable of producing approximately 1.65 million tons of fertilizer annually. Services are very minimal in Kuwait as most people either work for the government, or receive their income from Kuwait's generous system of welfare. This system of welfare allows much of Kuwait's labor force to come from immigrant workers. Banking and financial services are the only private sector commercial services, as Kuwait has a low tourism rate. Further information on industry and land use can be found at the Encyclopedia of the Nations webpage and the Trading Economics webpage.
Encyclopedia of the Nations:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/kuwait/land-area-sq-km-wb-data.html
Trading Economics:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/kuwait/land-area-sq-km-wb-data.html
Links from source material found at the end of each topic. View of the Kuwaiti people is sourced from personal experience.
