Kuwait Education

Kuwait, independent state on the northwestern coast of the Persian Gulf. It is bounded on the north and northwest by Iraq, on the east by the Persian Gulf, and on the south by Saudi Arabia. The country's total area, including the islands of Bubiyan, Warbah, and Faylakah, is 17,818 sq km (6880 sq mi). From August 1990 to February 1991, Iraq, in defiance of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, annexed and occupied Kuwait as Iraq's 19th province.

Land and Resources
Virtually the entire country, except for some small coastal areas, is barren desert, with a flat to rolling terrain. Soils are practically nonexistent. The average annual temperature is 25° C (77° F), and the average annual rainfall is 127 mm (5 in) or less, most of which falls in the cooler season, between October and March. During the dry season temperatures frequently exceed 46.1° C (115° F). The country obtains its water supply from the desalination of seawater. Petroleum and natural gas are Kuwait's only natural resources.

Population
The native people are Arabs. Many minority groups are present, however, including Arabs from other countries, Indians, Pakistanis, and Iranians. The population (1993) was 1,698,077. The overall density was about 95 persons per sq km (246 per sq mi). The city of Kuwait (population, 1985, 44,335) is the seat of government and chief port. Islam is the predominant religion, the large majority being Sunni Muslims. The official language is Arabic, but English is widely spoken.
Education is free and is divided into preprimary, primary, intermediate, and secondary levels. School enrollment annually totaled about 424,500 students in some 660 schools in the mid-1980s. Kuwait University, chartered in 1962 and opened in 1966, has an annual enrollment of about 17,000 students. More than 2000 Kuwaitis study abroad annually.

Economy
Kuwait is one of the world's richest countries in terms of yearly gross national product per capita ($13,400 in the late 1980s). Much of this wealth, however, is concentrated in the hands of the ruling Sabah family. The country is almost entirely dependent on petroleum production for its domestic development and foreign exchange.
Crude-oil production was about 445.1 million barrels annually in the late 1980s, of which about 52 percent was exported. Major customers include Japan, Italy, Singapore, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Pakistan, and the United States. As petroleum revenues increased during the 1970s, imports also jumped, and the government undertook major building and industrial development plans. Manufactures include cement and other building materials, petrochemicals, plastic products, and boats.
The official currency unit is the Kuwaiti dinar, composed of 1000 fils (0.2930 dinar equals U.S.$1; 1990). After occupying the country, Iraq abolished the Kuwaiti dinar and made the Iraqi dinar the sole legal currency in Kuwait.

Transportation and Communications
Kuwait has no railroads, but a highway system is being developed; the road network totals about 3870 km (about 2405 mi). An international airport is located near Kuwait city. Telephone and telegraph systems are maintained by the state; about 310,000 telephones, 1,100,000 radios, and 800,000 television sets are in use.

Government
Under a 1962 constitution, Kuwait's government is headed by a hereditary emir (prince), whose power is exercised through a prime minister and council of ministers appointed by the emir. Legislative power is vested in an assembly, made up of 50 persons elected to four-year terms by literate native-born adult males; the emir frequently used his power under the constitution to dissolve the assembly and rule by decree. During the Iraqi occupation (August 1990-February 1991), the emirate was abolished, and a government in exile was established in neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Kuwaiti government returned in March 1991.

History
The emirate developed around the city of Kuwait, which was settled early in the 18th century. Kuwait was nominally under Ottoman Turkish rule until 1899, when the reigning emir asked for, and obtained, British protection. In 1914 Great Britain reaffirmed its protective role and formally recognized the independence of the state. Subsequently, Wahhabis from the Saudi Arabian province of Najd attacked Kuwait. The British aided the emirate, and peace was restored in 1921 by a treaty establishing the Kuwait-Najd boundary; a neutral zone was created in 1922. Petroleum was discovered in Kuwait in 1938. Operating under a concession, the Kuwait Oil Company, owned jointly by the Gulf Oil Corporation of the U.S. and the British Petroleum Company, began full-scale exploitation of the reserves in 1946. Under the provisions of a 1951 agreement, the emir shared equally in the company's profits.
British protection of Kuwait ended on June 19, 1961. The state is now a member of the Arab League and joined the United Nations in 1963. The first constitution of the country was proclaimed in January 1963, and the first national assembly was elected on January 23. Three years later, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on their common border, eliminating the neutral zone. The accord also provided for the sharing of that area's oil resources.
Kuwait has long been a supporter of the Arab confrontation of Israel, particularly after the war of 1967, and has granted the so-called front-line nations large sums to defray the costs of their continuing struggle. This was made easier once the series of oil-price increases that were initiated in 1973 began to create higher revenues. In 1975, moreover, the government gained control of the remaining 40 percent share of the Kuwait Oil Company that British Petroleum and Gulf Oil had still owned, thus fully nationalizing the industry. During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Kuwait aided Iraq; in 1987 the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) each sent naval escorts to protect Kuwaiti shipping from Iranian attack.
After the Iran-Iraq war ended, Iraq revived a long-standing territorial dispute with Kuwait and claimed that overproduction of petroleum by Kuwait was injuring Iraq's economy. Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, and rapidly took over the country; they reportedly committed many human rights abuses. The invasion was condemned by the UN Security Council and the Arab League, which continued to support the exiled emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, as Kuwait's legitimate ruler.
During the Persian Gulf War, a U.S.-led coalition succeeded in liberating Kuwait by late February 1991. Problems facing Kuwait in the postwar period were inadequate supplies of food, fresh water, and electricity; hundreds of oil-well fires set by the retreating Iraqis; environmental damage from burning wells and deliberately spilled oil; demands by resistance leaders who had remained in Kuwait for a greater share of political power; and enmity between Kuwaitis and Palestinian residents, some of whom were accused of collaborating with Iraqi occupation forces. By early 1992, the fires had been put out, most Palestinians had fled the country, and Kuwait had paid $16.5 billion to the United States as its share of allied war expenses. Groups opposed to the emir but divided on other political, economic, and religious issues won a parliamentary majority in elections of October 1992. In 1993, during a visit by former U.S. President George Bush, Kuwaiti officials arrested 14 Iraqis and Kuwaitis accused of plotting to assassinate the former president. In June 1994 13 of the men were found guilty and 1 was acquitted. Six of the 13 were sentenced to death and the remainder were sentenced to prison terms.