Over 90% of the population lives within a
500-square kilometer area surrounding Kuwait City and its
harbor. Although the majority of people residing in the State of
Kuwait are of Arab origin, fewer than half are originally from
the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of oil in 1938 drew many
Arabs from nearby states. Following the liberation of Kuwait
from Iraqi occupation in 1991, the Kuwaiti Government undertook
a serious effort to reduce the expatriate population by
specifically limiting the entry of workers from nations whose
leaders had supported Iraq during the Gulf War. Kuwait later
abandoned this policy, and it currently has a sizable foreign
labor force (approximately 68% of the total population is
non-Kuwaiti).
Of the country's total population of 3.4 million, approximately
85% are Muslims, including nearly all of its 1.05 million
citizens. While the national census does not distinguish between
Sunni and Shi'a adherents, approximately 70-75% of citizens,
including the ruling family, belong to the Sunni branch of
Islam. The remaining Kuwaiti citizens, with the exception of
about 100-200 Christians and a few Baha'is, are Shi'a. The
expatriate Christian population is estimated to be more than
400,000 residents. There also are communities of Hindus,
Buddhists, and Sikhs.
Kuwait's 93.3% literacy rate, one of the Arab world's highest,
is the result of extensive government support for the education
system. Public school education, including Kuwait University, is
free, but access is restricted for foreign residents. The
government sponsors the foreign study of qualified students
abroad for degrees not offered at Kuwait University. In 2004,
approximately 1,720 Kuwaitis were enrolled in U.S. universities,
down 6.8% from the previous year. |
