Independent since 1961, Kuwait borders with the Persian Gulf to the east, Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. Its population is about 3 million and the official language is Arabic.
Kuwait has been able to achieve excellent levels of economic development thanks to the exploitation of its oil fields. Following the 1991 Iraqi invasion led by Saddam Hussein, the country began to invest huge resources in the diversification of its economy, becoming a significant player in the financial sector. Kuwait has historically been a regional hub for the financial services industry and plays a key political and diplomatic role in the region.
Kuwait and Italy enjoy excellent commercial and economic relations, strengthened over time thanks to the improvement of bilateral ties in numerous sectors. Good mutual relations have also been confirmed by the stipulation of a series of cooperation agreements in various fields, including culture, science, tourism and the environment. Kuwait offers Italian companies many investment opportunities, and acts as a solid partner for Western countries, including Italy, in the security and defence sector. A clear demonstration of this can be found in the recent acquisition by Kuwait of 28 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters. The aircrafts, which represent the state of the art of European military technology, are currently being assembled in Italy and will be delivered to Kuwait between 2021 and 2023.
Head of state | Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
Head of Government | Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
Institutional Form | Constitutional Monarchy |
Capital | Kuwait City |
Legislative Power | Unicameral National Assembly (50 elected members up to 15 appointed members) |
Judicial Power | Court of First Instance, Court of Appeal, Court of Cassation (organised in several circuits, each with 5 judges), Constitutional Court (5 judges) |
Ambassador to Italy | Nasser Sinhat Al-Qahtani |
Total Area kmq | 17.818 km2 |
Land | 17.818 km2 |
Weather | Dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
Natural resources | Oil, natural gas, fish, shrimps |
Economic summary | Geographically small, but rich and relatively open economy with crude oil reserves of around 102 billion barrels - over 6% of world reserves |
GDP | $106 billion (Dec. 2021) |
Pro-capite GDP (Purchasing power parity) | $24429 (Dec. 2021) |
Exports | $41.6 billion (2020); |
Export partner | China 23.5%, India 14.2%, South Korea 12.4%, Japan 9.67%, Vietnam 6.82%, Chinese Taipei 5.39%, Egypt 4.19% (2020) |
Imports | $27.6 billion (2020) |
Import partner | China 15.4%, UAE 11.5%, United States 8.16%, Saudi Arabia 6.32%, Japan 5.36%, Germany 4.34%, Italy 3.6% (2020) |
Trade With Italy | $ 1,16 billion (2021) |
Population | 3.068.155 (2022) |
Population Growth | +1,17% (2022) |
Ethnicities | Kuwaitis 30.4%, other Arabs 27.4%, Asians 40.3%, Africans 1%, others 0.9% |
Languages | Arabic |
Religions | Islam (official) 74.6%, Christianity 18.2%, others 7.2% |
Urbanization | 100% (2022) |
Literacy | 96,5% |