Demographics of Kuwait
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Approximately 96% of Kuwait's population is urban. The State of Kuwait's current population is estimated at roughly 3-3.5 million people; counting both locals and foreigners. Roughly 1 million (or nearly one third) of Kuwait's population is local, with 2-2.5 million residents registered as foreigners/non-locals. It is estimated that one in every 3-4 people in Kuwait are of Kuwaiti citizenship.[citation needed]
The foreign population of Kuwait mainly consists of Egyptians followed by Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Filipino and Sri Lankan residents. Other foreigners consist of European, North American and Northeast Asian communities - but these are negligible.
As for Kuwait's local/citizen population, 60-65% are Arab, 30-35% are Persian, and 5-10% are signified as "others". "Others" mostly includes Africans (Black), East Asian, or European.[citation needed]
Non-Arabs (Africans, Persians, East Asians, Europeans, other black or white populations) are generally socially-classed as "Ajam". "Ajam" is a term to describe a non-Arab. Most Ajam are of Persian ancestry, although the Persian population has been declining due to low birth rates, interracial marriages, and sudden influx of Arab populations into the country by naturalization. It is estimated that population percentage of Persians [and other Ajam] might decrease by 5-10% within the next decade.[citation needed]
Racially speaking, Kuwaitis are described usually as White or Tan/Black. (Beedh, Sumur, respectively)... However the government does not include this in its database. Civil IDs have no form of racial/ethnic identities.[citation needed]
Racism is very rare in Kuwait's society.[citation needed] The society is well built such that racism tends to exist in lower forms. However, religious prejudice does exist well within the society.
Kuwaitis are predominantly Muslim, though there are a few Christians or atheists. 85% of Kuwait's population is Muslim (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), and 15% is another religion (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi).[1] Some other minor Muslim sects do exist in Kuwait's society, but in very small or rare numbers. There are small numbers of Kuwaiti Christians and Jews.[2] The 79% literacy rate, one of the Arab world's highest, is due to extensive government support for the education system. Public school education, including Kuwait University, is free, but access is restricted for foreign residents. The government sends qualified students abroad for degrees not offered at Kuwait University. About 1,000 Kuwaitis are currently studying in U.S. universities.[citation needed]
Most foreigners are either Muslim, Hindus or Buddhists.
Kuwait's official language is Arabic, though only roughly half the country speaks the language primarily. Most foreigners speak Hindi, Urdu, Filipino or Bengali. Most Kuwaitis are also bilingual in that they speak more than one language. E.g. English, Persian, etc.
Kuwait has numerous cases of illegal immigration. It is thought that there are at least 10-15,000 illegal immigrants in the country.[citation needed] These immigrants were not deported back to their homelands after their contracts expired. Instead, they remained in Kuwait living off the expense of other immigrants. The population of illegals is increasing by 5,000 individuals each year. It is a hard task deporting or catching the citizens. The last solution would be to naturalize them, but in this case it would affect the demographics of Kuwait significantly. Most illegals are of Indian origin.[citation needed]
Other population difficulties encountered in Kuwait involves stateless people who claim residency for Kuwait. Critics argue that these people migrated from Iraq and Saudi Arabia after the economic boom of Kuwait. Since Kuwait's standard of living increased, many have flocked to the country. Most stateless people are Arabs, and count up to 100,000 people. Some are slowly naturalized through different legislative processes, which is ultimately increasing the Arab population of Kuwaiti people. Most obtain nationality by marrying Kuwaiti women. 30-35% of stateless men in adulthood (capable of marital status) have married Kuwait women, and this number is rising.
Some encourage the assimilation of stateless and illegal people.
Kuwaitis are most importantly categorized by class of citizenship. Every Kuwait person's passport includes a class category that ranges from First to Third class citizenships. The first class Kuwaitis were those who arrived to Kuwait before the 20th century (1900s), before the exploration of oil and during the time Kuwait was a poor country. Second class citizens arrived to Kuwait after the 20th century (1900) but before the economic boom of Kuwait during the 1960s. The 3rd class people are ones who entered Kuwait after 1960-1965... First class citizens are, however, the minority group of all 3 distinct groups. They only contribute to 5-15% of the total population, and is ever so declining. The second class citizens make up the second least populous group. The most populous group is 3rd class citizens.[citation needed]
Population: 2.868 million[3]
note: includes 1.893 million non-nationals (1st half of 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 323,382; female 311,700)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,045,589; female 591,243)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 40,439; female 23,295) (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.52% (2006 est.)
note: this rate reflects an immigrant growth rate of 8%
Birth rate: 21.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 14.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.74 male(s)/female
total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.03 years
male: 76.01 years
female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti
Ethnic groups (by nationality): Kuwaiti 35%, other Arab nationals 22%, non-Arab national (mostly Asian) 39%, stateless (Bidoon) 4%[4]
Religions: Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other 15%[5]
Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken, Balochi, Hindi/Urdu, Bangla, and other languages are spoken by the large South Asian expatriate population.
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5%
male: 85.1%
female: 81.7% (2003 est.)
[edit] Historical demographics
April 22, 1975 and April 21, 1980 censuses[6]
| Religion | Men 1975 (1980) | Women 1975 (1980) | Total 1975 (1980) |
| Christians | 22,711 (51,354) | 22,007 (35,728) | 44,718 (87,082) |
| Muslims | 517,808 (702,992) | 426,973 (539,716) | 944,781 (1,242,708) |
| Other | 3,249 (22,293) | 2,089 (5,869) | 5,338 (28,162) |
| Total | 543,768 (776,639) | 451,069 (581,313) | 994,837 (1,357,952) |
- See also : Kuwait
[edit] References
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Kuwait
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2005 (US State Department)
- ^ Kuwait population swells to 2.753 million in 04 - Public Authority for Civil Information (Kuwait)
- ^ Background Note: Kuwait (US State Department)
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Kuwait
- ^ Annuaire démographique des Nations-Unies 1983, Département des affaires économiques et sociales internationales, New York, 1985
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