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Kuwait: Governments
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Kuwait achieved independence from the British under Sheikh Ahmed's successor, Sheikh Abdullah al-Salim Al Sabah. By early 1961, the British had already withdrawn their special court system, which handled the cases of foreigners resident in Kuwait, and the Kuwaiti Government began to exercise legal jurisdiction under new laws drawn up by an Egyptian jurist. On June 19, 1961, Kuwait became fully independent following an exchange of notes with the United Kingdom.
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As of 2007, Kuwait's current population is estimated to be roughly 3 to 3.5 million people which included approximately 2 million non-nationals.[55] Kuwaiti citizens are therefore a minority of those who reside in Kuwait. The government only rarely grants citizenship to non-citizens (who are generally referred to as expatriates).
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![[Country map of Kuwait]](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/k/u/w/kuwait/i/034.jpg)
Economy - overview: Kuwait is a small, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues, and 75% of government income. Kuwait lacks water and has practically no arable land... preventing development of agriculture. With the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Higher oil prices reduced the budget deficit from $5.5 billion to $3 billion in 1999, and prices are expected to remain relatively strong throughout 2000.
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UNDP has been working in Kuwait for more than 30 years cooperating with the Government and civil society to realize the country's aspirations for achieving sustainable human development. In view of Kuwait's financial affluence that guarantees one of the highest standards of living for its citizens, UNDP designs its programmes of cooperation to respond to this unique situation where wealth is not matched by a parallel level of human development. UNDP partners with all Kuwaiti stakeholders to build national capacity to develop a more efficient public sector, support women empowerment, environmental sustainability and private sector development.
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There are approximately 120,000 Bidun resident in Kuwait. 27 An estimated 240,000 are living outside the country, many of whom wish to return to Kuwait but have not been permitted to do so by the government.28 The term Bidun is short for the Arabic phrase meaning "without nationality" (bidun jinsiya), 29 and in Kuwait refers to longtime residents of Kuwait who, under the terms of Nationality Law 15/1959, should be eligible for Kuwaiti nationality by naturalization but who have not been granted it. This group includes:
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