Demographics of Kuwait 16687 219407429 2008-06-15T02:13:11Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other 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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} The foreign population of Kuwait mainly consists of [[Egypt]]ians followed by [[India]]n, [[Bangladesh]]i, [[Pakistan]]i, [[Filipino people|Filipino]] and [[Sri Lanka]]n residents. Other foreigners consist of [[Europe]]an, [[North America]]n and [[Northeast Asia]]n communities - but these are negligible. As for Kuwait's local/citizen population, 60-65% are [[Arab]], 30-35% are [[Persian people|Persian]], and 5-10% are signified as "others". "Others" mostly includes [[Africans]] (Black), [[East Asian]], or [[European ethnic groups|European]].{{Fact|date=January 2008}} 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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} 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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} [[Racism]] is very rare in Kuwait's society.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} The society is well built such that racism tends to exist in lower forms. However, [[religious prejudism]] does exist well within the society. Kuwaitis are predominantly [[Muslim]], though there are a few [[Christian]]s or [[atheist]]s. 85% of Kuwait's population is Muslim (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), and 15% is another religion (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi).<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html CIA - The World Factbook - Kuwait<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Some other minor Muslim sects do exist in Kuwait's society, but in very small or rare numbers. There are small numbers of Kuwaiti [[Christianity|Christians]] and [[Judaism|Jews]].<ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51603.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2005 (US State Department)]</ref> 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. {{Fact|date=January 2008}} 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 language|Filipino]] or [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. Most Kuwaitis are also bilingual in that they speak more than one language. E.g. [[English language|English]], [[Persian language|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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} 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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} 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.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} '''Population:''' 2.868 million<ref>[http://www.kuwaittimes.net/business.asp?dismode=article&artid=1197920562 Kuwait population swells to 2.753 million in 04 - Public Authority for Civil Information (Kuwait)]</ref> <br>''note:'' includes 1.893 million non-nationals (1st half of 2005 est.) '''Age structure:''' <br>''0-14 years:'' 27.2% (male 323,382; female 311,700) <br>''15-64 years:'' 70.1% (male 1,045,589; female 591,243) <br>''65 years and over:'' 2.7% (male 40,439; female 23,295) (2005 est.) '''Population growth rate:''' 3.52% (2006 est.) <br>''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:''' <br>''at birth:'' 1.04 male(s)/female <br>''under 15 years:'' 1.04 male(s)/female <br>''15-64 years:'' 1.77 male(s)/female <br>''65 years and over:'' 1.74 male(s)/female <br>''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:''' <br>''total population:'' 77.03 years <br>''male:'' 76.01 years <br>''female:'' 78.1 years (2005 est.) '''Total fertility rate:''' 2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.) '''Nationality:''' <br>''noun:'' Kuwaiti(s) <br>''adjective:'' Kuwaiti '''Ethnic groups (by nationality):''' Kuwaiti 35%, other Arab nationals 22%, non-Arab national (mostly Asian) 39%, stateless ([[Bidoon]]) 4%<ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35876.htm Background Note: Kuwait (US State Department)]</ref> '''Religions:''' Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other 15%<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html CIA - The World Factbook - Kuwait<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> '''Languages:''' Arabic (official), English widely spoken, [[Balochi]], [[Hindi]]/[[Urdu]], [[Bangla]], and other languages are spoken by the large [[South Asia]]n expatriate population. '''Literacy:''' <br>''definition:'' age 15 and over can read and write <br>''total population:'' 83.5% <br>''male:'' 85.1% <br>''female:'' 81.7% (2003 est.) ===Historical demographics=== <small>'''April 22, 1975 and April 21, 1980 censuses'''</small><ref>Annuaire démographique des Nations-Unies 1983, Département des affaires économiques et sociales internationales, New York, 1985</ref> {| border="1" |- align="center" | Religion | Men 1975 (1980) | Women 1975 (1980) | Total 1975 (1980) |- align="center" | Christians | 22,711 (51,354) | 22,007 (35,728) | 44,718 (87,082) |- align="center" | Muslims | 517,808 (702,992) | 426,973 (539,716) | 944,781 (1,242,708) |- align="center" | Other | 3,249 (22,293) | 2,089 (5,869) | 5,338 (28,162) |- align="center" | Total | 543,768 (776,639) | 451,069 (581,313) | 994,837 (1,357,952) |- |} :''See also :'' [[Kuwait]] ===References=== <references/> * * {{Asia in topic|Demographics of}} {{Asia topic|Ethnic groups in}} [[Category:Demographics by country|Kuwait]] [[Category:Kuwaiti society]] [[fr:Démographie du Koweït]] [[lt:Kuveito demografija]]