ary 2002)

Current account balance:
$8.652 billion (2003)

Exports:
$22.29 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
oil and refined products, fertilizers

Exports - partners:
Japan 21.3%, South Korea 14.9%, US 11.5%, Singapore 9.8%, Taiwan
9.3% (2003)

Imports:
$9.606 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing

Imports - partners:
US 14.7%, Japan 10.3%, Germany 9.6%, China 6.6%, UK 6.1%, Saudi
Arabia 5.5%, Italy 5%, France 4.2% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$7.685 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$12.18 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
NA (2001)

Currency:
Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)

Currency code:
KWD

Exchange rates:
Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067
(2001), 0.3068 (2000), 0.3044 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Kuwait

Telephones - main lines in use:
486,900 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.42 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new
subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay,
coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular
telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well
supplied with pay telephones
international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio
relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the
Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat
(1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and
2 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
1.175 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)

Televisions:
875,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.kw

Internet hosts:
3,437 (2001)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
567,000 (2003)

Transportation Kuwait

Highways:
total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km
unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.)

Pipelines:
gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al
Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud

Merchant marine:
total: 38 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,319,082 GRT/3,768,828