ystem with Islamic law significant in
personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

_#_National holiday: National Day, 25 February

_#_Executive branch: amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) dissolved
3 July 1986

_#_Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Amir Shaykh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-SABAH
(since 31 December 1977);

Head of Government--Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sad
al-Abdallah al-Salim al-SABAH (since 8 February 1978); Deputy
Prime Minister Salim al-Sabah al-Salim al-SABAH

_#_Political parties and leaders: none

_#_Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their
male descendants at age 21; note--out of all citizens, only 8.3% are
eligible to vote and only 3.5% actually vote

_#_Elections:

National Assembly--dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections are
scheduled for October 1992

_#_Communists: insignificant

_#_Other political or pressure groups: large (150,000) Palestinian
community; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist
groups are active; prodemocracy opposition

_#_Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO,
G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Shaykh Saud Nasir al-SABAH;
Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 966-0702;

US--Ambassador Edward (Skip) GNEHM; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar
(opposite the Hilton Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P. O. Box 77
Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait City); telephone [965] 242-4151 through 4159

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and
red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Up to the invasion by Iraq in August 1990, the oil
sector had dominated the economy. Kuwait has the third-largest
oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Earnings from
hydrocarbons generated over 90% of both export and government revenues
and contributed about 40% to GDP. Most of the nonoil sector has
traditionally been dependent upon oil-derived government revenues.
Iraq's destruction of Kuwait's oil industry during the Gulf