Demographics of Kuwait

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About 96% of Kuwait's population is urban. The majority of people residing in the State of Kuwait are Arab, but only a third (about one million) are Kuwaiti citizens. Large expatriate populations include Egyptians, Indians (400,000)^[1] , Bangladeshis (170,000)^[2], Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, and Filipinos (65,000). There is also a population of approximately 100,000 stateless Arabs, (known locally as Bidoon, an Arabic word meaning without. Before the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990, there was a large population of Palestinian expatriates, many holding Jordanian nationality, though after the liberation of Kuwait they, along with most nationals of countries who had supported Iraq were deported. In the fifteen years since, the Kuwait national population and expatriate population have increased significantly.

Seventy percent of native Kuwaitis are Sunni Muslims, and 30% are Shi'a Muslims. There are small numbers of Kuwaiti Christians and Jews^[3]. 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.

Population: 2.868 million ^[4]
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: 8.1% (2004 est.)
note: this rate reflects an immigrant growth rate of 11%

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% ^[5]

Religions: Muslim 75% (Sunni 81%, Shi'a 19%), Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and other 25%

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)