1. Country Profile

Capital: Kuwait City
Population: 2,595,628 (July 2011 est.) 
Ethnic groups: Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%
Religions: Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shia 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%
 
Regime Type: Constitutional emirate
Head of state:  Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since January 2006);
Prime Minister: NASIR AL-MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since April 2007) 
Parliament (Last Election May 2009): Tribal MPs (all Sunni Muslims, and represented primarily by the Al-Mutairi, Al-Azmi, Al-Ajmi, and Al-Rasheedi tribes, 25), Shia Muslims (9), liberals (7), independents (6), Salafi (Sunni) Islamists (3) , formation of political parties is in practice illegal but is not forbidden by law
Freedom House Ranking: Partially FREE
 
 
GDP / Capita: $54,260
Literacy Rate: 93.2%.
Unemployment Rate: 2,3 %
Human Development Index (2010): 0.771 (47th)
 
 

Protests and Governmental Changes
2. Current Political Situation
 
 
-The number of Kuwaitis in the elections race for the parliament is now 344 .Candidates have until January 25 to pull out as around 400,000 Kuwaitis get ready to elect their 50 representatives in the parliament. Official figures indicate that 24 women are still in the race, down from 29 when the registration process ended on December 31. One woman was barred from running. The panel also barred 14 men from running either for legal rulings against them or reputation issues.
-The stateless people have staged several demonstrations to press for the Kuwaiti citizenship right. However, the interior ministry warned that it would adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards further protests
-Kuwait's Court of Appeals postponed the trial of an alleged pro-Iran espionage ring to March 5.The criminal court on March 29 sentenced two Iranians and a Kuwaiti national to death. A Syrian and a stateless Arab were given life in prison
-Kuwait's government stepped down on November 28 following intense parliament and street pressure. The resignation was accepted by the Emir on the same day. Shaikh Nasser stepped down and the Emir appointed Shaikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah, the outgoing defence minister, as the new premier. The new government will oversee the elections before it resigns and a new one is formed.
-Tension between Kuwait and Iran has escalated after officials traded accusations with Kuwait accusing Iran of interference in domestic affairs and Iran accusing Kuwait of carrying a US agenda in the region.
- a Kuwaiti court sentenced two Iranians to death for their alleged role in a spy ring working for Iran.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the charges by the Kuwait court and mocked the motivations. He decided to send three Kuwaiti diplomats home.
 
Unrests have also split in Kuwait, one of the richest oil producing countries and Member of the GCC. 
People took the streets to demonstrate for a change of the government and demanded more political freedoms. People were protesting against corruption and a new government, with a new prime minister, with a new approach. Protesters are seeking to break the exclusive grip on power by the ruling family, which holds all major government posts and controls the oil riches in the world's fourth-largest producer.
 
Many stateless Arabs have also demonstrated in Kuwait demanding citizenship, leading to dozens of them being arrested by police.  Stateless Arabs, estimated at more than 100,000, claim they have the right to Kuwaiti citizenship. Many of them have no right to a driver's licence, cannot get birth certificates for their babies or death certificates for the dead. They are also banned from getting their marriage contracts attested.
 
3. Key Issues
 
Kuwait, OPEC's fourth largest producer, prides itself on being the first Arab state in the Gulf to embrace parliamentary democracy and issue a constitution in 1962.
 
Its unique system has been criticised as a "half democracy" because of parliament's limited powers in approving or ousting the government. In addition, all unelected Cabinet ministers automatically become members of parliament and enjoy voting powers like elected MPs, which means the 50-member house is in fact only partially elected.
 
Roots of unrest:
- political reforms
- corruption
- education
- bedoons rights or stateless Arabs
 
4. EU / Kuwait  Relations
 
The EU established bilateral relations with the GCC countries through a Cooperation Agreement signed in 1988
 
The EU is Kuwait's second largest trading partner (15,0%/ all Trade, 2009; Japan: 15.2%). Kuwait exports almost exclusively mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials to the EU, while it imports mostly Machinery and transport equipment.
 
The negotiations between the GCC and EU about a free trade agreement, which have been going on for nearly 20 years, were suspended due to GCC´s objection to the EU's insistence that a clause on human rights and democracy be inserted in any future agreement

5. Like Minded Partners
 
A. Sister-Party
Kuwait does not allow political parties and its parliament is made up of individuals who form loose blocs.
B. Civil Society
C. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Updated: 18.1.12