Population by nationality group, country of birth (in Kuwait/ outside Kuwait) and sex (2012)

Place of birth   In Kuwait     Outside Kuwait     TOTAL  
Nationality group males females total males females total males females total
Kuwaitis 574.871 577.686 1.152.557 20.494 39.385 59.879 595.365 617.071 1.212.436
Arabs 196.786 177.498 374.284 494.095 196.228 690.323 690.881 373.726 1.064.607
Asians 47.985 42.660 90.645 937.236 412.630 1.349.866 985.221 455.290 1.440.511
Africans 493 534 1.027 6.294 60.042 66.336 6.787 60.576 67.363
Europeans 1.188 979 2.167 6.019 5.348 11.367 7.207 6.327 13.534
North Americans 2.535 2.184 4.719 11.136 6.353 17.489 13.671 8.537 22.208
South Americans 350 241 591 477 380 857 827 621 1.448
Australians- Oceanians 328 264 592 546 483 1.029 874 747 1.621
Total non-Kuwaitis 249.665 224.360 474.025 1.455.803 681.464 2.137.267 1.705.468 905.824 2.611.292
Grand total 824.536 802.046 1.626.582 1.476.297 720.849 2.197.146 2.300.833 1.522.895 3.823.728

Source: PACI

 

 

ANNEXED NOTE

 

1. Characteristics of data and definitions

 

The source of data used here is the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), an independant government body in charge of :

1- centralising all population and labour force data in order to manage a fully computerised population register

2- issuing mandatory civil identification cards to every resident of the country, regardless of age and nationality.

 

The other source of demographic and socioeconomic data on Kuwait is the Central Statistical Office (CSO), operating within the Planning Ministry. The CSO has conducted ten population and housing censuses since its inception in 1957.

Since 1995 a marked discrepancy was witnessed between PACI’ and CSO’ population figures. PACI’ database is connected electronically with other administrations and bodies registering demographic events and professional/ residency issues (births and death; departures and arrivals; end of service, residency and ID deliveries, etc.).

PACI’s records of residents’ movements is thus regularly updated, which limits the risk of population overcount. Therefore, it is more likely that residents were undercounted during CSO- Ministry of Planning’s census operations (see: Shah, N. Population of Kuwait. Structure and Dynamics, Kuwait: Kuwait University Academic Publication Council, 2010, chapter 1).

 

(a) Kuwaiti: the Kuwaiti nationality rests upon a document of Kuwaiti nationality or a certificate proving Kuwaiti nationality issued by the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait.

 

(b) Non-Kuwaiti: his/ her nationality is determined by the name of the State which issued the passport. The foreign national also entered Kuwait legally and has a stamp of residence.

This category includes the Bidoon, a category of stateless persons living in the Emirate. Kuwait’s Bidoon population originates from three broad categories:

1) those whose ancestors failed to apply for nationality or lacked necessary documentation at the time of Kuwait’s independence in 1961;

2) those recruited to work in Kuwait’s army or police force during the 1960s who permanently settled in Kuwait, along with their families;

3) children of Kuwaiti mothers and stateless or foreign fathers (see Human Rights Watch. Prisoners of the Past. Kuwaiti Bidun and the Burden of Statelessness, June 2011, p. 3).

 

(c) Nationality group: collected according to the nationality of the head of the household.

Nationalities are grouped according to specific features common to certain population subgroups: language, geographic origin, etc. or according to internationally recognized categories such as: (Arab / non-Arab Asian countries / non-Arab African countries; European countries … etc.).

 

2. Institution which provides data

 

The Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI)

 

3. Period of data coverage: December 2012

 

The database is updated three times a year and the website presents only the most recent data.

 

4. Data availability

 

The statistics section of PACI’s website (http://www.paci.gov.kw/en/ (English); http://www.paci.gov.kw/ (Arabic)) provides population and socio-economic data broken down by nationality (Kuwaiti/ non-Kuwaiti). Some data are displayed by nationality groups.

Analytical tables and data crosstabulations are available for download in PDF, html, .png and Excel (.csv) formats.

 

Date of access: June 2013.