This article is about the demographic features of the population of Kuwait. Kuwaiti citizens accounted for 40% of Kuwait’s total population in 2011, the rest is foreigners. The majority of Kuwait’s citizen population is Muslim; there are no official figures, but it is estimated that 60%–70% are Sunni and 30%–40% are Shias. Kuwait has a native Christian community; in 1999, there were 400 Christian Kuwaiti citizens. There is also a small number of Bahá’í Kuwaiti citizens. The country has a large community of expatriate Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Kuwait consists of six governorates: Hawalli, Asimah, Farwaniyah, Jahra, Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer. Most Kuwaitis live in Hawalli, Asimah and Farwaniyah governorates. The governorates of Jahra, Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer are outlying areas (manatiq kharijiyya). The government and people of Kuwait consider the high level of immigrants to be a problem. This led to the announcement in 2013 that Kuwait will reduce the number of expatriates by deporting 100,000 expats annually over the next 10 years. A recent proposal by a Kuwaiti lawmaker restricts all expats to only five years residence in Kuwait, all expats will be deported after living 5 years in Kuwait. Another Kuwaiti lawmaker recently called for the deportation of 1.4 million expats, the lawmaker believes 280,000 expats should be deported annually. Kuwait has placed heavy restrictions on expats seeking driving licenses and excluded others from receiving a license, including students and the unemployed.
