Kuwait's official language is Arabic, although English is frequently used commercially and is widely understood. Street and many shop signs are written in both English and Arabic. Hindi, Urdu and other Indian dialects are widely used among the large South-East Asian expat population. There are two major English language daily newspapers - Arab Times and Kuwait Times, but they are outsold by the six main Arabic daily newspapers.

Population

The total population of Kuwait reached 3.5 million as of December 2007. The balance of the population in Kuwait has changed. It is the Government's declared aim that the balance between Kuwaitis and expatriates should be maintained at a level that ensures that Kuwaitis should never form a minority in their own country.

Native Kuwaitis, who were only about one-quarter of Kuwait's residents before the Iraqi invasion, now make up slightly half of the country's total population. Until the Iraqi invasion of 1990, Palestinians, some of them third-generation residents of Kuwait, were the largest single expatriate group, numbering perhaps 400,000. By mid-1991 their number had fallen to 50,000. They have largely been replaced by Egyptians and nationals of other countries that supported Kuwait during the occupation. These non-nationals do not enjoy citizenship rights, which are reserved for "native" Kuwaitis - i.e., those who can prove Kuwaiti ancestry from before 1920. Naturalization is strictly limited. Historically, Kuwait had several important class divisions. After the discovery of oil, most of these vanished as the state became the primary employer. The one class that remains politically important is the old merchant oligarchy.

A large proportion of the Kuwaiti population is young, about 60% being under 21 years old. Large Kuwaiti families are actively encouraged. The bulk of the population lives in Deera (City). The other two major towns are Ahmadi and Jahra, which are 40 kilometers and 30 kilometers respectively from the centre of the Kuwait City. The City of Kuwait still retains its five original districts, namely, Sharq, Dasman, Mirqab, Salhiya and Qibla although it has spread beyond the old surrounding wall.

A comparative study by the Ministry of Planning indicated that the non Arab population was at par the Arab population in June 1993. At that time Kuwait's population was just 1.484 million, with Kuwaitis accounting for 43% (642,000) and the balance were non-Kuwaitis (842,000). Since then the population has increased to 3.5 million and in December 2006, the figures were - Kuwaitis (997,900) and the non-Kuwaitis (2,503,100). Among the Kuwaitis, the females (507,800) outnumbered the males (490,100).

The foreign population of Kuwait rose 11.2 per cent in 2005 to reach nearly 2 million mark for the first time in 15 years, according to official figures released by the planning ministry. The report said that Kuwait’s population at the end of last year reached 3.52 million, 37.1 per cent of whom are Kuwaitis, 36.2 per cent Asians and 22.2 per cent Arabs.

According to official statistics, foreigners employed in the private sector reached 775,000 about 52 per cent of whom come from the Indian sub-continent. Indians with more than 200,900 workers form the largest community.

The remaining nationalities include 64,400 from Pakistan, 42,300 from Syria and 42,000 from Iran, in addition to 20,200 from the Philippines, 15,800 Lebanese, 11,000 Sri lankans and 10,500 Jordanians. The figure does not include foreigners working in the public sector, estimated at 100,000 and some 300,000 domestic workers mostly from India, Sri lanka and the Philippines.

It does not also include hundreds of thousands of family members accompanying their sponsors in the country. Over two-thirds of expatriates, or one million, were male, more than total population of Kuwaiti citizens, the report added Britons, other Europeans, and north Americans make up less than 20,000 of the population

Expatriates continue to dominate the private sector. Women constituted just over 30% of the total Kuwaiti workforce, while female expatriate employees form 20% of the total foreign workforce in the country. The statistics states that there are about 95,000 Kuwaiti families, forming 44% of the total number of families in Kuwait. The average size of a Kuwaiti family is 8.2 members.