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Updates: 

I added the 2005 census figures and areas of governorates.

ISO 3166-2 has come out in a second edition, dated 2007-12-15. This contains the ISO code for Mubarak Al-Kabir, as shown below.

FIPS 10-4 Change Notice 12, dated 2007-06-11, has FIPS codes for the new and changed governorates. The table has been updated accordingly.

The Europa World Year Book 2001 reports that a sixth governorate was created in 1999-11. Its name is Great Mubarak. No further details are provided. Other sources give its name as Mubarak Al-Kabir, and show that it was formed from the southern part of Hawalli. It was probably named for Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, who ruled from 1896 to 1915.

I have acquired more recent census data for the governorates of Kuwait.

Country overview: 

Short name	KUWAIT
ISO code	KW
FIPS code	KU
Language	Arabic (ar)
Time zone	+3
Capital	Kuwait

 

Kuwait was under British protection from 1899 to 1961-06-19, when it became fully independent. It was invaded by Iraq on 1990-08-08, but the annexation was never internationally recognized, and it was liberated again on 1991-02-26.

Other names of country: 

1. Arabic: Dowlat al-Kuwait (formal)
2. Danish: Kuwait
3. Dutch: Koeweit, Staat Koeweit (formal)
4. English: State of Kuwait (formal)
5. Finnish: Kuwait
6. French: Koweït m
7. German: Kuwait m
8. Icelandic: Kúveit
9. Italian: Kuwait m
10. Norwegian: Kuwait, Staten Kuwait (formal)
11. Portuguese: Caueite, Cuvaite, Kuwait, Kuweit, Coveite (Brazil), Estado m do Kuwait m (formal)
12. Russian: Государство Кувейт (formal)
13. Spanish: Kuwait, Estado m de Kuwait (formal)
14. Swedish: Kuwait
15. Turkish: Kuveyt Devleti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Arabic al-Kuwait, a diminutive form of kut: fort

Primary subdivisions: 

Kuwait is divided into six muhafazat (sing. muhafazah: governorates).

Governorates	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)
Al Ahmadi	KW.AH	AH	KU04	390,927	5,120	1,977
Al Farwānīyah	KW.FA	FA	KU07	620,935	204	79
Al Jahrah	KW.JA	JA	KU05	269,915	12,750	4,923
Al Kuwayt	KW.KU	KU	KU02	254,503	175	68
Hawallī	KW.HW	HA	KU08	482,127	85	33
Mubarak Al-Kabir	KW.MU	MU	KU09	175,244	104	40
6 governorates				2,193,651	18,438	7,119
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 2005-04-20 census (source [1]). Capitals have the same names as governorates.

Postal codes: 

Kuwait uses five-digit postal codes.

Territorial extent: 

1. Al Jahrah includes Bubiyan and Warbah Islands.
2. Al Kuwayt includes Faylakah, Maskan, and Awhah Islands.

The UN LOCODE page  for Kuwait lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Change history: 

1. 1946: Al Ahmadi governorate created, according to a personal Web page. It was named for Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (ruled 1921-1950).
2. 1969-12-18: Kuwait took over administration of the northern half of the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone.
3. 1979: Al Jahrah governorate split from Al Kuwayt (former FIPS code KU01). These were the divisions of Kuwait at that time.

Governorate	FIPS	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)
Al Ahmadi	KU04	304,662	4,665	1,801
Al Jahrah	KU05	279,466	11,550	4,459
Al Kuwayt	KU02	167,750	983	380
Hawallī	KU03	943,250	620	239
4 governorates		1,695,128	17,818	6,879
FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Population: 1985 census (source [3]) Capitals have the same names as governorates.

1. 1988: Al Farwaniyah governorate split from Al Kuwayt.
2. 1999-11: Mubarak Al-Kabir governorate split from Hawalli (former HASC code KW.HA, FIPS KU03). FIPS also changed the code for Al Farwaniyah from KU06, suggesting that they believe that part of the territory for Mubarak Al-Kabir was taken from Al Farwaniyah.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Al Farwānīyah: Farwaniya (variant)
2. Hawallī: Hawali, Howali (variant)
3. Al Jahrah: Jahra (variant)
4. Al Kuwayt: Al Asimah, Capital, Kuwait (variant)

Sources: 

1. [1] General Population Census (Final Result) . Kuwait Central Statistical Bureau (retrieved 2013-04-20).
2. [2] Kuwait Annual Statistical Abstract. The Planning Board, Central Statistical Office. 1972.
3. [3] John Paxton, ed. The Statesman's Yearbook 1988-89. St. Martin's Press, New York 1988.