Kuwait
Kuwait,[a] officially the State of Kuwait,[b] is a country in West Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south.[12] Kuwait also shares maritime borders with Iran. Kuwait has a coastal length of approximately 500 km (311 mi).[13] Most of the country's population reside in the urban agglomeration of the capital and largest city Kuwait City.[14] As of 2023, Kuwait has a population of 4.82 million people of which 1.53 million are Kuwaiti citizens while the remaining 3.29 million are foreign nationals from over 100 countries.[15]
For other uses, see Kuwait (disambiguation).
State of Kuwait
- 76.7% Islam (official)
- 17.3% Christianity
- 6.0% Others
Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional elective monarchy[5][6]
Vacant
23 January 1899
29 July 1913
19 June 1961
14 May 1963
11 November 1962
28 August 1990
28 February 1991
17,818 km2 (6,880 sq mi) (152nd)
negligible
200.2/km2 (518.5/sq mi) (62nd)
2023 estimate
2023 estimate
Historically, most of present-day Kuwait was part of ancient Mesopotamia.[16][17][18] Before the discovery of oil, Kuwait was a regional trade port. Oil reserves were discovered in commercial quantities in 1938. In 1946, crude oil was exported for the first time.[19][20] From 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization, largely based on income from oil production. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability and an economic crisis following the stock market crash. In 1990, after oil production disputes with neighbouring Iraq, Kuwait was invaded, and later annexed into one of Iraq's governorates by Iraq under Saddam Hussein.[21] The Iraqi occupation of Kuwait came to an end on February 26, 1991, after military intervention by a military coalition led by the United States and various other countries.
Like some of the other Arab states in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait is an emirate. The emir is the head of state and the Al Sabah is the ruling family which dominates the country's political system. Kuwait's official state religion is Islam, specifically the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. Kuwait is a developing country with a high-income economy, backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves. Kuwaiti popular culture, in the form of theatre, radio, music, and television soap opera, is exported to neighboring GCC states.[22] Kuwait is a founding member of the GCC and is also a member of the UN, AL, OPEC and the OIC.
Etymology
The country's name is from the Mesopotamian Arabic diminutive form of كوت (Kut or Kout), meaning "fortress built near water". Since 1961, the official name of the state is the "State of Kuwait".
