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officially State of Kuwait
Country, northeastern Arabian Peninsula.
Area: 6,880 sq mi (17,818 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 2,253,000. Capital: Kuwait City. Its population is overwhelmingly Arab. Languages: Arabic (official), Persian, English. Religion: Islam (official). Currency: dinar. Except for Al-Jahrāʾ Oasis, at the western end of Kuwait Bay, and a few fertile patches in the southeastern and coastal areas, it is largely desert; annual precipitation totals 1–7 in (25–180 mm). Kuwait has almost no arable land, but there is a small amount of pastureland for livestock (sheep and goats). Its extensive petroleum and natural gas deposits are the basis of its economy. Its estimated reserves of petroleum represent roughly one-tenth of global reserves, ranking Kuwait third, behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. It is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative body; the head of state and government is the emir, assisted by the prime minister. Traces of civilization on Faylakā Island, in Kuwait Bay, date to the 3rd millennium BC. These flourished until с 1200 BC, when they disappeared from the historical record. Greek colonists again settled the island in the 4th century BC. The nomadic ʽAnizah tribe of central Arabia founded Kuwait city in 1710, and ʽAbd al-Raḥīm of the Arab League recognized its independence, and Iraq dropped its claim. Iraq reasserted these claims in the aftermath of the Iraq-Iraq War and invaded and occupied Kuwait in 1990. A U.S.-led military coalition drove the Iraqi army out of Kuwait the next year (see Persian Gulf War ). Iraq's deliberate destruction of nearly half of Kuwait's oil wells complicated reconstruction efforts.
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or Kuwait City
City (pop., 1995: 28,859), capital of Kuwait.
Located at the head of the Persian Gulf , it was founded in the 18th century and was a trading city relying on sea and caravan traffic. Until 1957 it was enclosed by a mud wall separating it from the desert and was only 5 sq mi (13 sq km) in area. The development of the country's oil industry after World War II (1939–45) transformed the city into a modern metropolis. Almost all of the country's population is concentrated near the capital. The city, damaged during the Iraqi occupation and the {{link=Persian Gulf War, First">Persian Gulf War (1990–91), soon recovered.