Portal:Kuwait

The Kuwait Portal

Kuwait, (Arabic: الكويت) officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. With a coastline of approximately 500 km (311 mi), Kuwait also shares a maritime border with Iran, across the Persian Gulf. Most of the country's population reside in the urban agglomeration of Kuwait City, the capital and largest city. As of 2024^[update], Kuwait has a population of 4.82 million, of which 1.53 million are Kuwaiti citizens while the remaining 3.29 million are foreign nationals from over 100 countries. Kuwait has the third largest foreign-born population in the world.

The territory of modern-day Kuwait has been occupied by humans since antiquity, particularly due to its strategic location at the head of the Persian Gulf. A first Kuwaiti state known as the Bani Khalid Emirate existed under the Bani Khalid clan; then the region gained independence as the Sheikdom of Kuwait which would rule for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, until it became a British protectorate. The agreements with the United Kingdom ended in June 1961 when Kuwait became an independent state. Prior to the discovery of oil reserves in 1938, the region was a regional trade port; 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, Kuwait was invaded and subsequently annexed by Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein following disputes over oil production. The Iraqi occupation of Kuwait ended on 26 February 1991, after an American-led international coalition expelled Iraqi forces from the country during the Gulf War.

Like most other Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Kuwait is an emirate; the emir is the head of state and the ruling Al Sabah family dominates the country's political system. Kuwait's official state religion is Islam, specifically the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. (Full article...)

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Kuwait is an emirate. The Emir of Kuwait, a hereditary monarch from the Al Sabah ruling family appoints the prime minister (who is always a royal) and other members of government, as well as members of judicial, police and financial institutions. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

...that the fourteen nations designated Major non-NATO ally are the only countries outside of NATO to whom the United States government will consider selling depleted uranium anti-tank rounds?

...that more than one million Koreans moved to Arab countries and Iran between 1975 and 1985?

...that in Kuwait, the freedom of the press is restricted mostly by self-censorship rather than active government action?

... that incidents of violent crime against foreign citizens are rare in Kuwait?

... that after events of the Gulf War in February 1991, the highway which connects Kuwait City to Al Jahra became known as the Highway of Death?

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Religions in Kuwait

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Image 1A date vendor in the old souq in Kuwait City
Image 2Satellite image of Kuwait, November 2001
Image 3The Kuwait Towers
Image 4Ash Shu'aybah port in Kuwait
Image 5Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre (also known as, Kuwait Opera House)
Image 6Ancient coins found Failaka Island of Kuwait
Image 7The Kuwait City skyline, 2008
Image 8A view of Salmiya