Global InformationKuwait information
State of Kuwait دَوْلَةُ ٱلْكُوَيْت (Arabic) Dawlat al-Kuwayt | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Emblem
| |
| Anthem: ٱلنَّشِيد ٱلْوَطَنِيّ Al-Nashīd al-Waṭanī "National Anthem" | |
 Location of Kuwait (green) | |
| Capital and largest city | Kuwait City |
| Official languages | Arabic[1] |
| Other languages | English (lingua franca) • Tagalog • Pidgin Arabic (lingua franca) • Hindi • Persian • Bengali • Urdu • French • Malayalam • Pashto • Turkish • Armenian • Kurdish • Other minority languages spoken[2][3] |
| Ethnic groups (2018)[4] |
|
| Religion (2013)[4] |
|
| Demonym(s) | Kuwaiti |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional elective monarchy[5][6] |
• Emir | Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
• Crown Prince | Vacant |
• Prime Minister | Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah |
• Speaker of the National Assembly | Ahmed Al-Sadoun |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Establishment | |
• Anglo-Kuwaiti Agreement | 23 January 1899 |
• Anglo-Ottoman Convention | 29 July 1913 |
• End of treaties with the United Kingdom | 19 June 1961 |
• Admitted to the United Nations | 14 May 1963 |
• Current Constitution | 11 November 1962 |
• Kuwait Governorate | 28 August 1990 |
• Restoration of Current Constitution | 28 February 1991 |
| Area | |
• Total | 17,818 km2 (6,880 sq mi) (152nd) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 4,294,621[7] (137th) |
• Density | 200.2/km2 (518.5/sq mi) (62nd) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $256.593 billion[8] (65th) |
• Per capita | $51,764[8] (30th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $159.687 billion[8] (59th) |
• Per capita | $32,215[8] (26th) |
| HDI (2022) | 0.847[9] very high (49th) |
| Currency | Kuwaiti dinar |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
| ISO 3166 code | KW |
| Internet TLD | .kw |
Website www.e.gov.kw | |
| |
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[update], 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]
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.
- ^ "Kuwait's Constitution of 1962, Reinstated in 1992" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ "Which languages are commonly spoken in Kuwait? - TravelAsker". 19 June 2023.
- ^ "What Languages Are Spoken in Kuwait?". 28 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Middle East ::KUWAIT". CIA The World Factbook. 26 May 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
locwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Article 4 of Kuwait's Constitution of 1962, Reinstated in 1992" (PDF). Constitution Net. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Kuwait". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Kuwait)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. p. 288. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Kuwait – definition of Kuwait in English". Lexico. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ "Definition of Kuwait by Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ "Kuwait". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Coastline - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov.
- ^ "The World's Cities in 2018. Data Booklet" (PDF). United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ Jabr, Ahmad (22 February 2024). "Expats still make up two thirds of population as some communities grow". Kuwait Times. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Sissakian, Varoujan K.; Adamo, Nasrat; Al-Ansari, Nadhir; Mukhalad, Talal; Laue, Jan (January 2020). "Sea Level Changes in the Mesopotamian Plain and Limits of the Arabian Gulf: A Critical Review". Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. 10 (4): 88–110.
- ^ Louise Pryke (23 April 2018). "In ancient Mesopotamia, sex among the gods shook heaven and earth". The Conversation.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Mesowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Woertz, Eckart; Ajl, Max (2018). "Wise cities" in the Mediterranean? : challenges of urban sustainability. Barcelona: Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. ISBN 978-84-92511-57-0. OCLC 1117436298.
- ^ "Contributors". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 35 (2): 382–384. 2015. doi:10.1215/1089201x-3139815. ISSN 1089-201X.
- ^ "OPEC pressures Kuwait to moderate quota demand", New Straits Times, 7 June 1989
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
clivwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).