Kuwait

For other uses, see Kuwait (disambiguation).

State of Kuwait
دَوْلَةُ ٱلْكُوَيْت (Arabic)
Dawlat al-Kuwayt
Anthem: ٱلنَّشِيد ٱلْوَطَنِيّ
Al-Nashīd al-Waṭanī
"National Anthem"
Location of Kuwait (green)
Location of Kuwait (green)
Capital
and largest city
Kuwait City
Official languagesArabic[1]
Other languagesEnglish (lingua franca) • Tagalog • Gulf 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
GovernmentUnitary semi-constitutional monarchy[5][6]
• Emir
Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah
Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah
LegislatureThe National Assembly[7] Emergency clauses invoked; suspended for the next four years[8]
Establishment
23 January 1899
29 July 1913
• End of treaties with the United Kingdom
19 June 1961
14 May 1963
11 November 1962
28 August 1990
28 February 1991
Area
• Total
17,818 km2 (6,880 sq mi) (152nd)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• 2024 estimate
3,138,355[9] (137th)
• Density
200.2/km2 (518.5/sq mi) (62nd)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Decrease $249.3 billion[10] (67th)
• Per capita
Decrease $49,736[10] (39th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Decrease $161.8 billion[10] (59th)
• Per capita
Decrease $32,290[10] (37th)
HDI (2022)Increase 0.847[11]
very high (49th)
CurrencyKuwaiti dinar
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Drives onright
ISO 3166 codeKW
Internet TLD.kw
  1. Nominal elective succession within the House of Sabah.
  2. Emirate

Kuwait,[a] officially the State of Kuwait,[b] is a country in West Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south.[14] With a coastline of approximately 500 km (311 mi), Kuwait also shares a maritime border with Iran, across the Persian Gulf.[15] Most of the country's population reside in the urban agglomeration of Kuwait City, the capital and largest city.[16] As of 2024, 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.[17] Kuwait has the third largest foreign-born population in the world.[18]

Before the discovery of oil reserves in 1938, the country was a regional trade port;[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, Kuwait was invaded and subsequently annexed by Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein following disputes over oil production.[21] The Iraqi occupation of Kuwait ended on 26 February 1991, following an American–British–French–Saudi–Egyptian-led international coalition culminating in the expulsion of Iraqi forces.

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. Kuwait is a high-income economy, backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves.

Kuwait is considered to be a pioneer in the region when it comes to the arts and popular culture, often called the "Hollywood of the Gulf", the nation started the oldest modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula and is known to have created among the leading artists in the region.[22][23] Kuwaiti popular culture, in the form of theatre, radio, music, and television soap opera, is exported to neighboring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.[24] Kuwait is a founding member of the GCC and is also a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and OPEC.

  1. ^ "Kuwait's Constitution of 1962, Reinstated in 1992" (PDF). Constitute Project. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Which languages are commonly spoken in Kuwait? - TravelAsker". 19 June 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. ^ "What Languages Are Spoken in Kuwait?". 28 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Middle East ::KUWAIT". CIA The World Factbook. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference loc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Article 4 of Kuwait's Constitution of 1962, Reinstated in 1992" (PDF). Constitution Net. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ^ "دستور الكويت, الباب الرابع". موقع مجلس الأمة.
  8. ^ "ما أسباب تأجيل انعقاد مجلس الأمة الكويتي؟". الجزيرة.
  9. ^ "Kuwait". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: October 2024". imf.org. International Monetary Fund.
  11. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. p. 288. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Kuwait – definition of Kuwait in English". Lexico. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Definition of Kuwait by Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Kuwait". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Coastline - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  16. ^ "The World's Cities in 2018. Data Booklet" (PDF). United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  17. ^ Jabr, Ahmad (22 February 2024). "Expats still make up two thirds of population as some communities grow". Kuwait Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  18. ^ UN_MigrantStockTotal_2019
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Contributors". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 35 (2): 382–384. 2015. doi:10.1215/1089201x-3139815. ISSN 1089-201X.
  21. ^ "OPEC pressures Kuwait to moderate quota demand", New Straits Times, 7 June 1989
  22. ^ "Kuwait's theater culture is still thriving. Here's why". Fast Company Middle East | The future of tech, business and innovation. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Culture". kuwaitembassy.ca. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference cliv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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