From wikipedia about Kuwait
The State of
Kuwait (; دولة الكويت, Dawlat al-Kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab nation situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by
Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and
Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name
Kuwait is derived from the Arabic أقوات "akwat", the plural of قوة "kout", meaning fortress built near water. Lesko, John P. "Kuwait, " World Education Encyclopedia: A Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide, vol. 2, edited by Rebecca Marlow-Ferguson. Detroit, MI: Gale Group, 2002. The Emirate covers an area of 17, 820 square kilometers (6, 880 sq mi) and has a population of about 3. 6 million.
Historically, the region was the site of Characene, a major Parthian port for trade between
India and Mesopotamia. The Bani Utbah Tribe were the first permanent Arab settlers in the region and laid the foundation of the modern emirate. By the 19th century,
Kuwait came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, and after World War I, it emerged as an independent sheikhdom under the protection of the British Empire. Kuwait's large oil fields were discovered in the late 1930s.
After
Kuwait gained independence from the
United Kingdom in 1961, the nation's oil industry saw unprecedented economic growth. In 1990,
Kuwait was invaded and annexed by neighboring
Iraq. The seven month-long Iraqi occupation came to an end after a direct military intervention by United States-led forces. Around 773 Kuwaiti oil wells were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi army resulting in a major environmental and economic catastrophe. Kuwait's infrastructure was badly damaged during the war and had to be rebuilt.
Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government, with
Kuwait City serving as the country's political and economic capital. The country has the world's fifth largest oil reservesOil & Gas Journal, January, 2007 and petroleum products now account for nearly 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income..
