The State of Kuwait (Arabic: دولة الكويت, pronounced [dawlat alkuwayt]) is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km (120 mi) and from east to west 170 km (110 mi). The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a population of 2.889 million and an area of 18,098 km². Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy...
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The State of Kuwait (Arabic: دولة الكويت, pronounced [dawlat alkuwayt]) is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km (120 mi) and from east to west 170 km (110 mi). The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a population of 2.889 million and an area of 18,098 km². Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government, with Kuwait City serving as the country's political and economic capital. Kuwait also includes several offshore islands, the largest of which is Bubiyan, near the Iraqi border.
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. Nearly 750 Kuwaiti oil wells were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi army resulting in a major environmental and economic catastrophe. Kuwait's...
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