Kuwait City Arial View #fogy #Alhamratower

Kuwait (/kʊˈweɪt/ (listen);[7][8] Arabic: الكويت al-Kuwayt, Gulf Arabic pronunciation: [ɪl‿ɪkweːt] or [lɪkweːt]), officially the State of Kuwait (Arabic: دولة الكويت Dawlat al-Kuwayt), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south.[9] Kuwait also shares maritime borders with Iran. Kuwait has a coastal length of approximately 500 km (311 mi).[10] Most of the country's population resides in the urban agglomeration of the capital city Kuwait City.[11] As of 2022, Kuwait has a population of 4.45 million people of which 1.45 million are Kuwaiti citizens while the remaining 3.00 million are foreign nationals from over 100 countries. Historically, most of present-day Kuwait was part of ancient Mesopotamia.[12][13][14] Pre-oil Kuwait was a strategic trade port between Mesopotamia, Persia, and India. Oil reserves were discovered in commercial quantities in 1938. In 1946, crude oil was exported for the first time.[15][16] 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 neighboring Iraq, Kuwait was invaded and later annexed into one of Iraq's governorates by Iraq under Saddam Hussein.[17] 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. 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. Kuwait is a developing country with a high-income economy, backed by the world's sixth-largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest-valued currency in the world.[18] In 2009, Kuwait had the highest Human Development Index in the Arab world.[19][20] Kuwait has the largest number of stateless people in the entire region.[21][22][23] Kuwait is a founding member of the GCC and is also a member of the UN, AL, OPEC, and the OIC. Kuwait named the emir's son as the country's new prime minister on July 24, 2022, to replace caretaker premier Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid, who faced a combative parliament as head of the cabinet in a feud hindering fiscal reform.