Kuwait
The State of Kuwait 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 "akwat", the plural of "kout", meaning fortress built near water. 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.
