Kuwait is a small country at the northern head of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Once a modest port living by trade, pearling, and the sea, it was transformed by the discovery of some of the world's largest oil reserves into a wealthy state. Notable in the Gulf for its lively parliament and outspoken press, Kuwait is also remembered for the dramatic events of 1990, when it was invaded and occupied by neighbouring Iraq before being liberated in the Gulf War.
Kuwait was founded in the eighteenth century when settlers, the Bani Utub, established a town by a sheltered bay, choosing the Al Sabah family to lead them, a dynasty that still rules. The port thrived on trade, fishing, and pearl diving, linking the Gulf to India and beyond. Under British protection from the late nineteenth century, Kuwait found oil in the 1930s, transforming its fortunes, and became fully independent in 1961. Its modern history was marked above all by the Iraqi invasion of 1990 and the war that freed it.
Kuwait is a small, flat, and almost entirely desert country at the top of the Persian Gulf, with a hot, dry climate and little fresh water or vegetation. Its most important geographic feature is its fine natural harbour, Kuwait Bay, which gave the trading city its reason for being. A handful of islands lie off the coast, and the flat desert interior, dotted with oil fields, stretches to the borders. Summers are searingly hot, and the country relies on desalinated seawater for much of its supply.
The flag of Kuwait has three horizontal bands of green, white, and red, with a black trapezoid extending from the hoist. These are the pan-Arab colours, and a traditional verse is often used to explain them: the green for the country's fertile efforts, the white for its deeds, the red for the blood on its swords, and the black for the fields of battle. The flag was adopted at independence in 1961, replacing the plain red banner used before.
Kuwait is a Muslim country, and Islam is the state religion, followed by the great majority of its citizens, who are divided between a Sunni majority and a significant Shia minority. Religious tradition shapes law and public life. As a long-standing trading hub with a very large foreign population, Kuwait is also home to people of other faiths, including Christians and Hindus among its migrant communities, and the country permits some non-Muslim worship within limits.
Kuwaiti cuisine is rooted in the traditions of the Gulf and shaped by centuries of seafaring trade. The national dish is machboos, spiced rice served with meat or with the fresh fish and seafood that the Gulf provides, reflecting the country's maritime heritage. Dates, flatbread, and grilled and stewed meats are staples, and the flavours carry the imprint of Persian, Indian, and wider Arab influences. Cardamom-scented coffee and dates are central to the strong culture of hospitality.
Agriculture is minimal in Kuwait, where the desert climate and scarcity of fresh water leave almost no land suitable for farming, and the country imports nearly all of its food. Some vegetables and dates are produced with irrigation and modern techniques, and there has been investment in greenhouse and hydroponic farming to improve self-sufficiency. Historically the sea, through fishing and the great pearl-diving industry, sustained Kuwait far more than the land ever could.
The founding of the trading port and the era of pearling shaped old Kuwait, and the discovery of oil made it wealthy. The defining event of its modern history was the Iraqi invasion of August 1990, when Kuwait was occupied and annexed by its larger neighbour, prompting an international coalition to liberate it in the Gulf War of 1991, during which retreating forces set its oil wells ablaze. Kuwait rebuilt, and it remains distinctive in the Gulf for its elected parliament and political life.
Kuwait has a population of around 4.3 million people, but, as elsewhere in the Gulf, a large majority are foreign workers, drawn from South Asia, Egypt, and other countries, who outnumber Kuwaiti citizens. The citizen population is Arab and Muslim. Almost everyone lives in the urban area around the capital, Kuwait City, on the shore of the bay that gave the country its start. Kuwait is known for a relatively open society, with a vigorous press and a tradition of political debate.
