Kuwait

Kuwait << koo WYT or koo WAYT >> is a small Arab country in southwestern Asia, at the north end of the Persian Gulf (commonly known as the Arabian Gulf in Arab countries). It is bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This desert land is one of the world’s leading petroleum producers. It has almost one-tenth of the world’s known reserves.

A poor country until 1946, Kuwait is now one of the richest countries in the world. The amazing change that has taken place there results almost entirely from one thing—oil. With wealth gained by selling oil, Kuwait’s rulers turned desert wilderness into a prosperous welfare state. Kuwait is one of the world’s wealthiest nations in terms of national income per person. It has free primary and secondary education, free health and social services, and no income tax.

The city of Kuwait, the nation’s capital, is the center of a large urban area that has about two-thirds of the country’s people. Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. A 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq triggered the Persian Gulf War of 1991. For details, see the History section of this article.

Government.

Kuwait is governed by a ruler called an emir, or amir. The emir is a member of the al-Sabah family, which has ruled Kuwait since the mid-1700’s. The emir appoints a prime minister. The prime minister chooses ministers, whom the emir confirms. A National Assembly, made up of elected members and government ministers, helps make the laws. Fifty Assembly members are elected by Kuwaitis who meet certain voter eligibility requirements. Both men and women can vote and run for office.

People.

Most people of Kuwait are Arabs and Muslims (followers of Islam). Arabic is the official language, and Islam is the state religion. But laws forbid discrimination based on language or religion.

Kuwait’s population has increased rapidly since the discovery of oil beneath the desert of Kuwait in the 1930’s. Immigration has accounted for most of the increase. Palestinians make up Kuwait’s largest group from other lands. But many Palestinians left following the Iraqi invasion in 1990. Many others were expelled after Kuwait’s liberation in 1991. Other major non-Kuwaiti groups in Kuwait include Egyptians, Asian Indians, and Iranians.

Relatively few Kuwaiti children attended school until the 1950’s, when oil wealth enabled the government to begin building many schools. Today, more than 85 percent of school-age children in Kuwait attend school. Special schools provide education for disabled individuals, and for adults who want to learn to read and write. Kuwait University opened in 1966.

Until the mid-1900’s, few Kuwaiti women held a job outside the home or received much education. Today, increasing numbers of women work in business offices and earn college degrees.

Land and climate.

Most of Kuwait consists of waterless desert. The country includes several islands. Faylakah, the most important island, lies about 12 miles (19 kilometers) off the coast. Bubiyan, the largest island, is uninhabited. The city of Kuwait lies on the southern side of Kuwait Bay, which is an excellent harbor.

Kuwait has no rivers or lakes. Before 1950, it had few known sources of fresh water apart from the scanty rainfall. Ships carried drinking water to Kuwait from Iraq. Most of Kuwait’s wells yielded only brackish (salty) water. In 1950, engineers began making fresh water by distilling seawater and mixing it with well water. Today, distillation provides most of the fresh water in Kuwait. A large underground source of fresh water discovered in 1960 also increased the freshwater supply.

From April to September, Kuwait is very hot. Temperatures often exceed 120 °F (49 °C) in the shade. But the climate is not extremely unpleasant until August and September, when the humidity is relatively high. In January, the coldest month, temperatures average between 50 and 60 °F (10 and 16 °C). Besides desert scrub, Kuwait has little vegetation most of the year. Some grass grows from October to March, when an average of 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 centimeters) of rain falls.

Economy.

The petroleum industry is Kuwait’s major economic activity. The government owns almost all of the industry. It also receives large amounts of money from earnings on investments made in the United States and other countries. Kuwait is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Natural gas, produced in conjunction with oil, is Kuwait’s second most important product.

Today, non-Kuwaiti people hold the majority of the jobs in Kuwait. Many Kuwaitis depend on welfare for a living. The government uses much of its oil income to support Kuwait’s welfare system and modernize the country. But the oil industry does not provide many jobs. Kuwait is trying to provide more jobs by promoting the growth of economic activities other than oil production.

Manufacturing plays a small role in Kuwait’s economy. Large petroleum refineries operate south of Kuwait City. Kuwait also produces cement and other construction materials, fertilizer, and petrochemicals.

Kuwait exports more than it imports. Crude oil and refined petroleum are, by far, Kuwait’s leading export products. The country imports food, iron and steel, machinery, and motor vehicles. Kuwait’s leading trade partners include China, Germany, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Kuwait has little agriculture and imports most of its food. The relatively few farms raise cattle, chickens, goats, and sheep. Farmers grow cucumbers, dates, eggplants, potatoes, and tomatoes. The government is working to increase agriculture by turning part of the desert into fertile land through irrigation. Scientists are also attempting to produce crops by hydroponic farming. Instead of using fertile soil, they are trying to grow crops in trays of sand fed with water and plant foods. Kuwait’s fishing fleet catches shrimp and fish.

Kuwait has an excellent system of paved roads. An international airport operates south of Kuwait City.

History.

Kuwait had few settled inhabitants before 1700. About 1710, some members of the Arab Anaza tribal confederation settled on the southern shore of Kuwait Bay, where they found fresh water. These people built a port that later became the city of Kuwait. Between 1756 and 1762, the group elected the head of the Al-Sabah family to rule them as Sabah I.

In 1775, the British made Kuwait the starting point of their desert mail service to Aleppo, Syria. This route formed part of a system that carried goods and messages from India to England. Over the years, British interest in Kuwait grew. In 1899, the United Kingdom became responsible for Kuwait’s defense.

In 1934, Kuwait’s ruler granted a concession to allow the Kuwait Oil Company, a joint American-British enterprise, to drill for oil. Drilling began in 1936. It showed that vast quantities of petroleum lay under the desert. Kuwait became a major petroleum exporter after World War II ended in 1945. It soon changed from a poor land to a wealthy one as a result of oil sales. Kuwait joined the Arab League after it became independent in 1961. It joined the United Nations in 1963.

Kuwait sent troops to Egypt during the Middle East crisis in June 1967. But these troops did not take part in the Arab-Israeli war. For about two months, Kuwait cut off its oil shipments to the United States and other Western countries. Kuwait also agreed to pay Egypt and Jordan a total of $132 million annually to help their economies recover after the war.

A small number of Kuwaiti troops took part in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In October 1973, Kuwait and other Arab oil-exporting nations stopped shipments of oil to the United States and the Netherlands. They also reduced shipments to other countries that supported Israel. In March 1974, full shipments were renewed. In 1975, Kuwait’s government nationalized (took control of) the Kuwait Oil Company. The government now has almost complete control of the oil industry.

In 1976, Kuwait’s prime minister denounced the National Assembly for blocking legislation. Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah, then dissolved the Assembly. In 1977, Sheikh Sabah died, and his cousin Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah automatically succeeded him as emir. A new National Assembly was elected in 1981, but Sheikh Jaber dissolved it and suspended the Constitution in 1986.

In the 1980’s, much fighting in a war between Iran and Iraq centered in the Persian Gulf area. In 1986, Iran began attacks on Kuwaiti oil tankers because of Kuwait’s financial aid to, and other support for, Iraq. In 1987, Kuwait asked the Soviet Union and the United States to help provide safety for its shipping. The Soviet Union leased to Kuwait vessels flying the Soviet flag. Several Kuwaiti ships were reregistered as U.S. vessels and flew U.S. flags. U.S. warships began escorting these vessels in the Persian Gulf to protect them from attacks. Some clashes between the U.S. forces and Iranians occurred. In August 1988, Iran and Iraq agreed to a cease-fire in their war (see Iran (The war with Iraq)).

In August 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait. Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, accused Kuwait of violating oil production limits set by OPEC, thus lowering the price of oil. Hussein claimed that Kuwait was legally a part of Iraq, and he announced that his country had annexed it as an Iraqi province. The Iraqi forces in Kuwait killed and tortured many people and stole or destroyed much property. They set fire to hundreds of oil wells. The United Nations Security Council declared Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait null and void.

Some people believed that Iraq would next invade oil-rich Saudi Arabia. The United States and many other nations sent forces to defend Saudi Arabia. These nations, and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, formed an allied military coalition. In November 1990, the United Nations approved the use of military force to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait if they had not left by Jan. 15, 1991. Iraq refused to leave, and war broke out between the allied forces and Iraq. The allied forces bombed Iraqi military targets in Kuwait. In February, allied land forces moved into Kuwait. They quickly defeated the occupying Iraqi forces. Most of the Iraqis who were not killed or taken prisoner fled from Kuwait. See Persian Gulf War of 1991; United Nations (The Persian Gulf War).

In October 1992, Sheikh Jaber allowed elections to be held for a new 50-member National Assembly. In addition, he reinstated the Constitution.

In March 2003, forces led by the United States began a new war against Iraq, aiming to disarm the country and topple Saddam Hussein’s government. The Kuwaiti government allowed tens of thousands of U.S. and British troops to use Kuwait as a staging area for attacks on Iraq. Iraq fired a number of missiles into Kuwait during the war. The U.S.-led attacks on Iraq led to the fall of Hussein’s government in April. See Iraq War.

In January 2006, Sheikh Jaber died. His cousin Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah automatically succeeded him as emir. However, the Kuwaiti parliament voted to remove him from the throne because of his poor health, and he abdicated soon after. The parliament unanimously approved Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, who had been prime minister since 2003, as emir. Sheikh Sabah was sworn in on Jan. 29, 2006. That same year, Kuwaiti women were allowed to vote and run for office in national elections for the first time, under a law passed under Sheikh Sabah’s leadership the previous year. He reversed a law against public gatherings. In 2009, three women won seats in parliamentary elections, becoming Kuwait’s first female members of parliament. In the early 2010’s, protests led the emir to dissolve parliament and replace his prime minister.

In 2012, Sheikh Sabah cut the number of candidates a voter could elect from four to one. The opposition claimed the change to electoral law breached the Constitution and boycotted the elections in protest. In 2016, the Kuwaiti government enacted laws restricting the media by criminalizing criticism of the government. Many who spoke against the emir were arrested.

In 2020, falling oil prices during the global COVID-19 pandemic left Kuwait with an increasing fiscal deficit. The country had not diversified sufficiently outside of its oil industry to safeguard its economy. Sheikh Sabah died on September 29. His successor, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, had previously been designated, as directed by the country’s Constitution, and immediately became the new emir. Sheikh Nawaf died on Dec. 16, 2023. He was succeeded as emir by his half brother, Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.

See also Arab League; Gulf Cooperation Council; Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); Sabah, Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-; Sabah, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-.