Official name : Dawlat al-Kuwayt, (State of Kuwait)

Capital : Kuwait City

Population : 2.3 million (2001)

Area : 17,818 sq km

Currency : Kuwaiti Dinar ($ 1 = 0.31)

Religion : Islam (official)

Literacy : 79%

Languages : Arabic (official) and English

Major cities : Hawalli, As-Salimiyah, Qalib ash-Shuyukh

Climate : Hot and dry

Introduction

Kuwait, which means 'little fort', is an Islamic constitutional monarchy in southwestern Asia. On August 2nd 1990 Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait, claiming it as its 19th province. This led to the Gulf War that liberated the country in 1991. In November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait that had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions made in 1991 and 1993.

Al-sabah dynasty

Sheikh Sabah I bin Jaber (1752-1762)

Sheikh Abdullah I Al-Sabah (1762-3 May 1814)

Sheikh Jaber I Al-Sabah (1814-1859)

Sheikh Sabah II Al-Sabah (1859-Nov 1866)

Sheikh Abdullah II Al-Sabah (Nov 1866 - May 1892)

Sheikh Muhamad Al-Sabah (May 1892 - 17 May 1896), assassinated

Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah,"the Great" (18 May 1896 - 28 Nov 1915)

Sheikh Jabir II Al-Sabah (28 Nov 1915 - 5 Feb 1917)

Sheikh Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah (5 Feb 1917 - 22 Feb 1921)

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (22 Feb 1921 - 29 Jan 1950)

Sheikh Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah (29 Jan 1950 - 24 Nov 1965 became Emir in 19 Jun 1961)

Emir Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah (24 Nov 1965 - 31 Dec 1977)

Emir Jaber III Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (31 Dec 1977 - 15 Jan 2006)

Emir Saad I Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah (15 Jan 2006 - present)

Climate of kuwait

Although summers are long, hot, and mostly dry, with daily temperatures between 43º and 47ºC (110º and 120ºF) and high humidity in August, the fall and spring are pleasant and mild. Winters are short and relatively cool. Sandstorms and very hot northwesterly winds in June and July exaggerate the effects of the summer heat. Rainfall is scanty and some rain falls mainly in winter and spring.

Physical map of kuwait

Kuwait is one of the world's smallest countries, and the greatest distance from north to south is 200 km (120 mi) and from east to west is 170 km (110 mi). Most of Kuwait is made up of a flat sandy desert. Sans rivers or mountains, the sandy soil gradually slopes to sea level leading to coastal marshes, mud flats and salt depressions around the northern part of Kuwait Bay. Kuwait has beautiful sandy beaches along the Gulf. In the southwest, the landscape rises to a maximum elevation of 306 meters (1,004 feet).

Location of kuwait
Shaped roughly like a triangle, Kuwait is located at the northwestern tip of the Persian Gulf. It is bordered on the north and west by Iraq, on the south and west by Saudi Arabia, and on the east by the Persian Gulf.