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• The State of Kuwait is located in the Middle East on the coast of the Persian Gulf, and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north. Kuwait operates as a constitutional monarchy, governed by a parliamentary system. Oil dominates the country's economy.

• Fast Facts

  1. Capital: Kuwait City
  2. Government: Constitutional Hereditary Emirate
  3. Population: 2.9 million (UN, 2007)BBC News: Country Profile: Kuwait Facts
  4. Currency: Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD)
  5. Country code: +965
  6. Time zone: (UTC+3)
  7. Airport code: (KWI)
  8. Exchange Rate: 0.27450 USD
  9. Official Language: Arabic
  10. Major Religion: Islam
  11. Main Export: Oil
  12. 2005: parliament gave women the right to vote

• Kuwait Oil

  Oil was first discovered in Kuwait in the 1930s, but their export industry did not develop until independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. Today, the petroleum industry accounts for 95% of the nation's export revenue and 80% of government income. Kuwait has an estimated 101.5 billion oil reserves and in 2002, the country announced that as much as one billion barrels of light oil were found in the western part of the country at the Kara al-Marou field.Energy Information Administration: Oil

• Gulf War

  Kuwait was invaded by Iraq during the seven-month-long Gulf War in 1990. Though a military force led by the United States repelled the invasion, the retreating Iraqi army set more than 700 oil wells on fire and caused considerable damage to the country's infrastructure. In 2003, the country hosted another U.S. military invasion of Iraq as its border was used to lead troops into the country and oust the Iraqi leader Saddam HusseinBBC: Country Profile: Kuwait] (May 17, 2008)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Iran | Iraq | Persian Gulf | Gulf War | Saddam Hussein | Saudi Arabia | Islam | Lebanon | Michel Jamil

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