2. • Capital city of Kuwait is Kuwait City
• Their Official language is Arabic
• The Ethnic groups in Kuwait
33.9% Kuwaiti Arab
45.9% Other Arab
13.5% South / East Asian
4.8% European / American
1.9% Iranian
3. • The population of Kuwait is 2.38 million
• Located at the heart of the country on the
shore of the Persian Gulf .
• The Kuwaiti parliament (Majlis Al-Umma),
contain most governmental offices, the
headquarters of most Kuwaiti corporations
and banks, it is the political, cultural and
economic center of the emirate
4. Kuwait has a geographically small, but wealthy, relatively open
economy with crude oil reserves of about 104 billion barrels -
about 7% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of
GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 95% of government income.
The rise in global oil prices throughout 2011 is reviving
government consumption and economic growth. Kuwait has
experienced a 20% increase in government budget revenue,
which has led to higher budget expenditures, particularly wage
hikes for many public sector employees. Kuwait has done little to
diversify its economy, in part, because of this positive fiscal
situation, and, in part, due to the poor business climate and the
acrimonious relationship between the National Assembly and the
executive branch, which has stymied most movement on
economic reforms
5. Kuwait City was first settled in the early 18th
century by the Al-Sabāh clan, later the ruling
family of Kuwait and a branch of the Al-Utūb
tribe (that also included the Al-Khalīfah clan,
the ruling family of Bahrain), and their leader,
Sheikh Sabāh I. Its name may have derived from
an earlier abandoned fort located there, called
"Kūt" Arabic for a fortress by the sea.
The settlement grew quickly, and by the time its
first wall was built (1760), the town had its own
dhow fleet of about 800 and trading relations to
Baghdad and Damascus. It was a successful and
thriving sea port by the early 19th century.
6. In exchange for British naval protection, Mubārak was not to
negotiate or give territory to any other foreign power
without British consent. With the discovery of oil in 1936, the
city’s standard of living improved dramatically, including
health and education services.
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and seized the
city. On August 8, Iraq annexed the emirate. During the
occupation, the city was extensively damaged and many
buildings were destroyed after it, including the Kuwait
National Museum.
When U.S.-led United Nations (UN) forces expelled Iraqi forces
from Kuwait in February 1991 during Operation Desert
Storm, foreign investors and the Kuwaiti government were
actively involved in modernizing the city and turning it into a
world-class business hub. Many hotels, shopping malls and
offices were built in the city indicating the economic growth
since the war.
7. In April 14–16, 1993, former U.S. President George H. W.
Bush was visiting the city to celebrate a coalition's
victory over Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
However, a day before the visit, agents of the Iraqi
Intelligence Service (IIS) smuggled a car bomb into
Kuwait in intent of killing Bush during his visit to
that city. However the plan was foiled and Kuwaiti
officials arrested 17 persons suspected of carry out
the plot after a car bomb was found. Later,
Saddam's agents admitted carrying out the attack
under the direction from the IIS.[3]
On June 26–27 of that year, U.S. President Bill Clinton
responded to an attempted assassination by the IIS
on Bush by firing 23 Tomahawk cruise missiles
against the Iraqi Intelligence headquarters in
downtown Baghdad. Around 8 civilians were killed
in the attack.