Country · Asia
Kuwait
State of Kuwait
Kuwait is a country in Western Asia. About 4.1 million people live there, in an area of 17 818 square kilometres. Its capital city is Kuwait City.
Picture credit: Salwa Farwaneh (CC0) · irvin calicut (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Kuwait?
Kuwait lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 284 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 499 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
How big is Kuwait?
Kuwait covers 17 818 square kilometres.
That is about 6.9 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 152nd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 232.2 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Kuwait?
About 4.1 million people live in Kuwait.
That is the 127th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic.
They pay with the Kuwaiti dinar (د.ك).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 76 years.
The land of Kuwait
The land of Kuwait sits on average 108 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 499 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 25 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Kuwait different?
A dish the country is known for: Machboos.
Websites from here often end in .kw.
Kuwait and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Kuwait.
It takes up about 0.01 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 39th of 46 by size, and 37th by population.
Kuwait and its neighbours
Saudi Arabia, its largest neighbour, is about 120.6 times bigger.
Saudi Arabia has more people: 33.7 million against 4.1 million.
Nature and animals
The highest mountain in the country is the Unnamed rise in the west, at 291 metres.
How big is Kuwait compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 526 times as big as Kuwait: 9 372 610 km² against 17 818 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 14 times as big as Kuwait: 242 900 km² against 17 818 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Kuwait?
The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait City. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Kuwait?
About 4.1 million people live in Kuwait, which makes it the 127th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Kuwait?
Kuwait borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia — 2 neighbours in total.
How big is Kuwait?
Kuwait covers 17 818 square kilometres, making it the 152nd largest country in the world. That is about 6.9 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Kuwait?
The highest mountain in Kuwait is the Unnamed rise in the west, 291 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
Are there rivers in Kuwait?
Kuwait has no permanent river. Rain runs off in dry valleys that fill only after a downpour, so the water comes from wells, springs or desalination plants.
Which continent is Kuwait in?
Kuwait is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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