Kuwait is a country in Western Asia, one of the 17 entries this site files under that subregion. The long form of the name is State of Kuwait. Its capital, Kuwait City, shares its name with the country itself — a giveaway that this is a city-state or something close to one.
Around 4.9 million people live there, placing it 128th of 250 by population — between Costa Rica above it and Panama below. Within Western Asia alone it is the 13th largest of 17 and the 13th most populous.
By land area it covers 17,818 km², which ranks it 159th of the 250 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Fiji and just ahead of Eswatini. Put next to a country most people can picture, it is about half again the size of Qatar.
Where Kuwait is and what surrounds it
Plotted on a globe it falls at 29.5° north, 45.8° east, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 3,284 km from the equator, in what geographers would call subtropical latitudes.
Follow that same latitude east or west and you reach Algeria, Nepal and Bhutan — places that share its distance from the equator but little else.
2 countries share a land border with it: Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The largest of them by area is Saudi Arabia, while the most populous is Iraq. Together those neighbours hold about 81.3 million people.
Unlike its landlocked neighbours it reaches the sea directly, while also sharing land frontiers.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Population and languages of Kuwait
Spread across 17,818 km², that works out at about 275 people per square kilometre, which makes it densely populated. Half the entries in this dataset fall below roughly 90 per square kilometre.
Someone from Kuwait is a Kuwaiti.
Officially it is monolingual: Arabic. Arabic is one of the widely shared official languages here, listed by 24 other entries including Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and the Comoros.
Inside Asia it places 40th of 50 by population, and it accounts for 1.6% of everyone living in Western Asia.
Money, internet and phone codes
The currency is the Kuwaiti dinar (د.ك, KWD). That currency appears nowhere else on this list.
Its internet country code is .kw. To phone it from abroad you dial +965. Standard country codes: kw and KWT.
It holds a seat at the United Nations, one of 193 entries here that do. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 250 rather than the familiar 195.
Neighbouring countries
Kuwait shares borders with 2 countries:
Fun facts about Kuwait
- Ranked by land area, Kuwait is 159th out of the 250 countries and territories on this site.
- Arabic is official here and in 24 other entries worldwide.
- The capital shares its name with the country itself.
- It shares land borders with 2 countries: Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
- Websites based there use the .kw domain.
- It is 128th of 250 by population, with about 4.9 million residents.
Kuwait — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Kuwait?
- The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait City. The city and the country share a name, which is typical of a city-state.
- What is the population of Kuwait?
- Kuwait has a population of about 4.9 million, which makes it the 128th most populous of the 250 countries and territories listed on this site. Costa Rica sits just above it and Panama just below.
- Where is Kuwait located?
- Kuwait is in Western Asia, part of Asia. Its reference coordinates are 29.5° north and 45.8° east, roughly 3,284 km from the equator in subtropical latitudes.
- Which countries border Kuwait?
- Kuwait borders 2 countries: Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the largest of them by area.
- How big is Kuwait?
- Kuwait covers 17,818 km², ranking 159th of 250 by land area. That makes it about half again the size of Qatar.
- What language is spoken in Kuwait?
- The official language of Kuwait is Arabic. It is also official in 24 other entries on this list.
- Is Kuwait a country?
- Yes. Kuwait is a sovereign state and one of the 193 UN members listed on this site.
- What currency does Kuwait use?
- Kuwait uses the Kuwaiti dinar, written د.ك (currency code KWD). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
