在十八世紀上半,偉大的阿勒哈利法,薩巴赫和Al-Jalahma抵達科威特。他們的後代阿奈紮部族在18世紀初逐漸從阿拉伯半島內志遷移至波斯灣海岸。1756年,薩巴赫傢族首長薩巴赫一世 (Sheikh Sabah Abu Abdullah) 被舉為科威特首任酋長 (Amir),並建立了科威特酋長國 (Sheikhdom of Kuwait)。科威特酋長國名義上屬於奧斯曼帝國的勢力範圍,實際上仍保持獨立。1776年,波斯占領巴士拉 (Basrah) 後,一部份商人遷移科威特,英國東印度公司亦將其在巴士拉之機構遷往科威特,使科威特驟形繁榮。然而為了擁有自治灌,科威特必須與土耳其維持良好關係,甚而承認土耳其對其之宗主權。1822年英國總督從巴士拉遷至科威特。1871年科成為奧斯曼帝國巴士拉省的一個縣。1896年,薩巴傢族首長穆巴拉剋 (Sheikh Mubarak) 自立為王,因恐土耳其出面干涉,於是央請英國保護。在1897年7月,穆巴拉剋邀請英國部署炮艇沿科威特海岸。這就導致了所謂的第一科威特危機,其中土耳其人要求英國停止干涉他們的帝國。最後,在奧斯曼帝國的同意下,而未走嚮戰爭。
The State of Kuwait (Arabic: دولة الكويت, dawlat al-kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km (120 mi) and from east to west 170 km (110 mi). The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a population of 2.889 million and an area of 18,098 km². Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government, with Kuwait City serving as the country's political and economic capital. Kuwait also includes several offshore islands, the largest of which is Bubiyan, near the Iraqi border.
In 1990, Kuwait was invaded and annexed by neighboring Iraq. The seven month-long Iraqi occupation came to an end after a direct military intervention by United States-led forces. Nearly 750 Kuwaiti oil wells were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi army resulting in a major environmental and economic catastrophe. Kuwait's infrastructure was badly damaged during the war and had to be rebuilt.
Kuwait has the world's fifth largest oil reserves and is the eleventh richest country in the world per capita. Kuwait's oil fields were discovered and exploited in the 1930s. After it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961, the nation's oil industry saw unprecedented growth. Petroleum and petroleum products now account for nearly 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait is regarded as the most developed country in the Arab League and a Major non-NATO ally of the United Kingdom and the United States.