在十八世纪上半,伟大的阿勒哈利法,萨巴赫和Al-Jalahma抵达科威特。他们的后代阿奈扎部族在18世纪初逐渐从阿拉伯半岛内志迁移至波斯湾海岸。1756年,萨巴赫家族首长萨巴赫一世 (Sheikh Sabah Abu Abdullah) 被举为科威特首任酋长 (Amir),并建立了科威特酋长国 (Sheikhdom of Kuwait)。科威特酋长国名义上属于奥斯曼帝国的势力范围,实际上仍保持独立。1776年,波斯占领巴士拉 (Basrah) 后,一部份商人迁移科威特,英国东印度公司亦将其在巴士拉之机构迁往科威特,使科威特骤形繁荣。然而为了拥有自治灌,科威特必须与土耳其维持良好关系,甚而承认土耳其对其之宗主权。1822年英国总督从巴士拉迁至科威特。1871年科成为奥斯曼帝国巴士拉省的一个县。1896年,萨巴家族首长穆巴拉克 (Sheikh Mubarak) 自立为王,因恐土耳其出面干涉,于是央请英国保护。在1897年7月,穆巴拉克邀请英国部署炮艇沿科威特海岸。这就导致了所谓的第一科威特危机,其中土耳其人要求英国停止干涉他们的帝国。最后,在奥斯曼帝国的同意下,而未走向战争。
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.