Kuwait 🇰🇼
Kuwait is a country in Asia with a population of 4,268,873. Its capital is Kuwait City. The official currency is KWD, and the main languages are Arabic.
Quick facts
- Capital: Kuwait City
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 4,268,873
- Area: 17,818 km²
- Density: 240 people per km²
- Currency: KWD
- Languages: Arabic
- ISO code: KW
Where Kuwait sits
Kuwait 🇰🇼 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Kuwait City. It covers 17,818 square kilometres — 153rd in the world — and is home to about 4,268,873 people, 128th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Kuwait compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Kuwait sits closest to Panama and Croatia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Eswatini and Fiji.
At 240 people per square kilometre it is about 4.0 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and Comoros, and 20 others. The KWD is used by Kuwait and no one else.
To see Kuwait next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Kuwait
The capital is the country's name plus 'City': Kuwait City, on Kuwait Bay. On the flag, Kuwait's black shape at the hoist is a trapezoid with a flat end, where the UAE has a vertical red bar and Jordan a red triangle.
The flag of Kuwait: green, white, red and black
🇰🇼 The flag is three horizontal stripes of green, white and red, with a black trapezoid at the hoist. Green, white, red and black are the Pan-Arab colours, and the design is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt of World War I. Green stands for fertile land, white for purity, red for courage in battle and black for defeating enemies.
Region and neighbours
Kuwait is a small country in Western Asia at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with 2 countries: Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
- Iraq 🇮🇶 — capital Baghdad
- Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 — capital Riyadh
Three facts about Kuwait
- Kuwait has no permanent rivers or lakes, and much of its drinking water comes from removing salt from seawater.
- The Kuwaiti dinar is one of the highest-valued currency units in the world.
- The Kuwait Towers, three towers with blue-green spheres on the coast, are the country's best-known landmark.
Sources: Wikipedia: Kuwait, Wikipedia: Flag of Kuwait, Wikipedia: Kuwait City, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Kuwait
- Asian capitals quiz — match Kuwait to Kuwait City
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Kuwait flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Kuwait
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Kuwait those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Kuwait City
- Kuwait capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Kuwait
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Kuwait
- Capital of Kuwait: Kuwait City — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Kuwait flag?
The flag of Kuwait is three horizontal stripes of green, white and red, with a black trapezoid at the hoist. Green, white, red and black are the Pan-Arab colours, and the design is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt of World War I. Green stands for fertile land, white for purity, red for courage in battle and black for defeating enemies.
Which countries border Kuwait?
Kuwait shares land borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
How can I remember the capital of Kuwait?
The capital is the country's name plus 'City': Kuwait City, on Kuwait Bay. On the flag, Kuwait's black shape at the hoist is a trapezoid with a flat end, where the UAE has a vertical red bar and Jordan a red triangle.