Kuwait (koowīt', –wāt) [key]or Kowait (kō'–) [key], officially State of Kuwait, independent sheikhdom (2005 est. pop. 2,336,000), 6,177 sq mi (16,000 sq km), NE Arabian peninsula, at the head of the Persian Gulf. Kuwait is bounded by Saudi Arabia on the south and by Iraq on the north and west. The capital is Al-Kuwait, or Kuwait (1991 pop. 150,100), a modern city. The capital's port, Mina al-Ahmad, is a trade center with shipyards and oil refineries.
