Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait , is an Arab country in Western Asia. Situated in the northeastern edge of the Arabian peninsula at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq to the north andSaudi Arabia to the south. The name "Kuwait" is the diminutive of Arabic meaning "fortress". The country covers an area of 17,820 square kilometers (6,880 square miles) and has a population of 2.6 million as of 2012. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Kuwait was a successful center of trade and commerce. Kuwait rivaled Basra as anentrepôt for trade between India and the Middle East. In the early 20th century, Kuwait declined in regional economic importance and by 1934, Kuwait had lost its prominence in long-distance trade. Kuwait's economy was devastated by several trade blockades, before the trade blockades Kuwait was prosperous.
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