Formal Name: State of Kuwait.
Short Form: Kuwait.
Term for Citizens: Kuwaiti(s); adjectival form, Kuwaiti.
Capital: Kuwait (city of Kuwait frequently used to distinguish it from country).
Date of Independence: June 19, 1961.
Size: About 17,818 square kilometers.
Topography: Almost entirely flat desert.
Climate: Hot, dry, desert climate; sandstorms in June and July; some rain, mainly in spring.
NOTE--The Country Profile contains updated information as available.
Boundaries: Mostly defined; United Nations post-Persian Gulf War 1992 boundary settlement accepted by Kuwait but rejected by Iraq.
Data as of January 1993