Middle East : KUWAIT

Kuwait ("castle" or "fortress built near water" in Arabic) is a constitutional monarchy located on the western shore of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. The fourth-richest country in the world, Kuwait has astonishingly large oil reserves for its size.

These vast reserves have proven to be both a blessing and a curse: on the positive side, oil production provides 95% of exports and 80% of government revenues (Kuwait is a tax-free economy); less happily, following the 1990-1991 Gulf War, retreating Iraqi forces set nearly 600 Kuwaiti wells ablaze, resulting in an economic, environmental, and public health disaster. But, nearly two decades later, Kuwait is on its way to recovery. An infusion of some $50 billion in U.S. aid is helping to rebuild the country's infrastructure.

Kuwait is headed by an emir, or sheikh, and has the oldest directly elected parliament among the Gulf countries. In 2005 Kuwait became only the third Arab monarchy to elect a woman to a cabinet position. Also in 2005, women were granted the right to vote.

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