Kuwait City - Definition and Overview

Kuwait City (also Al-Kuwait - الكويت), population 150,100 (1991), is the capital of the emirate of Kuwait. Locally informally known as "The City", it contains the Majlis Al-Umma (Kuwait's parliament), most Governmental offices, the headquarters of most Kuwaiti corporations and banks, some foreign embassies, and the Kuwait Towers.

Kuwait City's trade and transportation needs are served by Kuwait International Airport, and 50 kilometers to the south by the port of Mina al-Ahmadi on the Persian Gulf coast.

The city was invaded and seized by Iraqi forces in the 1991 Gulf War. Under Iraqi occupation it was renamed Saddam City in honor of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. It returned to its original name once Iraqi troops were expelled.