Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Economic Challenges and Strengths
During the late 1970s Kuwait's stock exchange (the first in the Gulf) was among the top
10 in the world, but a decade later the price of oil collapsed together with a not-entirely-
legal parallel financial market, leaving hundreds of people bankrupt. The scandal left be-
hind US$90 billion in worthless post-dated cheques and a mess that the Kuwaiti govern-
ment is still trying to sort out. The invasion of the 1990s was an unmitigated financial dis-
aster and the country is still paying back its military debts, while trying not to count the
cost of rebuilding the country. As such, it is remarkable to see how spectacularly the eco-
nomy has bounced back over the past decade.
With the country home to 10% of the world's oil reserves, oil and oil-related products
naturally dominate the economy and, with more than 100 years' worth of remaining oil,
the need to diversify has not been as urgent as it has been in neighbouring countries. Tour-
ism, for example, is a negligible part of the economy.
Given its enormous wealth in natural resources, boosted by the discovery in March
2006 of 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the country has been able to buffer the eco-
nomic turbulence of the recent global recession. Indeed, large scale construction projects
across the city continue unabated.
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History
Early History
Standing at the bottom of Mutla Ridge on the road to Bubiyan Island, and staring across
the springtime grasslands at the estuary waters beyond, it's easy enough to imagine why
Stone Age man chose to inhabit the area around Ras Subiyah, on the northern shores of
Kuwait Bay. Here the waters are rich in silt from the mighty river systems of southern
Iraq, making for abundant marine life. Evidence of the first proper settlement in the region
dates from 4500 BC, and shards of pottery, stone walls, tools, a small drilled pearl and re-
mains of what is perhaps the world's earliest seafaring boat indicate links with the Ubaid
people who populated ancient Mesopotamia. The people of Dilmun also saw the potential
of living in the mouth of two of the world's great river systems and built a large town on
Failaka Island, the remains of which form some of the best structural evidence of Bronze
Age life in the world.
