A chronology of key events:
1600s - North-east portion of Arabian peninsula becomes part of the Turkish Ottoman empire.
1700s - Settlers arrive at the site of present-day Kuwait City from the interior of the Arabian peninsula. The settlement grows into a bustling trading hub by the early 1800s.
Kuwait Towers are landmarks in the capital
1756
- Kuwait comes under the control of the Al-Sabah family, predecessors of Kuwait's present rulers. A degree of semi-autonomy from Ottoman Turkey prevails.
1899 - Fearing direct rule from Turkey, Sheikh Mubarak "the Great" strikes a deal with Britain and Kuwait becomes a protectorate. Britain provides naval protection in return for Kuwait allowing London to control its foreign affairs.
1937 - Large oil reserves discovered by the US-British Kuwait Oil Company. Exploitation is delayed by World War II, but thereafter fuels the country's development into a modern commercial centre.
1951 - Major public-works programme begins; Kuwait's infrastructure is transformed, residents enjoy a high standard of living.
Independence
1961
June - Kuwait becomes independent with the end of the British protectorate; the sheikh becomes an emir. The country joins the Arab League. Iraq renews claims that Kuwait is part of its territory but backs down after British military intervention.
1963 - Elections held for National Assembly, under terms of newly-drafted constitution.
1976 - Emir suspends National Assembly, saying it is not acting in the country's interests.
1980 - Iran-Iraq war: Kuwait supports Iraq strategically and financially.
1981 - National Assembly recalled; dissolved again in 1986.
1985-86 - Domestic security concerns, particularly about Iran's perceived influence over the Shi'ite minority, prompt the deportations of thousands of expatriates, many of them Iranian.
1990 July - Iraq complains to Opec, accusing Kuwait of stealing its oil from a field near the border. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein threatens military action.
Iraqi Invasion
More than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers invaded Kuwait in 1990 On This Day 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait
1990
August - Iraq invades and then annexes Kuwait. The emir and cabinet flee to Saudi Arabia.
1991 January - Iraq fails to comply with a UN resolution ordering it to pull out. A US-led and UN-backed bombing aerial campaign begins in Kuwait and Iraq. By late February allied forces reach Kuwait City. Iraqi forces torch oil wells as they pull out.
1991 March - Emir returns, imposes three-month period of martial law.
1992 - Under domestic and international pressure, Emir gives green light to National Assembly elections. Opposition forces perform well in the vote.
1993 - UN demarcates new Kuwait-Iraq border, awarding a port and a number of oil wells to Kuwait. US troops despatched to Kuwait following Iraqi border incursions.
1994 - Iraq officially recognises Kuwait's independence and the UN-demarcated borders following UN pressure and Russian mediation.
1999 - Emir suspends National Assembly after bitter feud between MPs and cabinet about misprints in state-published edition of the Koran. Government supporters suffer shock setback in resulting elections; liberals and Islamists predominate in the new assembly.
2001 March - Kuwaiti court commutes to life imprisonment a death sentence handed down in 2000 to the country's pro-Iraqi puppet ruler during the 1990-91 invasion.
Second Iraq War
2003 March - Tens of thousands of soldiers converge on the Kuwait-Iraq border for a US-led military campaign to disarm and oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
2003 July - Islamist and pro-government candidates fare well in parliamentary elections. There are major losses for liberal candidates.
Late emir, Sheikh Jaber, survived attempt on his life and invasion Emir Sheikh Jaber buried
Emir appoints Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah prime minister, separating post from role of heir to throne for first time since independence.
2005 January - Deadly gun battles erupt between suspected Islamist militants and police.
2005 May - Parliament approves a law allowing women to vote and run for parliament. In June the first woman cabinet minister, Massouma al-Mubarak, is appointed.
2006 January - The emir, Sheikh Jaber, dies. The crown prince, Sheikh Saad, succeeds him but is removed days later because of concerns about his ailing health. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad is sworn in as emir.
2006 February - Sheikh Sabah names his brother, Sheikh Nawaf, as crown prince and his nephew Sheikh Nasser as prime minister.
2006 April - Women cast their votes for the first time, in a municipal by-election.
2006 June - Women fail to win any seats in their first attempt to compete in parliamentary elections. The opposition - a loose alliance of reformists, liberals and Islamists - makes gains, winning nearly two-thirds of the seats.
2006
December - Information Minister Mohammad al-Sanousi resigns. He was to face questioning in parliament over allegations that he curbed media freedoms in the run-up to parliamentary elections in June.
Assertive parliament
2007 March - The government resigns in a move aimed at thwarting a no-confidence motion against the health minister. The new cabinet includes two women.
2007 June - Oil Minister Sheikh Ali resigns amid a political standoff between the government and parliament.
2007 July - Kuwaitis are urged to conserve electricity as generators struggle to meet demands of economic growth fuelled by record oil exports.
2008 March - Emir dissolves opposition-dominated parliament and calls elections for 17 May after cabinet quits over alleged lack of cooperation from MPs.
2008 May - Radical Islamists make gains in parliamentary elections, winning more than half of the 50 seats. No women are elected. Emir re-appoints Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Ahmad as prime minister.
2009 January - Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah forms new government after parliamentary row over visit by a Shia cleric.
2009 February - Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad al-Sabah flies to Baghdad in highest-level visit since Iraq's armed forces invaded Kuwait in 1990.
2009 March - Emir dissolves parliament after it demands to question his nephew and PM, Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, about corruption allegations.
2009 May - Three women MPs - Kuwait's first - win seats in parliamentary elections.
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