Statistical information Bahrain 1999

Bahrain in the World
top of pageBackground: Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Possessing minimal oil reserves Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir is pushing economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community.
top of pageLocation: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E
Map reference:
Middle EastAreaTotal: 620 km²
Land: 620 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claimsContiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
ElevationExtremes lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
Extremes highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish
Land useArable land: 1%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 6%
Forests and woodland: 0%
Other: 92% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 10 km² (1993 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
GeographyNote: close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
top of pagePopulation: 629,090 (July 1999 est.)
Note: includes 227,801 non-nationals (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 2% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%
NationalityNoun: Bahraini(s)
Adjective: Bahraini
Ethnic groups: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%, other 6%
Languages: Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim 25%
Demographic profileAge structure0-14 years: 31% (male 97,316; female 94,708)
15-64 years: 67% (male 249,594; female 169,337)
65 years and over: 2% (male 9,241; female 8,894) (1999 est.)
Dependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: 2% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 21.86 births/1000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 3.24 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.42 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for all water needs
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Air pollutantsSex ratioAt birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.47 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.3 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Mothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 14.81 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 75.32 years
Male: 72.75 years
Female: 77.96 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.97 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracyDefinition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 85.2%
Male: 89.1%
Female: 79.4% (1995 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: State of Bahrain
Conventional short form: Bahrain
Local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn
Local short form: Al Bahrayn
Government type: traditional monarchy
Capital: Manama
Administrative divisions: 12 municipalities (manatiq, singular_mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
Note: all municipalities administered from Manama
Dependent areasIndependence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 16 December (1971)
Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973
Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: none
Executive branchChief of state: Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born NA 1969)
Head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 19 January 1970)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch
Elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet; appointed Advisory Council established 16 December 1992
Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representationIn the us chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Muhammad ABD AL-GHAFFAR Abdallah
In the us chancery: 3,502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 362-2,192
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Johnny YOUNG
From the us embassy: Building No. 979, Road 3,119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 3,119, Zinj District, Manama
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 9,834-5,100; International Mail:American Embassy, Box 26,431, Manama
From the us telephone: [973] 273-300
From the us FAX: [973] 272-594
Flag description
: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and following the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: -2% (1998 est.)
Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $13,100 (1998 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture: 1%
Industry: 46%
Services: 53% (1996 est.)
Agriculture products: fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish
Industries: petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 3.4% (1995)
Labor force: 150,000 (1997 est.)
Note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.)
By occupation industry commerce andservice: 79%
By occupation government: 20%
By occupation agriculture: 1% (1997est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1996 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty line: NA%
Gini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetRevenues: $1.5 billion
Expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1999 budget)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $4.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 61%, aluminum 7%
Partners: India 18%, Japan 11%, Saudi Arabia 8%, South Korea 7%, UAE 5% (1997)
Imports: $4.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
Commodities: nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%
Partners: Saudi Arabia 45%, US 10%, UK 6%, Japan 5%, Germany 4% (1997)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $2 billion (1997)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1_0.3760 (fixed rate)
top of pageElectricityProduction: 4.7 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 4.7 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Imports: 0 kWh (1996)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephones: 73,552 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: modern system; good domestic services and excellent international connections
Domestic: NA
International: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations_2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Broadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $276.9 million (1994)
Percent of gdp: 4.5% (1998)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 3 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km
Railways: 0 km
RoadwaysWaterwaysMerchant marineTotal: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 228,273 GRT/304,654 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 3, container 2, oil tanker 1 (1998 est.)
Ports and terminalsBahrain - Transnational issues 1999
top of pageDisputes international: territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands and maritime boundary dispute with Qatar currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs