Map of Bahrain | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: 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. In 2001 the International Court of Justice awarded the Hawar Islands long disputed with Qatar to Bahrain.


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Location: Middle East archipelago in the Persian Gulf east of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N 50 33 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 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 claims
Contiguous 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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
Extremes highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural resources: oil associated and nonassociated natural gas fish pearls

Land use
Arable land: 1%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 6%
Forests and woodland: 0%
Other: 92% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms

Geography
Note: 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


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Population
Note: includes 228,424 non-nationals (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 1.73% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Bahraini
Adjective: Bahraini

Ethnic groups: Bahraini 63% Asian 19% other Arab 10% Iranian 8%

Languages: Arabic English Farsi Urdu

Religions: Shi'a Muslim 70% Sunni Muslim 30%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.6% (male 96,697; female 94,330)
15-64 years: 67.43% (male 257,360; female 177,839)
65 years and over: 2.97% (male 9,721; female 9,414) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.73% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 20.07 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 3.92 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.1 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current 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 pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male/female
15-64 years: 1.45 male/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male/female
Total population: 1.29 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 19.77 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.2 years
Male: 70.81 years
Female: 75.67 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.79 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.15% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: 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 education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: State of Bahrain
Conventional short form: Bahrain
Local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn
Local short form: Al Bahrayn
Former: Dilmun

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Manama

Administrative divisions
Note: all municipalities administered from Manama

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection

Constitution: adopted late December 2000 (new constitution calls for a partially elected legislature a constitutional monarchy and an independent judiciary)

Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: none

Executive branch
Chief of state: Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)
Head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971)
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; the National Action Charter created a bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum of 14 February 2001

Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited

International organization participation: ABEDA AFESD AL AMF ESCWA FAO G-77 GCC IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDB IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
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: #979, Road 3,119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 321, 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 symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: In Bahrain petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts 60% of government revenues and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil revenue granted as aid. 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 parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 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: 2% (2000 est.)

Labor force
Note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.)
By occupation: industry commerce and service 79% government 20% agriculture 1% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1998 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.8 billion
Expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2% (2000 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $5.8 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 61% aluminum 7%
Partners: India 14% Saudi Arabia 5% US 5% UAE 5% Japan 4% South Korea 4% (1999)

Imports: $4.2 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: nonoil 59% crude oil 41%
Partners: France 20% US 14% UK 8% Saudi Arabia 7% Japan 5% (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $2.7 billion (2000)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.3760 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 6.185 billion kWh (1999)
By source fossil fuel: 100%
By source hydro: 0%
By source nuclear: 0%
By source other: 0% (1999)

Electricity consumption: 5.752 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular: 58,543 (1997)

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system
Domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
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 (1997)

Broadcast media

Internet country code: .bh

Internet users: 37,500 (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $318 million (FY99)
Percent of gdp: 5.2% (FY99)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 3 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 2
Over 3047 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 1
15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km

Railways: 0 km

Roadways

Waterways: none

Merchant marine
Total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 175,609 GRT/207,652 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 3, container 2 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs