Map of Bahrain | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | 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. Facing declining oil reserves Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir installed in 1999 has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In February 2001 Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of the amir's political liberalization program. In February 2002 Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa proclaimed himself king. In October 2002 Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature the National Assembly.


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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: 665 km²
Land: 665 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: 3.5 times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 161 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined

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: 2.82%
Permanent crops: 5.63%
Other: 91.55% (2001)

Irrigated land: 50 km² (1998 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 through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean


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Population
Note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 1.51% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Bahraini
Adjective: Bahraini

Ethnic groups: Bahraini 62.4% non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)

Languages: Arabic English Farsi Urdu

Religions: Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2% Christian 9% other 9.8% (2001 census)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.8% (male 96,807/female 94,863)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 275,792/female 197,424)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 12,078/female 11,381) (2005 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 29.19 years
Male: 32.16 years
Female: 25.54 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.51% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 18.1 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 4.08 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.04 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 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; lack of freshwater resources groundwater and seawater 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: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 1.4 male/female
65 years and over: 1.06 male/female
Total population: 1.27 male/female (2005 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 17.27 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 20.17 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 14.28 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.23 years
Male: 71.76 years
Female: 76.78 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.63 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 600 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

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: 89.1%
Male: 91.9%
Female: 85% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
Conventional short form: Bahrain
Local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn
Local short form: Al Bahrayn
Former: Dilmun

Government type: constitutional hereditary 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: new constitution 14 February 2002

Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King 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 monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006)
Election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10
Note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002

Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed

International organization participation: ABEDA AFESD AMF ESCWA FAO G-77 GCC IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDB IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU LAS MIGA NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Nasir al-BALUSHI
In the us chancery: 3,502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111
In the us fax: [1] (202) 362-2,192
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE
From the us embassy: Building #979, Road 3,119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, 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] 1724-2,700
From the us fax: [973] 1725-6,242 (consular)

Flag description: red the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: In well-to-do 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. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment especially among the young and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. In September 2004 Bahrain signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States - the first such agreement undertaken by a Gulf state. Both countries must ratify the FTA before it is enforced.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $13.01 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5.6% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.7%
Industry: 41%
Services: 58.4% (2004 est.)

Agriculture products: fruit vegetables; poultry dairy products; shrimp fish

Industries: petroleum processing and refining aluminum smelting iron pelletization fertilizers 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 (2004 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 1%
By occupation industry commerce and services: 79%
By occupation government: 20% (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: $3.825 billion
Expenditures: $3.262 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2004 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 63.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.1% (2004 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: $586.1 million (2004 est.)

Exports: $8.205 billion (2004 est.)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products aluminum textiles
Partners: Saudi Arabia 3% US 2.9% UAE 2.2% (2004)

Imports: $5.87 billion (2004 est.)
Commodities: crude oil machinery chemicals
Partners: Saudi Arabia 32.4% Japan 7.3% Germany 6.1% US 5.6% UK 5.4% France 4.8% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.141 billion (2004 est.)

Debt external: $6.215 billion (2004 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2004) 0.376 (2003) 0.376 (2002) 0.376 (2001) 0.376 (2000)


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Electricity
Production: 6.86 billion kWh (2002)
Consumption: 6.379 billion kWh (2002)
Exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 32.7 billion m³ (2002 est.)
Consumption: 32.7 billion m³ (2002 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2002 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2002 est.)
Proven reserves: 46 billion m³ (2004)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 185,800 (2003)
Mobile cellular: 443,100 (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system
Domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
International: country code - 973; 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
Hosts: 1334 (2003)
Users: 195,700 (2003)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $628.9 million (2004)
Percent of gdp: 6.3% (2004)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 4 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)

Pipelines: gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 1
Foreign owned: 2 (Kuwait 2) (2005)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs