Bahrain

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia

Area

Total area: 620 sq km
Land area: 620 sq km
Comparative area: slightly less than 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

International Disputes

Territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Qatar

Climate

Arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Terrain

Mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural Resources

Oil
Associated and nonassociated natural gas
Fish

Land Use

Arable land: 2%
Permanent crops: 2%
Meadows and pastures: 6%
Forest and woodland: 0%
Other: 90%

Irrigated Land

10 sq km (1989 est.)

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
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
International agreements: party to - Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity

Note: Close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean

PEOPLE

Population

590,042 (July 1996 est.)
575,925 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

31% (male 92,455; female 89,554) (July 1996 est.)
31% (male 89,976; female 87,398) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

67% (male 236,048; female 156,556) (July 1996 est.)
67% (male 231,586; female 152,363) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

2% (male 7,956; female 7,473) (July 1996 est.)
2% (male 7,551; female 7,051) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

2.27% (1996 est.)
2.58% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

23.58 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
24.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

3.29 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
3.31 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
4.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.51 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.33 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

17.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
18 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 74.27 years (1996 est.); 73.94 years (1995 est.)
Male: 71.78 years (1996 est.); 71.46 years (1995 est.)
Female: 76.83 years (1996 est.); 76.49 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

3.08 children born/woman (1996 est.)
3.12 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Bahraini(s)
Adjective: Bahraini

Ethnic Divisions

Bahraini 63%
Asian 13%
Other Arab 10%
Iranian 8%
Other 6%

Religions

Shi'a Muslim 70%
Sunni Muslim 30%

Languages

Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Total population: 85.2%
Male: 89.1%
Female: 79.4%

Labor Force

140,000

By occupation:

Industry and commerce 85%
Agriculture 5%
Services 5%
Government 3% (1982)

Note: 42% of labor force is Bahraini

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: State of Bahrain
Conventional short form: Bahrain
Local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn
Local short form: Al Bahrayn

Digraph

Type

Traditional monarchy

Capital

Manama

Administrative Divisions

12 municipalites (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, Mintaqat Juzur Hawar, Sitrah

Independence

15 August 1971 (from U.K.)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 16 December (1961)

Constitution

26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973

Legal System

Based on Islamic law and English common law

Suffrage

None

Executive Branch

Chief of state: Amir ISA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 2 November 1961); Heir Apparent HAMAD bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (son of the Amir, born 28 January 1949)
Head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 19 January 1970)
Cabinet: Cabinet

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 Leaders

Political parties prohibited

Other political or pressure groups

Several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active; following the arrest of a popular Shi'a cleric, Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically from late 1994 to September 1995, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment

Member of

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

National Anthem

National anthem

Flag

Red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side

ECONOMY

Overview

In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 80% 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. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (1995 est.); $7.1 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

-2% (1995 est.)
2.2% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$12,000 (1995 est.)
$12,100 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

3% (1995 est.)
2% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

25% (1994 est.)
15% (1991 est.)

Budget

Revenues: $1.38 billion (1995 est.); $1.2 billion (1989)
Expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.); $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1992)

Exports

$3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$3.69 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

Commodities:

Petroleum and petroleum products 80%
Aluminum 7%

Partners:

Japan 14%
UAE 5%
U.S. 6%
India 20%
Saudi Arabia 7% (1994)

Imports

$3.29 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
$3.83 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

Commodities:

Nonoil 59%
Crude oil 41%

Partners:

Saudi Arabia 37%
U.K. 6%
Japan 5%
U.S. 12%
Germany 4% (1994)

External Debt

$2.6 billion (1993)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 13% (1992); accounts for 38% of GDP, including petroleum

Electricity

Capacity: 1,050,000 kW
Production: 3.3 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 5,453 kWh (1993)

Industries

Petroleum processing and refining
Aluminum smelting
Offshore banking
Ship repairing

Agriculture

Including fishing, accounts for less than 2% of GDP; not self-sufficient in food production; heavily subsidized sector produces fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, fish

Economic Aid

Recipient: U.S. commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $24 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $45 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.8 billion

Currency

1 Bahraini dinar (BD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange Rates

Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1 - 0.3760 (fixed rate)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

0 km

Highways

Total: 2,671 km
Paved: 2,011 km
Unpaved: 660 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines

Crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km

Ports

Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah

Merchant Marine

Total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 117,060 GRT/194,061 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports

Total: 3
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1

Heliports

1 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

73,552 telephones (1987 est.); modern system; good domestic services; excellent international connections

Local: NA
Intercity: 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

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0
Radios: 320,000 (1993 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 2
Televisions: 270,000 (1993 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Coast Guard, Police Force

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 213,792; males fit for military service 118,702 (1995 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $247 million, 5.5% of GDP (1994)

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 29 december 1997

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