Bahrain

• arid;
• mild, pleasant winters;
• very hot, humid summers

agricultural land:

11.3%;

• arable land 2.1%;
• permanent crops 3.9%;
• permanent pasture 5.3%

forest:

0.7%

other:

88% (2011 est.)

• smallest population of the Gulf States, but urbanization rate exceeds 90%;
• largest settlement concentration is found on the far northern end of the island in and around Manamah and Al Muharraq

• 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)

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• 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

noun:

Bahraini(s)

adjective:

Bahraini

• smallest population of the Gulf States, but urbanization rate exceeds 90%;
• largest settlement concentration is found on the far northern end of the island in and around Manamah and Al Muharraq

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.3 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.88 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.81 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.95 male(s)/female

total population:

1.54 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Bahrain

conventional short form:

Bahrain

local long form:

Mamlakat al Bahrayn

local short form:

Al Bahrayn

former:

Dilmun, State of Bahrain

etymology:

the name means "the two seas" in Arabic and refers to the water bodies surrounding the archipelago

name:

Manama

geographic coordinates:

26 14 N, 50 34 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Bahrain

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

25 years; 15 years for Arab nationals

• 20 years of age;
• universal;
• note - Bahraini Cabinet in May 2011 endorsed a draft law lowering eligibility to 18 years

chief of state:

King HAMAD bin Isa Al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad Al-Khalifa (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)

head of government:

• Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al-Khalifa (since 1971);
• First Deputy Prime Minister SALMAN bin Hamad Al Khalifa (since 11 March 2013);
• Deputy Prime Ministers ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, Jawad bin Salim al-ARAIDH (since 11 December 2006), KHALID bin Abdallah Al Khalifa (since November 2010), MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa (since September 2005)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the monarch

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

description:

bicameral National Assembly consists of the Consultative Council or Majlis al Shura (40 seats; members appointed by the king) and the Council of Representatives or Majlis al Nuwab (40 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 4-year renewable terms)

elections:

Council of Representatives - last held in two rounds on 23 and 29 November 2014 (next to be held in November 2018)

election results:

• Council of Representatives - percent of vote by society - NA;
• seats by society - Al-Asalah (Sunni Salafi) 2, Islamic Minbar (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) 1, independent 36, other 1;
• note - Bahrain has societies rather than parties

highest court(s):

• Court of Cassation or Supreme Court of Appeal (consists of the chairman and 3 judges);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the president and 6 members);
• High Sharia Court of Appeal (court sittings include the president and at least one judge);
• appeals beyond the High Sharia Court of Appeal are heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal

note: the judiciary of Bahrain is divided into civil law courts and sharia law courts; sharia courts are further divided into Sunni Muslim and Shia Muslim

judge selection and term of office:

• Court of Cassation judges appointed by royal decree and serve for a specified tenure;
• Constitutional Court president and members appointed by the Higher Judicial Council, a body chaired by the monarch and includes judges from the Court of Cassation, sharia law courts, and Civil High Courts of Appeal;
• members serve 9-year terms;
• High Sharia Court of Appeal member appointment and tenure NA

subordinate courts:

• Civil High Courts of Appeal;
• middle and lower civil courts;
• High Sharia Court of Appeal;
• Senior Sharia Court

• Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society or Al-Wefeq [Ali SALMAN]
• Arab Islamic Center Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER]
• Constitutional Gathering Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER]
• Islamic Asalah [Abd al-Halim MURAD]
• Islamic Saff Society [Abdullah Khalil BU GHAMAR]
• Islamic Shura Society
• Movement of National Justice Society [Muhi al-Din KHAN]
• National Action Charter Society [Muhammad AL-BUAYNAYN]
• National Democratic Action Society [Radhi AL-MOUSAWI]
• National Democratic Assembly [Hasan AL-ALI]
• National Dialogue Society
• National Fraternity Society [Musa AL-ANSARI]
• National Islamic Minbar [Ali AHMAD]
• National Progressive Tribune [Abd al-Nabi SALMAN]
• National Unity Gathering [Abdullatif AL-MAHMOOD]
• Unitary National Democratic Assemblage [Fadhil ABBAS]

note: political parties are prohibited, but political societies were legalized under a July 2005 law

chief of mission:

Ambassador ABDALLAH bin Muhammad bin Rashid Al Khalifa (since 3 December 2013)

chancery:

3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-1111

FAX:

[1] (202) 362-2192

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador William V. ROEBUCK (since 12 December 2014)

embassy:

Building

mailing address:

PSC 451, Box 660, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama

telephone:

[973] 1724-2700

FAX:

[973] 1727-0547

• 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

note: until 2002 the flag had eight white points, but this was reduced to five to avoid confusion with the Qatari flag

name:

"Bahrainona" (Our Bahrain)

lyrics/music:

unknown

note: adopted 1971; although Mohamed Sudqi AYYASH wrote the original lyrics, they were changed in 2002 following the transformation of Bahrain from an emirate to a kingdom

• fruit, vegetables;
• poultry, dairy products;
• shrimp, fish

agriculture:

1%

industry:

32%

services:

67% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

modern system

domestic:

modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones

international:

• country code - 973;
• landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US;
• tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE;
• microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia;
• satellite earth station - 1 (2015)

• state-run Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC) operates 5 terrestrial TV networks and several radio stations;
• satellite TV systems provide access to international broadcasts;
• 1 private FM station directs broadcasts to Indian listeners;
• radio and TV broadcasts from countries in the region are available (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

6; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 42

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

5,313,756

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

240,107,004 mt-km (2015)

total:

4,122 km

paved:

3,392 km

unpaved:

730 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 157

• 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
• 15 years of age for NCOs, technicians, and cadets;
• no conscription (2012)