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)

history:

adopted 14 February 2002

amendments:

• proposed by the king or by at least 15 members of either chamber of the National Assembly followed by submission to an Assembly committee for review and, if approved, submitted to the government for restatement as drafts;
• passage requires a two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both chambers and validation by the king;
• constitutional articles on the state religion (Islam), state language (Arabic), and the monarchy and “inherited rule” cannot be amended;
• amended 2012, 2017 (2017)

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 MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa (since September 2005), Jawad bin Salim al-ARAIDH, ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa (since 11 December 2006), KHALID bin Abdallah Al Khalifa (since November 2010)

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 2 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 37;
• 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(involving personal status and family law) 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;
• military courts

• 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 or Wa'ad [Fouad SEYADI]
• 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 Abdulla bin Rashid AL KHALIFA (since 21 July 2017)

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 14 January 2015)

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] 1727-2594

• 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 (2016)

• 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 (2009)

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: 156

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