Bahrain

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

• 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

• 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

total:

33.4 years (2024 est.)

male:

34.6 years

female:

31.2 years

• 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

15-64 years:

1.68 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.06 male(s)/female

total population:

1.5 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

11.3 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

80.4 years (2024 est.)

male:

78.1 years

female:

82.7 years

total:

1.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

14.9% (2020 est.)

male:

25.3% (2020 est.)

female:

4.5% (2020 est.)

• 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);
• lowered water table leaves aquifers vulnerable to saline contamination;
• desalinization provides some 90% of the country's freshwater

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

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

urban population:

89.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

51.82 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

31.69 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

15.47 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

951,943 tons (2016 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

76,155 tons (2012 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

8% (2012 est.)

municipal:

280 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

140 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Bahrain

conventional short form:

Bahrain

local long form:

Mamlakat al Bahrayn

local short form:

Al Bahrayn

former:

Dilmun, Tylos, Awal, Mishmahig, Bahrayn, 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)

etymology:

name derives from the Arabic "al-manama" meaning "place of rest" or "place of dreams"

history:

previous 1973; latest adopted 14 February 2002, entry into force 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

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

chief of state:

King HAMAD bin Isa Al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad Al-Khalifa (since 11 November 2020)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the monarch

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

highest court(s):

• Court of Cassation (consists of the chairman and 3 judges);
• 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)

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 appointments by royal decree for a specified tenure

subordinate courts:

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

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; the Courts are supervised by the Supreme Judicial Council.

chief of mission:

Ambassador Abdulla bin Rashed AL KHALIFA (since 21 July 2017)

chancery:

3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-1111

FAX:

[1] (202) 362-2192

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?language=en-US&tabid=7702

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Steven C. BONDY (since 9 February 2022)

embassy:

Building 979, Road 3119, Block 331, Zinj District, P.O. Box 26431, Manama

mailing address:

6210 Manama Place, Washington DC 20521-6210

telephone:

[973] 17-242700

FAX:

[973] 17-272594

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://bh.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

3 (all cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Dilmun Burial Mounds;
• Qal'at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbor and Capital of Dilmun ;
• Bahrain Pearling Path

• high-income, growing Middle Eastern island economy;
• oil and aluminum exporter with diversification led by services, construction and manufacturing;
• regional finance and tourism hub;
• high public debt linked to oil revenue dependence and limited tax base;
• vulnerable to water reservoir depletion

Fitch rating:

B+ (2020)

Moody's rating:

B2 (2018)

Standard & Poors rating: B+ (2017)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

total:

5.8% (2023 est.)

male:

2.9% (2023 est.)

female:

12.5% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

13% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

0.4% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

exports:

2,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

94.7 metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

189,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

72,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

186.5 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

18.005 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

17.924 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

81.98 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

81.383 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Bahrain continues to develop its telecoms sector in a bid to develop its long-term Economic Vision 2030 strategy;
• this is a multi-faceted strategy aimed at developing a digital transformation across numerous sectors, including e-government, e-health, e-commerce, and e-banking;
• 5G services have become widely available since they were launched in 2020;
• Bahrain’s telecom sector by the Fourth National Telecommunications Plan (initiated in 2016) which focuses on fiber optic infrastructure deployment and establishing affordable prices for high-speed access (2022)

domestic:

• approximately 18 per 100 fixed-line and 131 per 100 mobile-cellular;
• modern fiber-optic integrated services;
• digital network with rapidly expanding mobile-cellular telephones (2021)

international:

country code - 973; Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority ( TRA ) has made part of the C-band spectrum available for 5G private networks, in line with the goals outlined in its Workplan for the 2022-23 period (2023)

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

6 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 42

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

5,877,003 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

420.98 million (2018) mt-km

total:

4,122 km

paved:

3,392 km

unpaved:

730 km (2010)

total ports:

4 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

3

small:

1

very small:

0

ports with oil terminals:

1

key ports:

Al Manamah, Khalifa Bin Salman, Mina Salman, Sitrah

• the military's inventory consists of a mix of equipment acquired from a wide variety of suppliers;
• in recent years, the US has been the leading supplier of arms to Bahrain (2024)

• 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
• 18-55 to voluntarily join the reserves;
• no compulsory service (2024)

• the BDF is a small, but well-equipped military focused on territorial defense and support to internal security;
• its primary concern is Iran, both the conventional military threat and Tehran's support to regional terrorist groups;
• the BDF participates in multinational exercises and has conducted small deployments outside of the country;
• in 2015, for example, Bahrain joined the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in Yemen, supplying a few hundred troops and combat aircraft Bahrain’s closest security partners are the US and Saudi Arabia;
• it hosts the US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT; established 1983), which includes the US 5 th Fleet, several subordinate naval task forces, and the Combined Maritime Forces (established 2002), a coalition of more than 30 nations providing maritime security for regional shipping lanes;
• in 2003, the US granted Bahrain Major Non-NATO Ally status, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation;
• Bahraini leaders have said that the security of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are “indivisible”;
• Saudi Arabia sent forces to Bahrain to assist with internal security following the 2011 uprising;
• Bahrain also has close security ties to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, particularly Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UK (2024)