Bahrain
Country Guide

Explore Bahrain

Bahrain with its capital Manama is located in Asia (Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf). It covers some 761 square kilometers (3.5 times the size of Washington, DC) with 1,410,940 citizens. Arabic, English, Persian and Urdu are the common languages used in Bahrain (consider regional differences). Thiscountry has no land-based border with any other country.

Consult your foreign offcie before traveling to Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain is a Middle Eastern archipelago in the Persian Gulf, tucked into a pocket of the sea flanked by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The best time to visit Bahrain is November-March, with October & April being just bearable. Be sure to take along a sweater during December-March as evenings can be cool. Bahrain has history dating back 5000 years, from the ancient Dilmun period through the Islamic era. The country offers three forts which have been meticulously restored and opened to the public, although a lack of signs and general promotion by the country's tourist industry sometimes makes finding these sites difficult. The Qala'at al-Bahrain (Bahrain Fort) is sightseeing must and located off the northern shore, five to ten minute drive away from Manama city. Do not travel to Bahrain during the annual F1 race in April if looking for reasonable prices, as hotels will quadruple their rates.

Popular Destinations in Bahrain

Administrative regions of Bahrain

• Manama
• Muharraq Governorate
• Northern Governorate
• Southern Governorate

About the country

The topography is mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment. The average density of population is about 1,857 per km². The climate in Bahrain can be described as aridmild, pleasant winters, very hot, humid summers. Potential natural disasters are dust storms periodic droughts

To reach someone Bahrain dial +973 prior to a number. The local cellular networks are operated on 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3G, 4G. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".bh". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery chaarger), keep in min the local 230 V - 50 Hz (plugs: G). The sign for the locally used currency Dinar is BHD.

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.

In 1783, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing successful petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors, and also to become a leading regional banking center, especially with respect to Islamic finance. Bahrain's small size, central location among Gulf countries, and proximity to Iran require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. The Sunni-led government has long struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Political talks throughout 2014 between the government and opposition and loyalist political groups failed to reach an agreement, prompting opposition political societies to boycott parliamentary and municipal council elections in late 2014. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

Geography

Area
Total (World Rank: 188)	760	sq km
Land (World Rank: 185)	760	sq km
Forest (World Rank: 155)	5.30	%
Comparative	3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Coastline
161
Elevation
Highest point (World Rank: 219)	135	m
Agricultural land
Total (World Rank: 188)	11.30	%
Arable (World Rank: 183)	2.10	%
Permanent crops (World Rank: 65)	3.90	%
Permanent pastures (World Rank: 155)	5.30	%
Irrigated land (World Rank: 153)	40	sq km
Map reference
Middle East
Environment
Issues	- and distribution stations - and dust storms - and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers - coastal degradation (damage to coastlines - coral reefs - desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land - lack of freshwater resources (groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs) - oil refineries - periods of drought
Agreement party	- Biodiversity - Climate Change - Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol - Desertification - Hazardous Wastes - Law of the Sea - Ozone Layer Protection - Wetlands
Hazzards	- dust storms - periodic droughts
Location
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Climate
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

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People

Population
Total (World Rank: 154)	1,410,940
Deathrate (World Rank: 220)	0.28	%
Birthrate (World Rank: 142)	1.33	%
Growthrate (World Rank: 34)	2.26	%
Migration rate (World Rank: 6)	1.21	%
Fertility rate (World Rank: 159)	1.75	%
Median age
Male (World Rank: 79)	33.80
Female (World Rank: 118)	29.50
Age structure
0 14 male (World Rank: 157)	136,669
0 14 female (World Rank: 158)	132,493
15 24 male (World Rank: 153)	124,906
15 24 female (World Rank: 154)	95,881
25 54 male (World Rank: 142)	516,064
25 54 female (World Rank: 152)	274,604
55 64 male (World Rank: 151)	56,671
55 64 female (World Rank: 162)	31,983
65 x male (World Rank: 165)	20,656
65 x female (World Rank: 166)	21,015
Health
Infant mortality rate (World Rank: 145)	0.89	%
Life expectancy total (World Rank: 49)	79	years
Life expectancy female (World Rank: 60)	81	years
Life expectancy male (World Rank: 48)	77	years
Physicians per 1000 (World Rank: 114)	0.94
Hospital bed per 1000 (World Rank: 105)	2.10
Sanitation access total (World Rank: 29)	99.20	%
Obesity adult (World Rank: 25)	29.80	%
Drinking water access (World Rank: 29)	100.00	%

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Energy

Electricity
Production (World Rank: 68)	26,780,000,000	kWh
Consumption (World Rank: 65)	26,090,000,000	kWh
Export (World Rank: 74)	213,000,000	kWh
Import (World Rank: 90)	205,000,000	kWh
Source fossil (World Rank: 27)	99.80	%
Source renew (World Rank: 153)	0.20	%
Crude oil
Production (World Rank: 52)	50,000	bbl / day
Imports (World Rank: 28)	223,900	bbl / day
Proved reserves (World Rank: 69)	124,600,000	bbl
Refined products
Production (World Rank: 44)	270,100	bbl / day
Consumption (World Rank: 96)	58,000	bbl / day
Export (World Rank: 29)	244,500	bbl / day
Import (World Rank: 131)	13,320	bbl / day
Natural gas
Production (World Rank: 35)	15,500,000,000	m³
Consumption (World Rank: 41)	21,920,000,000	m³
Carbon footprint
37000000

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Nation

Budget
Education (World Rank: 153)	3	% of GDP
Military (World Rank: 11)	5	% of GDP
Health (World Rank: 143)	5	% of GDP
Surplus (World Rank: 201)	-14	% of GDP
National symbol
a red field surmounted by a white serrated band with five white points
National colours
white
Adjective
Bahraini
Noun
Bahraini(s)
Background
In 1783, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing successful petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors, and also to become a leading regional banking center, especially with respect to Islamic finance. Bahrain's small size, central location among Gulf countries, and proximity to Iran require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. The Sunni-led government has long struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Political talks throughout 2014 between the government and opposition and loyalist political groups failed to reach an agreement, prompting opposition political societies to boycott parliamentary and municipal council elections in late 2014. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
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

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Economy

Gdp
Purchasing power parity (World Rank: 97)	66,920,000,000	USD
Real growth rate (World Rank: 101)	3.00	%
Per capita purchasing power parity (World Rank: 23)	50,700	USD
Source agriculture (World Rank: 213)	0.30	%
Source industry (World Rank: 35)	37.30	%
Source service (World Rank: 104)	62.30	%
Labourforce
Total (World Rank: 148)	808,900
Products
Industries	- aluminum smelting - fertilizers - insurance - iron pelletization - Islamic - offshore banking - petroleum processing - refining - ship repairing - tourism
Agriculture	- dairy products - fish - fruit - poultry - shrimp - vegetables
Exports	- aluminum - petroleum - petroleum products - textiles
Imports	- chemicals - crude oil - machinery

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Communication

Phone
Landline total (World Rank: 115)	287,203
Landline per 100 (World Rank: 85)	21.00
Mobile per 100 (World Rank: 4)	217.00
Assessment	0
Internet
Users (World Rank: 122)	1,351,330
Population (World Rank: 7)	98.00	%

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Transport

Air
Airports paved (World Rank: 161)	4.00
Heliports (World Rank: 77)	1.00
Road
Total length (World Rank: 156)	4,122
Paved length (World Rank: 111)	3,392
Unpaved length (World Rank: 127)	730

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