:Bahrain Geography

Total area:
    620 km2
Land area:
    620 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
    none
Coastline:
    161 km
Maritime claims:
  Continental shelf:
    not specific
  Territorial sea:
    3 nm
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
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%, includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
    subsurface water sources being rapidly depleted (requires development of
    desalination facilities); dust storms; desertification
Note:
    close to primary Middle Eastern crude oil sources; strategic location in
    Persian Gulf through which much of Western world's crude oil must transit to
    reach open ocean

:Bahrain People

Population:
    551,513 (July 1992), growth rate 3.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
    27 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    4 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    7 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    21 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    70 years male, 75 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    4.0 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Bahraini(s); adjective - Bahraini
Ethnic divisions:
    Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%, other 6%
Religions:
    Muslim (Shi`a 70%, Sunni 30%)
Languages:
    Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi, Urdu
Literacy:
    77% (male 82%, female 69%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
    140,000; 42% of labor force is Bahraini; industry and commerce 85%,
    agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 3% (1982)
Organized labor:
    General Committee for Bahrain Workers exists in only eight major designated
    companies

:Bahrain Government

Long-form name:
    State of Bahrain
Type:
    traditional monarchy
Capital:
    Manama
Administrative divisions:
    12 districts (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 UK)
Constitution:
    26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973
Legal system:
    based on Islamic law and English common law
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 16 December
Executive branch:
    amir, crown prince and heir apparent, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26 August 1975 and legislative
    powers were assumed by the Cabinet
Judicial branch:
    High Civil Appeals Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    Amir `ISA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 2 November 1961); Heir Apparent HAMAD
    bin `Isa Al Khalifa (son of Amir; born 28 January 1950)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 19 January 1970)
Political parties and leaders:
    political parties prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic
    fundamentalist groups are active
Suffrage:
    none
Elections:
    none
Member of:
    ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF,
    IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC,
    OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador `Abd al-Rahman Faris Al KHALIFA; Chancery at 3502 International
    Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 342-0741 or 342-0742; there
    is a Bahraini Consulate General in New York
  US:
    Ambassador Dr. Charles W. HOSTLER; Embassy at Road No. 3119 (next to Alahli
    Sports Club), Zinj; (mailing address is P. O. 26431, Manama, or FPO AE
    09834-6210); telephone [973] 273-300; FAX (973) 272-594
Flag:
    red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side

:Bahrain Economy

Overview:
    Petroleum production and processing account for about 80% of export
    receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 31% of GDP. Economic conditions
    have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example,
    the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. The liberation of Kuwait in early 1991 has
    improved short- to medium-term prospects and has raised investors'
    confidence. Bahrain with its highly developed communication and transport
    facilities is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the
    Gulf. A large share of exports is petroleum products made from imported
    crude.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $4.0 billion, per capita $7,500 (1990); real
    growth rate 6.7% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    1.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
    8-10% (1989)
Budget:
    revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.32 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports:
    $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    petroleum and petroleum products 80%, aluminum 7%, other 13%
  partners:
    UAE 18%, Japan 12%, India 11%, US 6%
Imports:
    $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989)
  commodities:
    nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%
  partners:
    Saudi Arabia 41%, US 23%, Japan 8%, UK 8%
External debt:
    $1.1 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
    growth rate 3.8% (1988); accounts for 44% of GDP
Electricity:
    3,600,000 kW capacity; 10,500 million kWh produced, 21,000 kWh per capita
    (1991)
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, and fish; fish catch 9,000 metric tons in
    1987
Economic aid:
    US 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:
    Bahraini dinar (plural - dinars); 1 Bahraini dinar (BD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates:
    Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1 - 0.3760 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year

:Bahrain Communications

Highways:
    200 km bituminous surfaced, including 25 km bridge-causeway to Saudi Arabia
    opened in November 1986; NA km natural surface tracks
Pipelines:
    crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km
Ports:
    Mina' Salman, Manama, Sitrah
Merchant marine:
    9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 186,367 GRT/249,441 DWT; includes 5
    cargo, 2 container, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk
Civil air:
    27 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over
    3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    excellent international telecommunications; good domestic services; 98,000
    telephones; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 3 FM, 2 TV; satellite earth stations
    - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT;
    tropospheric scatter to Qatar, UAE, and microwave to Saudi Arabia; submarine
    cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia

:Bahrain Defense Forces

Branches:
    Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Police Force
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 190,937; 105,857 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $194 million, 6% of GDP (1990)