Bahrain

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Bahrain's Information


Capital	Manama
Languages	Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu
Ethnic Groups	Bahraini 46%, Asian 45.5%, other Arab 4.7%, African 1.6%, European 1%, other 1.2% (includes Gulf Co-operative country nationals, North and South Americans, and Oceanians) (2010 est.)
Religion	Muslim 70.3%, Christian 14.5%, Hindu 9.8%, Buddhist 2.5%, Jewish 0.6%, folk religion <.1, unaffiliated 1.9%, other 0.2% (2010 est.)
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Independance	15 August 1971 (from the UK)
Area	760.00 km²
Land Area	760.00 km²
Population	1,378,904.00 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
Location	Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
GDP(PPP)	$66,370,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$50,300.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Saudi Arabi and the United Arab Emirates.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are petroleum and petroleum products.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Saudi Arabia, the United States, and China.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include crude oil, machinery, and chemicals.
Climate	Arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain	Mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Where is Bahrain?

Located in the Middle East, east of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is an island nation. It has a 161.00 km coastline.

From 1783 to 2002, Bahrain rulers changed titles from “Hakim” to “Emir” and currently “King.” The Kingdom of Bahrain is a Constitutional Monarchy with the King exercising all executive powers. The King also appoints close members of his family to powerful cabinet and security positions. Bahrain has a bicameral parliament, with each chamber having forty members. Members of the lower house get elected to represent constituencies whereas members of the upper house are the King’s appointees. For one to vote in the parliamentary election, he or she must be twenty years of age or above and be a citizen of the country. Both the current and new parliament buildings are in the capital city while the King’s palace is in Riffa. Being a monarchy, Bahrain has no political term limits.

Geography

Bahrain has a mean elevation of 0 m above sea level.

It has an arid climate with mild winters and extremely hot summers. Its terrain has mostly low desert plains, which rises gently into low central escarpment.

Population

Bahrain has a population of 1,378,904 making it the 154th largest in the world. Most of the country lives in the far northern end of the island.

Arabic is the official language; English, Farsi and Urdu are also spoken. The major ethnic groups reported are Bahraini, Asian, other Arab, and Africa. The population is mostly Muslim, with some Christian groups.

Arabic is the official language of Bahrain in which two forms of the language exists. They are the majority-spoken Bahrani Arabic and Gulf Arabic. Arabic belongs to the Semitic language family and developed during the Iron Age. The Arabic language has 28 letters, all consonants, that are written from right going left in a form where some letters join together. Approximately all the people of Bahrain speak Bahrani Arabic as the country’s constitution puts more emphasis on the language, although a good number of people in Bahrain also speak English. Minority languages, mostly spoken by immigrant communities, include Persian, Malayalam, Nepalese, Hindi, and Tamil.

Government

Bahrain is an independent country. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971. Its constitution was last ratified in 2002.

From 1783 to 2002, Bahrain rulers changed titles from “Hakim” to “Emir” and currently “King.” The Kingdom of Bahrain is a Constitutional Monarchy with the King exercising all executive powers. The King also appoints close members of his family to powerful cabinet and security positions. The Current king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has been the King since 2002. Bahrain has a bicameral parliament, each chamber having forty members. Members of the lower house get elected to represent constituencies whereas members of the upper house are the King’s appointees. For one to vote in the parliamentary election, he or she must be twenty years of age or above and be a citizen of the country. Both the current and new parliament buildings are in the capital city while the King’s palace is in Riffa. Being a monarchy, Bahrain has no political term limits.

Economy

Factoring in Purchasing Power Parity, Bahrain's GDP is $66,370,000,000.00 (USD) with $50,300.00 (USD) per capita. This makes it the 99th largest economy and its citizens the 23rd richest in the world. The currency of Bahrain is the Dinar (BHD).

Its major export partners are Saudi Arabi and the United Arab Emirates. Its main exports are petroleum and petroleum products. Its major import partners are Saudi Arabia, the United States, and China. Its major imports include crude oil, machinery, and chemicals.

Flag

The Bahrani flag consists of two colors, red and white, separated by five white triangles that form a vertical zigzag line. Bahrain officially adopted the flag in 2002 when the country became a Kingdom and has a width to length ratio of 3:5. The five triangles represent the five pillars of Islam, the red represents the regions Islamic history, and the white represents peace treaties signed with different parties. The Emir of Bahrain declared this flag after becoming King and from the look of it, it is a product of historical changes to previous versions of the flag so as to make it more appropriate for the Values of Bahrain and also unique to the country. Since the early 1820s to date, Bahrain has had a total of five flags.