1987 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1987 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Boundary disputes
none; territorial dispute with Qatar over the island of Hawar and its ring of islets
Climate
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Coastline
161 km
Comparative area
about three times the size of Washington, D. C.
Continental shelf
not specific
Environment
subsurface water sources being rapidly depleted (requires development of desalination facilities); dust storms; desertification
Land use
2% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 90% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Special notes
close proximity to primary Middle East crude oil sources and strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of western world’s crude oil must transit to reach open ocean
Terrain
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Territorial sea
8 nm
Total area
- 10 km
- 620 km?; land area: 620 km?
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
63% Bahraini, 18% Asian, 10% other Arab, 8% Iranian, 6% other
Labor force
140,000 (1982); 42% of labor force is Bahraini; 85% industry and commerce, 5% agriculture, 5% services, 3% government
Language
Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi, Urdu
Literacy
40%
Nationality
noun—Bahraini(s); adjective—Bahraini
Population
464,102 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.54%
Religion
Muslim (70% Shi'a, 80% Sunni)
Government
Branches
Amir rules with help of a Cabinet led by Prime Minister; Amir dissolved the National Assembly in August 1975 and suspended the constitutional provision for election of the Assembly; independent judiciary
Communists
negligible
Government leader
Isa bin Sulman Al KHALIFA, Amir (since November 1961)
Legal system
based on Islamic law and English common law; constitution went into effect in December 1973
Member of
Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC, IBRD, ICAO, [DB—Islamic Development Bank, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
National holiday
16 December
Official name
State of Bahrain
Suffrage
none Political parties and pressure groups: political parties prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Shi‘a fundamentalist groups are active
Type
traditional monarchy; independent since 1971 Capital; Manama
Economy
Agriculture
not self-sufficient in food production; produces some fruit and vegetables; engages in dairy and poultry farming and in shrimping and fishing
Electric power
1,552,000 kW capacity; 6.800 million kWh produced, 16,110 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$2.8 billion (f.0.b., 1985); nonoil exports $400 million; oil exports $2.4 billion (1985)
GDP
$4.6 billion, $11,190 per capita; real growth rate 7.5% (1984 est.)
Imports
$2.8 billion (f.0.b., 1985); nonoil imports $1.4 billion; oil imports $1.0 billion (1985)
Major industries
petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing
Major trade partners
UK, Japan, US,
Natural resources
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish