1988 Edition

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

Ethnic divisions

63% Bahraini, 13% 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

Land use

2% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 90% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Language

Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi, Urdu

Literacy

40%

Member of

CARICOM, CDB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDE— Inter-American Development Bank, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Nationality

noun — Bahraini(s); adjective— Bahraini

Other political or pressure groups

Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist Party (VNSP), a small leftist party headed by Lionel Carey; Trade Union Congress (TUC), headed by Leonard Archer

Population

464,102 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.54% Bangladesh

Religion

Muslim (70% Shi'a, 30% Sunni)

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

3 nm

Total area

620 km2; land area: 620 km2

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

Capital

Manama

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, IDE — Islamic Development Bank, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, QIC, 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

Agriculture

food importer; produces vegetables, tomatoes, pineapples, bananas, citrus fruits; pigs, sheep

not self-sufficient in food production; produces some fruit and vegetables; engages in dairy and poultry farming and in shrimping and fishing

Aid

US economic commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-80), from US, $42 million; ODA and OOF economic commitments (1970-84), $168 million

Budget

(June 1986 est.) revenues, $422.4 million; expenditures, $414.9 million

Electric power

350,000 kW capacity; 885 million kWh produced, 3,770 kWh per capita (1986)

1,552,000 kW capacity; 6.800 million kWh produced, 16,110 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$296 million (f.o.b., 1985); pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish

$2.8 billion (f.o.b., 1985); nonoil exports $400 million; oil exports $2.4 billion (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$2.1 billion, $8,950 per capita; real growth rate 2% (1986 est); inflation rate 4.0% (1985)

$4.6 billion, $11,190 per capita; real growth rate 7.5% (1984 est.)

Imports

$891 million (f.o.b., 1985); foodstuffs, manufactured goods, mineral fuels

$2.8 billion (f.o.b., 1985); nonoil imports $1.4 billion; oil imports $1.0 billion (1985)

Major industries

banking, tourism, cement, oil refining and transshipment, lumber, salt production, rum, aragonite, Pharmaceuticals, spiral weld, and steel pipe

petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing

Major trade partners

exports — US 90%, UK 10%; imports— Iran 30%, Nigeria 20%, US 10%, EC 10%, Gabon 10% (1981)

UK, Japan, US,

Monetary conversion rate

1.175 Bahamian dollars=US$l (November 1986)

Natural resources

salt, aragonite, timber

oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish

Airfields

59 total, 56 usable; 29 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Royal Bahamas Defense Force (a coast guard element only), Royal Bahamas Police Force

Civil air

9 major transport aircraft

Highways

2,400 km total; 1,350 km paved, 1,050 km gravel

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1985 $12.7 million, about 3% of the total budget Persian Gulf Al Muharra MANAMA S« regional map VI

Ports

2 major (Freeport, Nassau), 9 minor

Railroads

none

Telecommunications

highly developed, including 84,000 telephones (37.9 per 100 popl.) in totally automatic system; tropospheric scatter and cable links with Florida; 3 AM, 2 FM, and 1 TV stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite ground station under construction Defense Forces