1981 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1981 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
- Voting strength (1977 election): PLP (55%) 30 seats, BDP (27%) 6 seats, FNM (15%) 2 seats, others (3%) 0 seats
- 596 km2 plus group of 32 smaller islands; 5% cultivated, negligible forested area, remainder desert, waste, or urban
Coastline
161 km
Communists
none known
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
3 nm
Member of
CDB, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, UN, UPO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
63% Bahraini, 10% other Arab, 13% Asian, 8% Iranian, 6% other
Labor force
130,000 (1980 est); 43% of labor force is Bahraini
Language
Arabic, English also widely spoken
Literacy
about 40%
Nationality
noun — Bahraini(s); adjective — Bahraini
Population
380,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 4.7%
Religion
Muslim, slightly more Shuts than Sunnis
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
Capital
Manama
Government leader
Amir 'Isa bin Salman Al KHALIFA Political parties and pressure groups: political parties prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia Fundamentalist groups are active
Legal system
based on Islamic law and English common law; constitution went into effect December 1973
National holiday
16 December
Official name
State of Bahrain
Type
traditional monarchy; independence declared in
Economy
Agriculture
food importer, main crops — fish, fruits, vegetables
Aid
economic — bilateral commitments including Ex-Im (1970-80) from US, $34.3 million; from other Western countries (1970-79), $137.7 million; no military aid
Budget
(1979 actual) revenues, $208 million; expenditures, $216 million
Electric power
320,000 kW capacity (1981); 650 million kWh produced (1981), 3,307 kWh per capita
Exports (nonoil)
$194 million (f.o.b., 1979); pharmaceuticals, cement, rum
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$1,083 million (1979), $4,650 per capita; real growth rate 3-4% (1980)
Imports (nonoil)
$364 million (f.o.b., 1979); foodstuffs, manufactured goods
Major industries
tourism, cement, oil refining, lumber, salt production, rum, aragonite, Pharmaceuticals, spiral weld, and steel pipe
Major trade partners
nonoil exports — US 41%, UK 12%, Canada 3%; nonoil imports — US 73%, UK 13%, Canada 2% (1973)
Monetary conversion rate
1 Bahamian dollar=US$l
Communications
Airfields
55 total, 51 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
8 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in
Highways
3,350 km total; 1,350 km paved, 2,000 km gravel
Ports
2 major (Freeport, Nassau), 9 minor
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
telecom facilities highly developed, including 62,000 telephones (28 per 100 popl.) in totally automatic system; tropospheric scatter link with Florida; 3 AM stations, 2 FM stations and 1 TV station; 3 coaxial submarine cables