| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long
form: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain
local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn
local short form: Al Bahrayn
former: Dilmun |
| Capital: |
Manama |
| Location: |
Middle East, archipelago
in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
26 00 N, 50 33
E |
| Area: |
total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
161 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined |
| Climate: |
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers |
| Terrain: |
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
constitutional hereditary monarchy |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
12 municipalities (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, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama |
| Independence |
15 August 1971 (from UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection |
| Constitution: |
adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14 February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary) |
| Legal
System; |
based on Islamic law and English common law |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: King HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
| Legislative
Branch: |
bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006)
election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10
note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
High Civil Appeals Court |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
677,886
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 28.4% (male 97,179; female 95,043)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 271,015; female 192,342)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 11,426; female 10,881) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 29 years
male: 31.9 years
female: 25.3 years (2004 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
| Ethnic groups: |
Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% |
| Religions: |
Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% |
| Languages: |
Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
185,800 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
443,100 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4 (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.bh |
| Internet hosts: |
1,334 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
195,700 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
0 |
| Highways: |
total: 3,261 km
paved: 2,531 km
unpaved: 730 km (2000) |
| Waterways: |
0 |
| Pipelines: |
gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
by type: bulk 3, container 2, petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: Hong Kong 1, Kuwait 1
registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports: |
4 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2
1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (2003 est.) |
