Bahrain

Bahrain is a constitutional hereditary monarchy and island state in the Persian Gulf, lying off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and connected to it by a causeway. Its small size, low relief and arid climate have shaped a long history built on maritime activity: the ancient trade of Dilmun, the medieval pearl fisheries, and the port-based commerce that continued after the discovery of oil in 1932. The country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971, and its capital, Manama, remains the centre of government, finance and commerce. Because its reserves are modest by regional standards, Bahrain has pursued economic diversification earlier than most of its neighbours, which makes it a useful case for studying how a small hydrocarbon economy adapts. Its sovereignty claims, its membership in regional bodies and its exposure to Gulf shipping routes also connect it to wider questions of international law and regional security.

The entry first treats the physical setting: the archipelago and its shifting land-area figures, the arid climate with its hot, humid summers, and the scarcity of fresh water, which depends on aquifers that are becoming brackish and on desalination to meet demand. It then describes the ecosystems of the coast, including coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves, and the environmental pressures they face. The historical sections follow the country from the Dilmun period through the pearling economy, Islamic-era and Portuguese rule, the rise of the Al Khalifa dynasty, the British protectorate and the transition to independence.

The later sections cover the constitutional and legislative system, population and society, education and health, and the economy: hydrocarbons and refining, the financial sector, diversification under the national economic vision, and the economic contraction of early 2026 linked to disruption in Gulf shipping. The entry closes with culture and heritage, infrastructure and urban development, foreign relations, and environmental and climate challenges.

Name, Status and Administrative Divisions

“Bahrain” derives from the Arabic al-Baḥrayn (البحرين), literally “the two seas”: baḥr means “sea,” and baḥrayn is its dual form. The literal meaning is clear, but the waters originally intended are not definitively established. One interpretation associates the name with the surrounding saltwater and the freshwater springs that historically emerged on land and beneath the sea. Historically, however, Bahrain designated a wider region of eastern Arabia rather than only the present-day archipelago. It encompassed mainland districts including al-Ahsa and Qatif, now in Saudi Arabia, as well as the islands. Medieval sources distinguished the principal island as Awal or Owāl. References to “Bahrain” in early Islamic and medieval texts therefore require geographical context and should not automatically be read as references to the modern state. (en.wikipedia.org)

The official English name is Kingdom of Bahrain, corresponding to Arabic Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn (مملكة البحرين); “Bahrain” is the conventional short form. The country became independent of the United Kingdom on 15 August 1971, initially under the name State of Bahrain. On 14 February 2002, Emir Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa proclaimed the kingdom and assumed the title of king, alongside the promulgation of the amended constitution. The change from “State” to “Kingdom” concerned the country’s formal designation and monarchical title, not the date on which it acquired independence. Historical regional usage, the former official name, and the present sovereign state consequently represent distinct meanings of the same geographical name. (jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

Article 1 of the constitution describes Bahrain as an independent, fully sovereign Islamic Arab state and defines its government as a hereditary constitutional monarchy. It specifies succession within the Al Khalifa dynasty, normally from the king to his eldest son, while permitting the king to nominate another son during his lifetime under the prescribed succession arrangements. These are the state’s constitutional descriptions; the detailed allocation of powers among the monarch, executive and legislature belongs to its governmental structure. Manama, the national capital, is distinct from the Capital Governorate, the administrative territory bearing that name. (lloc.gov.bh)

Bahrain is divided into four governorates: Capital (al-ʿĀṣimah), Muharraq (al-Muḥarraq), Northern (al-Shamāliyyah) and Southern (al-Janūbiyyah). The four-governorate arrangement was established by Legislative Decree No. 56 of 22 September 2014, which replaced the previous five-governorate list and removed the Central Governorate. The decree provides that governorates may be created, abolished or renamed by decree, while their administrative centres, boundaries and constituent localities may be adjusted by decision of the prime minister. Governorate names therefore identify legally defined administrative areas, rather than simply cities or individual islands. (bahrain.gov.bh)

Governorate administration and municipal administration are related but separate functions. Municipal bodies deal with local services and exercise powers established by the Municipalities Law, promulgated through Decree-Law No. 35 of 2001. Elected municipal councils consider requests and proposals, issue decisions within their statutory competence, and follow implementation through specialist committees and the relevant authorities. The capital differs institutionally: its municipal council is appointed by royal decision rather than constituted through the same electoral arrangement as the other municipal councils. Thus, “Capital Governorate,” “Manama” and the capital’s municipal authority are not interchangeable terms: they denote an administrative territory, the national capital city and a local-service institution respectively. (mun.gov.bh)

Geography of the Archipelago

Bahrain occupies an archipelago in the Gulf of Bahrain, an inlet on the western side of the Persian Gulf between the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and the Qatar peninsula. Its main island lies approximately 24 km from Saudi Arabia and 28 km from Qatar; these distances describe the principal island group rather than every outlying island. The coast of Iran lies considerably farther away, approximately 240 km across the Gulf. Bahrain’s territory includes two geographically distinct groups: the main cluster centred on Bahrain Island, and the Hawar Islands to the southeast, close to Qatar’s western coast. (rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com)

The archipelago is commonly described as comprising 33 natural islands, although some sources give 36. The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities uses 33, whereas Bahrain’s 1997 country profile submitted to the United Nations described “some 36” islands. Such figures should not be treated as interchangeable inventories: descriptions may include islands, small islets and shoals, while artificial islands and the incorporation of formerly separate landforms through reclamation further complicate counting. Bahrain’s third national communication on climate change accordingly describes an archipelago of more than 36 islands, shoals and small islets. Besides Bahrain Island, the principal named islands include Muharraq, Sitra, Umm an-Nasan, Jidda and Nabih Saleh, together with the separate Hawar group. (en.wikipedia.org)

Bahrain Island is elongated roughly north–south, measuring about 48 km in length and up to 16 km across at its widest point. It contains the great majority of the country’s land area, and Manama occupies its northeastern coastal zone. Muharraq lies immediately to the northeast, Sitra off the eastern side, and Umm an-Nasan to the west. Bridges and causeways connect Muharraq and Sitra with the main island, making the central archipelago a closely integrated road-connected area despite its intervening marine channels. These engineered connections are distinct from land reclamation, which adds land along existing shores or creates new offshore islands. (un.org)

National land-area figures therefore require a date and a clear distinction between land and surrounding waters. The 1997 United Nations country profile reported approximately 700 km², while the cultural authority’s general description gives 780 km². Bahrain’s official statistical series records 774 km² in 2014, 783 km² in 2019 and 787.79 km² in 2024; the 2024 figure for territorial waters is separately listed as 7,481.21 km². Reclamation is a documented source of growth: seabed material is dredged and deposited within engineered boundaries to raise shallow coastal areas above water level. Reporting dates, rounding and the treatment of small coastal features must consequently be considered when comparing figures from different publications; differences do not necessarily indicate contradictory measurements of an unchanged coastline. (un.org)

The King Fahd Causeway, opened in November 1986, provides the archipelago’s fixed road connection with the Arabian mainland. Approximately 25 km long, it extends from Aziziyah, south of al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia, to al-Jasra on western Bahrain Island, passing through Umm an-Nasan. Its bridges and embankments cross the western waters of the Gulf of Bahrain rather than forming a continuous natural land connection. The Hawar Islands remain geographically separate from this main-island road network, close to Qatar rather than along the Saudi-facing crossing. (saudipedia.com)

Terrain and Geology

Bahrain Island is predominantly a low-lying limestone landscape, with a central plateau broken by rocky outcrops, short cliffs and shallow ravines rather than a continuous mountain range. An oval, scarp-rimmed depression occupies the interior: erosion has removed strata from the crest of a broad upward fold, or anticline, leaving a basin enclosed by more resistant rock. The surrounding escarpment rim stands approximately 50–60 metres above sea level, and its outer slopes descend gently towards the coastal plains. Thin, stony surface material and desert pavement cover these slopes, which are cut by numerous shallow, roughly parallel wadis. These channels remain dry for most of the year but can carry floodwater during brief, heavy winter rainstorms; the islands have no permanent rivers or streams. (edepot.wur.nl)

The exposed bedrock consists chiefly of limestone, dolomitic limestone and chalk, with subordinate marl and shale. Much of it dates from the Eocene, approximately 56–34 million years ago, when marine sediments accumulated across this part of the Arabian Peninsula. The Rus Formation is exposed in the central erosional depression, while the younger Dammam Formation forms the surrounding escarpment and outward-dipping slopes. A 2023 investigation of the Rus Formation identified thirteen sedimentary facies, grouped into lagoonal, sabkha, transgressive-lag, tidal-channel, and barrier-island or washover associations. These deposits record changing shallow-water environments, rather than a single uniform marine setting. Towards the coast, the bedrock slopes pass beneath unconsolidated Quaternary deposits, especially in the north, west and south. (pubs.usgs.gov)

Jabal al-Dukhan, near the centre of the main island, is Bahrain’s highest point, at approximately 134 metres above sea level. Its summit is a remnant of younger Miocene strata, known as the Dam Formation or Jebel Cap formation, resting unconformably on the older Rus Formation; the contact represents a break in the geological record. The hill therefore rises within the central depression rather than forming the summit of an extensive mountain chain. Elsewhere, resistant Eocene limestone produces conspicuous rimrock cliffs, locally exceeding 30 metres in height. Wind erosion has also shaped exposed surfaces: the United States Geological Survey’s account describes erosional remnants and striations with a predominantly north-northwesterly orientation. (pubs.usgs.gov)

Sand sheets, localized dunes and sabkhas, or salt flats, interrupt the rocky terrain. Near Az Zallaq, quartz sands accumulate at the foot of the western slopes, widening south-east of the village into areas with occasional dunes. Low ground east of Sar contains small vegetation-held dunes composed of gypsum sand. These sandy and saline landscapes contrast with the historically cultivated northern and north-western coastal belt. Its relative fertility depended on access to springs and shallow groundwater, not on abundant rainfall or uniformly rich soils: agricultural surveys describe predominantly sandy soils, low organic-matter content and locally impermeable layers that impede drainage. (edepot.wur.nl)

The islands are bordered by shallow waters, rocky seabeds and extensive intertidal flats. Along low-gradient shores, falling tides expose broad areas of sediment, creating a transition between submerged seabed, tidal flat and coastal salt-flat terrain. These shallow margins have also made land reclamation comparatively easy, particularly along the northern and eastern coasts. A 2012 study by Khadija Zainal and colleagues reconstructed shoreline and land-use changes between 1963 and 2008, documenting the conversion of extensive shallow coastal areas and tidal flats into dry land. Consequently, substantial stretches of the modern shoreline are engineered boundaries rather than the original meeting of bedrock, beach sediment and sea. (countrystudies.us)

Climate and Weather

Bahrain has an arid climate, with a long, very hot summer and a relatively mild winter. The broad hot season extends from April to October, although the greatest heat occurs in June–September. At Bahrain International Airport, the monthly temperature normals published by the Japan Meteorological Agency rise from 17.5°C in January to 35.1°C in July and 35.2°C in August; April and October average 26.0°C and 29.9°C respectively. Summer nights remain warm: the Meteorological Directorate gives a 1991–2020 mean minimum temperature of 31.5°C for August. These monthly averages describe sustained seasonal conditions rather than the highest temperatures reached during individual hot spells. (countrystudies.us)

Humidity varies considerably with wind direction and weather systems, and high relative humidity is not confined to summer. In January 2023, the airport recorded a monthly mean relative humidity of 71%, with mean daily maximum and minimum values of 82% and 60%; individual observations reached 93% on 16 and 17 January. By comparison, August 2021 had a monthly mean of 51%, despite its much higher temperatures. Winter conditions are generally mild, but northwesterly winds can produce cooler intervals: the Meteorological Directorate attributed below-average temperatures on 10–12 January 2023 partly to these winds and accompanying cloud. The airport’s lowest recorded temperature was 2.7°C on 20 January 1964. (mtt.gov.bh)

Rainfall is sparse and strongly seasonal. The airport’s monthly precipitation normals in Japan Meteorological Agency records sum to approximately 91 mm annually, of which about 84 mm falls between November and March; June and August have normals of zero. Older country descriptions give an annual average of 72 mm, illustrating the importance of specifying the dataset and averaging period. Rain does not fall evenly through the wetter months: January 2023 received 53.3 mm at the airport, whereas January 2021 recorded none. Short, heavy storms can therefore account for a substantial share of a season’s precipitation. (data.jma.go.jp)

Intense downpours can cause rapid flooding despite the low annual rainfall. During April 2024, thunderstorms and heavy showers accompanied an upper-level trough moving from the Mediterranean towards central Saudi Arabia. The airport received 45.6 mm over three rainy days, compared with an April normal of 5.8 mm; 23.1 mm fell on 15 April alone. Monthly totals differed markedly across the islands, reaching 100.0 mm at the University of Bahrain and 63.8 mm at Sitra. Streets in Manama flooded during the storm, demonstrating how concentrated rainfall can disrupt an otherwise dry environment. (public.wmo.int)

Seasonal winds alternate between dry continental airflow and moist air arriving over the Gulf. A hot, dry southwesterly wind, described in older accounts as qaws, can carry sand from southern Bahrain towards Manama in summer. The shamal is a distinct northwesterly wind occurring in both summer and winter; summer episodes are associated with regional low pressure, while winter episodes follow frontal systems and commonly bring cooler, drier conditions. Southeasterly winter airflow crossing the Gulf can instead bring warmer, humid air before a shamal develops. In January 2023, northwesterlies accounted for 36% of airport wind observations, and easterly to southeasterly winds for 21%. (countrystudies.us)

Water Resources and Desalination

Bahrain has no permanent rivers or streams, and groundwater is its only natural freshwater source. Water supply therefore combines groundwater abstraction, desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater, and reuse of treated wastewater. These sources serve different purposes: desalination supplies most municipal demand, while agriculture relies principally on groundwater and treated sewage effluent. Historically, naturally flowing springs supplied households and irrigated land; mechanized well drilling, introduced in 1925, progressively replaced spring water as abstraction increased. (unfccc.int)

The principal groundwater reservoir is the Dammam aquifer, developed in limestone and dolomite and connected to a regional aquifer system extending into Saudi Arabia. Its replenishment comes mainly from lateral underground flow from the mainland rather than rainfall on Bahrain. The deeper Rus–Umm Er Radhuma system contains more saline water, used for industrial purposes and as desalination feedwater. A study published by Waleed K. Zubari in 2005 estimated Dammam abstraction at approximately 218 million cubic metres in 2001, against an estimated renewable recharge of about 110 million cubic metres annually. Excess pumping lowers groundwater pressure, encouraging seawater intrusion from the coast and upward movement of brackish water from underlying formations. Surveys compared in the study showed mean dissolved-solids concentrations rising from approximately 3,751 milligrams per litre in 1978–1979 to 6,051 milligrams per litre in 2001–2002. These historical measurements document the development of salinization rather than present-day extraction rates. (researchgate.net)

Large-scale desalination developed from the commissioning of Sitra’s first multi-stage flash unit in 1975. Ras Abu Jarjur followed in 1984, using reverse osmosis to treat brackish groundwater. Subsequent expansion included Hidd and the Al Dur power-and-water complexes. Al Dur 2 has a seawater reverse-osmosis capacity of 50 million imperial gallons daily, approximately 227,300 cubic metres; its second phase was inaugurated on 31 May 2023. The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) describes the national production system as six desalination plants with a combined capacity of 213 million imperial gallons per day, approximately 968,000 cubic metres. This is installed production capacity, not a measurement of daily consumption. Water reaches urban and economic users through a transmission system comprising 622 kilometres of pipelines and 48 forwarding and distribution stations. (legacy.ewa.bh)

Desalination carries substantial energy costs. Bahrain’s plants employ both thermal processes and reverse osmosis: thermal installations require heat as well as electricity, whereas reverse-osmosis installations depend heavily on electrically driven pumps. A 2018 study of the municipal supply system estimated specific electricity use at 5.4 kilowatt-hours per cubic metre at Al Dur and 5.2 at Ras Abu Jarjur, using equipment specifications and operating assumptions. These figures are plant-specific historical estimates, not current national averages or complete energy accounts for thermal desalination. Replacement of older installations with more efficient plants forms part of EWA’s stated strategy to reduce natural gas consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions. (pdfs.semanticscholar.org)

Water-management policy also addresses demand and substitution between sources. The National Water Strategy 2030, approved in 2018, emphasizes coordination between responsible bodies, implementation monitoring and public awareness; subsequent national climate commitments identify efficiency and increased water reuse as priorities. EWA’s distribution system incorporates smart meters for consumption monitoring and leak detection. Reclaimed wastewater is principally allocated to agricultural irrigation and landscaping, reducing reliance on groundwater for uses that do not require drinking-water quality. The Ministry of Works’ fourth-phase Tubli expansion project is designed to raise treatment capacity from 200,000 to 400,000 cubic metres daily and increase treated-water availability. Treatment capacity alone does not ensure reuse: Bahrain’s 2025 adaptation investment plan reported that most tertiary-treated effluent from Muharraq was still discharged to the sea because distribution infrastructure was limited, with only about 2,000–3,000 cubic metres daily delivered to users by tanker. (sdgs.gov.bh)

Ecosystems, Flora and Fauna

Bahrain’s terrestrial vegetation consists largely of perennial shrubs and annual herbs adapted to aridity, with cultivated palm groves forming a distinct, more densely vegetated habitat. The sixth national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity recorded approximately 357 wild vascular plant species across desert and cultivated areas, alongside at least 20 reptile species and one amphibian species; lizards were particularly abundant. Native plants include bean capers such as Zygophyllum qatarense and Zygophyllum simplex. The best-known individual tree is the Tree of Life, a Prosopis cineraria growing in the southern desert near Jabal al-Dukhan and commonly described as about 400 years old. Its survival in an otherwise sparsely vegetated setting has made it a prominent natural landmark. (cbd.int)

Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) characterize the northern and western agricultural belt near Manama, including the landscape surrounding Qalʿat al-Bahrain. Palm farms support native and introduced plants, insects, amphibians, and resident and migratory birds, making them important cultivated reservoirs of biodiversity. Agriculture nevertheless occupies a restricted area and supplies only a small fraction of national food requirements. Dates remain a principal crop, alongside vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, okra and eggplants. Conservation measures described in Bahrain’s national biodiversity reporting include incorporating the palm-grove green belt into urban planning and expanding irrigation with treated wastewater to reduce dependence on groundwater. (culture.gov.bh)

Marine ecosystems include extensive seagrass meadows, intertidal mudflats, oyster beds and patchy coral reefs. These habitats provide breeding and nursery grounds for fish and shrimp, participate in nutrient cycling and carbon storage, and help stabilize shorelines. Seagrass beds are especially important feeding grounds for dugongs (Dugong dugon) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Mangroves occur notably at Ras Sanad in Tubli Bay, south of Manama, where the sheltered intertidal environment provides nursery habitat for commercially important prawns and fish. Bahrain’s marine habitats therefore support both wildlife and fisheries, rather than functioning simply as isolated areas of natural vegetation. (cbd.int)

The islands and coastal wetlands serve as feeding, staging and wintering grounds for migratory birds. Tubli Bay’s Ramsar description identifies its importance for up to 45 waterbird species. The Hawar Islands support one of the world’s largest concentrations of Socotra cormorants (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis), together with greater flamingos and black-headed gulls. Their shallow surrounding waters contain extensive seagrass beds and support dugongs and several marine turtle species. The combination of relatively undisturbed islands, productive coastal feeding grounds and offshore marine habitat gives Hawar particular importance for both breeding seabirds and marine mammals. (rsis.ramsar.org)

Hawar Islands and Tubli Bay were designated wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on 27 October 1997, with listed areas of 5,200 and 1,610 hectares respectively. Terrestrial conservation centres on the reserve established in 1976 as Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve, renamed Mohamed bin Zayed Nature Reserve in December 2025. It maintains breeding and protection programmes for Arabian wildlife, including Arabian oryx and Bahraini sand gazelles, as well as native desert plants. Captive-breeding programmes at Al Areen have supported the introduction of oryx and sand gazelles into protected open areas on Hawar. These measures combine protection of functioning coastal habitats with managed breeding of terrestrial species. (rsis.ramsar.org)

Prehistory and the Dilmun Civilization

Stone tools and Ubaid-style pottery sherds dated to approximately 5000–4000 BCE, found along Bahrain’s western coast, provide evidence of early fishing communities and contacts with Mesopotamia before the emergence of Dilmun’s urban settlements. These prehistoric finds are distinct from the later written references to Dilmun, whose name appears in archaic Mesopotamian texts around 3300 BCE in connection with trade. The geographical centre of Dilmun changed over time: its political focus shifted from mainland eastern Arabia to Bahrain between approximately 2300 and 2000 BCE. Consequently, the earliest textual references should not automatically be understood as descriptions of a kingdom already centred on the islands. (eservices.culture.gov.bh)

During the late third and early second millennia BCE, Bahrain became a major intermediary in maritime exchange between Mesopotamia and the Indus civilization. Dilmun’s commercial role involved receiving, storing and redistributing goods moving through the Gulf, rather than simply exporting island products; Mesopotamian records associate it particularly with copper trading. Imported objects and the distribution of Dilmun stamp seals across Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus region provide archaeological evidence for these connections. At Qal’at al-Bahrain, the early settlement known to excavators as City I consisted of small houses separated by roads and alleyways. Its successor, City II, acquired an ashlar-block rampart and a central palatial complex, marking the development of a fortified administrative and commercial centre. (eservices.culture.gov.bh)

Settlement and religious remains reveal aspects of Dilmun society beyond its long-distance commerce. Saar preserves another Early Dilmun settlement and temple; its houses were eventually abandoned, with entrances blocked by large stones, although the reason remains unknown. At Barbar, three successive temples were constructed through five building stages during the third and second millennia BCE. Their platforms and courtyards incorporated a sunken chamber containing a freshwater spring, interpreted as a focus of worship associated with the Mesopotamian god Enki. Excavated features include offering tables, altars and deposits of copper objects. Danish investigations transformed knowledge of these sites in the 1950s: P. V. Glob identified the Barbar temple remains during the winter of 1953–1954, and subsequent work by Glob and T. G. Bibby established connections between Bahrain’s finds and contemporary Mesopotamian and Indian material. (culture.gov.bh)

The burial landscape supplies particularly extensive evidence for Early Dilmun’s population and social differentiation. The Dilmun Burial Mounds property, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019, comprises 21 components dating approximately to 2200–1750 BCE. Six cemetery fields contain about 11,774 mounds; the other 15 components include 17 royal tombs at A’ali. Most tombs were originally low, single-storey cylindrical towers, while prominent royal examples had two storeys. Differences in dimensions, internal arrangements and grave gifts document social distinctions; chambers could contain as many as six alcoves for mortuary offerings. Cemeteries occupied less fertile land, leaving more productive ground available for other uses. Qal’at al-Bahrain, separately inscribed in 2005, preserves a deep sequence of occupation beginning around 2300 BCE, allowing the funerary evidence to be compared with successive urban, defensive and palatial remains. (whc.unesco.org)

During the later Bronze Age, Dilmun’s political position became more closely tied to Babylonia. In the fifteenth century BCE, the Kassites appointed a governor in Bahrain and developed City III at Qal’at al-Bahrain; a major fire destroyed its palace early in the fourteenth century BCE. In the first millennium BCE, a substantial new building replaced the burnt palace. Late eighth-century BCE inscriptions of the Assyrian king Sargon II at Khorsabad name Uperi as king of Dilmun, demonstrating the kingdom’s continued presence in Mesopotamian political records. Iron Age graves also contain pottery, stone vessels and seals imported from the Oman Peninsula, showing that regional maritime connections persisted alongside Babylonian influence on material culture and burial practices. (culture.gov.bh)

Pearling, Trade and Early Islamic Rule

In Greek geographical writing, Bahrain was known as Tylos, an island associated with pearl fisheries and maritime commerce. Pliny the Elder’s first-century CE account explicitly identified Tylos as a source of pearls. During the Hellenistic and subsequent Characene periods, the islands participated in trading networks extending through southern Mesopotamia towards the Indian Ocean. Glass vessels, glazed pottery, alabaster containers and jewellery recovered from Tylos-period burials illustrate these international connections. Second-century CE Palmyrene inscriptions also record a governor of Tylos serving the king of Mesene, or Characene, linking the islands politically to the commercial kingdom at the head of the Gulf. (thebfsa.org)

Islam reached the Bahrain region during Muhammad’s lifetime, conventionally dated to 628 CE. At that time, “Bahrain” designated a mainland-and-island region of eastern Arabia, while the principal island was called Awal. The region’s Arab rulers and the Sasanian governor at Hajar accepted Muhammad’s authority. Under early Islamic rule, Gulf commerce connected Basra with Persian ports and the Indian Ocean; Bahrain’s pearl fishery formed part of this wider commercial economy. Archaeological finds of pearls in medieval contexts at Bahrain, Siraf and Kush provide material evidence alongside written accounts of the trade. (fieldsupport.dliflc.edu)

By the end of the ninth century, Abu Saʿid al-Jannabi had established the regional power of the Qarmatians, a movement originating within Ismaʿili Islam. Their state centred on mainland eastern Arabia rather than exclusively on the present-day islands. Under his son Abu Tahir, it attacked southern Iraq and pilgrimage caravans; in 930, Qarmatian forces raided Mecca and carried the Black Stone to al-Ahsa. Maritime taxation was another source of revenue: Ibn Hawqal reported that customs collected from shipping in the Gulf and at Awal supported Abu Saʿid’s descendants. Island resistance began around 1058, and Awal escaped Qarmatian control around 1067 after rebels defeated their fleet. (iranicaonline.org)

The Uyunid dynasty subsequently displaced the mainland Qarmatian state in 1076–1078. In the thirteenth century, the Usfurids, an Arab dynasty drawn from the Banu ʿAmir, replaced the Uyunids and exercised authority over al-Ahsa, Qatif and Awal. Their position depended on control of coastal commerce and on relations with neighbouring powers, particularly Hormuz. Competition over routes between the Gulf and India repeatedly brought local rulers into negotiation or conflict with Persian-based dynasties, the Mongols and the Mamluks; authority over the islands therefore did not necessarily imply unrestricted control of their overseas trade. (iranicaonline.org)

The pearl-diving economy combined offshore labour with merchant finance. Divers collected oysters from the seabed, while haulers pulled them back to the boats; captains directed voyages, and pearl merchants handled sales. Leading merchants advanced money to captains for equipment and provisions, and captains lent to divers to maintain their households during the season. By 1877, pearls accounted for three quarters of Bahrain’s exports, principally destined for Bombay, Persia and Turkey. Bombay provided sorting, matching and drilling services before resale. This commerce shaped Muharraq’s occupations and buildings, while Persian woodwork and doors and windows imported through Indian trading routes reflected its overseas connections. (pearlingpath.bh)

The industry peaked in 1911–1912, then contracted under successive wartime disruptions, falling prices and competition from Japanese cultured pearls. The 1929 financial crash further weakened demand for luxury goods. The decisive collapse occurred during the 1930s, although residual commercial pearling continued before the industry’s final collapse by about 1950. Merchant residences, shops and storehouses in Muharraq preserve the physical relationship between pearl exports, supporting trades and urban wealth. (pearlingpath.bh)

Portuguese Rule and the Rise of the Al Khalifa

In 1521, an expedition commanded by António Correia established Portuguese control over Bahrain, defeating the Jabrid ruler Muqrin ibn Zamil, who was killed in the fighting. The conquest brought the islands into the maritime system centred on Hormuz, through which Portugal sought to control Gulf commerce and access to Bahrain’s pearl fisheries. Portuguese authority operated partly through Hormuzi rulers and governors rather than through an entirely separate colonial administration. Its military position remained contested: in 1559, an expedition from the Ottoman province of al-Hasa attempted to capture Bahrain, but Portuguese assistance helped the island’s governor resist the attack. (culture.gov.bh)

The principal surviving defensive complex, Qalʿat al-Bahrain, was not built wholly by the Portuguese. Its main fortress developed from an early fifteenth-century enclosure associated with the princes of Hormuz, enlarged in 1529 under Governor Badr al-Din to accommodate artillery warfare. A further reinforcement began in 1561 under Portuguese direction: the architect Inofre de Carvalho added corner bastions in the Genoese style and widened the moat. An inscription at the quarries on Jidda Island records an order for 100,000 stones, providing dated evidence for this construction campaign. These works strengthened the land defences, but silting of the approach channel increasingly prevented larger ships from reaching the fortress, reducing its usefulness as a naval strongpoint. (whc.unesco.org)

Portuguese control ended in 1602, when Safavid forces took Bahrain during the reign of Shah Abbas I. Persian authority subsequently faced interruptions rather than continuing unchanged until the late eighteenth century. Forces from Oman occupied the islands in 1717, and Nadir Shah’s forces recovered them in 1736; another Omani invasion followed in 1738. These changes involved competition between Persian governments, Omani fleets and Arab coastal rulers, with local administration often exercised through governors rather than directly from the imperial centre. By the period immediately preceding the Al Khalifa conquest, the Al Madhkur family governed Bahrain from its base at Bushehr on the Persian coast. (snl.no)

The Al Khalifa belonged to the Bani Utbah grouping and traced their origins to Najd in the Arabian interior. Their migration proceeded through Kuwait before they established themselves at Zubarah, on the northwestern coast of present-day Qatar, during the 1760s. Zubarah offered a base for pearl fishing and maritime trade, linking merchants and seafaring groups across the Gulf and Indian Ocean. Its growth placed the Bani Utbah in competition with neighbouring rulers, including Bahrain’s Nasr Al Madhkur. In 1783, a Bani Utbah maritime campaign led by Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al Khalifa defeated Al Madhkur and secured Bahrain. Ahmad became known as al-Fatih, “the Conqueror”; the victory established the Al Khalifa dynasty on the islands. (qdl.qa)

The conquest did not immediately produce uncontested territorial authority. The new ruling family depended on tribal allies and maritime connections, while facing pressure from Oman and the expanding Saudi power in central Arabia. Early Al Khalifa policy involved shifting relationships with Oman, Persia and the Saudi-Wahhabi movement rather than isolation from these regional powers. An Omani attack in 1801 was resisted with assistance from the Saud family, and the consolidation of Al Khalifa control continued into the early nineteenth century. The dynasty’s emergence thus changed Bahrain from a possession administered through Persian-coast governors into an Arab family-ruled polity whose security remained bound to mainland alliances and naval competition. Its subsequent treaty relationship with Britain began in 1820. (whc.unesco.org)

British Protectorate, Oil and Independence

Bahrain’s relationship with the United Kingdom developed through successive treaties rather than annexation. The Al Khalifa entered the General Maritime Treaty of 1820, followed by the Perpetual Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1861. These arrangements regulated maritime conduct and established British protection while leaving the ruling family in place. The agreements of 1880 and 1892 progressively restricted Bahrain’s external relations: the ruler undertook not to negotiate with other powers or receive their representatives without British approval, and not to transfer territory to another power. Together, these obligations created the framework commonly described as a British protectorate, with Britain controlling external affairs and providing protection while the Al Khalifa retained internal government. (qdl.qa)

British influence also extended into domestic administration. A permanent British Political Agent’s post was established in 1900. In 1923, British intervention brought about the removal of Sheikh Isa bin Ali from effective rule and the installation of his son, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa. Charles Belgrave, appointed adviser to Hamad in 1926, became an important figure in the administration. These arrangements distinguished Bahrain from a directly administered colony, but also meant that British involvement went beyond diplomatic representation and maritime security. (qdl.qa)

The Bahrain Petroleum Company, generally known as Bapco, was formed in January 1929 by the Standard Oil Company of California. On 2 June 1932, oil was discovered at Well No. 1 near Jabal al-Dukhan—the first commercial discovery on the Arab side of the Persian Gulf, rather than the first in the Gulf as a whole. The first export shipment, approximately 25,000 barrels, left Sitra for Japan aboard El Segundo on 7 June 1934. Refining began in 1936 with an initial capacity of 10,000 barrels per day; the refinery’s ceremonial opening followed on 11 December 1937. Oil provided an alternative source of employment as pearling declined, and Bapco trained Bahraini workers for industrial jobs. Its operations also attracted overseas personnel and generated the company settlement of Awali, whose development began with temporary housing near the discovery well in 1933. (en.wikipedia.org)

The decisive change in Bahrain’s international position came in 1968, when Britain announced that it would end its treaty relationships with the Gulf sheikhdoms. Bahrain initially participated in negotiations for a nine-member federation with Qatar and the seven Trucial States, which subsequently formed the United Arab Emirates. By 1971, agreement on the proposed union remained unattained, and Bahrain proceeded towards separate independence. The withdrawal therefore required both the termination of British treaty rights and a decision about whether Bahrain would enter a federation or become an independent state. (history.state.gov)

Iran’s claim to Bahrain was addressed through a United Nations good-offices mission in 1970. Secretary-General U Thant appointed Vittorio Winspeare Guicciardi to ascertain the population’s wishes. His visit, from 30 March to 18 April, involved consultations rather than a referendum conducted by ballot. The mission concluded that an overwhelming majority favoured an independent, sovereign state. On 11 May 1970, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 278, endorsing the report; the Iranian Senate approved the report on 18 May. (main.un.org)

Bahrain became independent on 15 August 1971, and a new Treaty of Friendship with Britain was signed that day. Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa assumed the title of emir, and a Council of Ministers was established by decree. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed on 30 August, headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa. Bahrain joined the Arab League on 11 September and was admitted to the United Nations on 21 September under General Assembly Resolution 2752 (XXVI). Early constitutional institution-building included a constituent-assembly election in December 1972 and the adoption of the country’s first constitution in 1973. (history.state.gov)

Government and Constitution

Bahrain is a constitutional hereditary monarchy ruled by the Al Khalifa dynasty. Its first constitution, promulgated by Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa in 1973, established a unicameral National Assembly comprising 30 elected representatives and cabinet ministers serving as ex officio members. Disagreements between the assembly and the executive, including opposition to legislation permitting prolonged detention without trial, culminated in the emir’s dissolution of the assembly on 25 August 1975 and suspension of the constitutional provisions governing its legislative authority. Parliamentary elections did not resume until 2002. (policinglaw.info)

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became emir in 1999, initiated reforms centred on the National Action Charter. Approved by 98.4% of participating voters in the referendum of 14–15 February 2001, the charter proposed constitutional monarchy, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary. On 14 February 2002, Hamad promulgated an amended constitution, changed the state’s designation from an emirate to a kingdom and assumed the title of king. The parliamentary elections of October 2002 were the first national parliamentary poll in which women could both vote and stand as candidates. Four opposition organizations boycotted the election, objecting particularly to the appointed chamber’s legislative powers being equal to those of the elected chamber. (data.ipu.org)

The National Assembly consists of two 40-member chambers: the directly elected Council of Representatives and the king-appointed Shura, or Consultative, Council. The elected chamber serves a four-year term. Legislation normally requires approval by both chambers and royal ratification; disagreements between the chambers can be considered in a joint sitting. The king appoints and dismisses the prime minister and appoints ministers on the prime minister’s recommendation. He also exercises powers to promulgate laws, issue decree-laws under constitutionally specified conditions and dissolve the elected chamber. The executive therefore does not originate solely from a parliamentary majority. Amendments ratified on 3 May 2012 strengthened the elected chamber’s oversight functions, including scrutiny of the government’s programme, and required consultation with the heads of both chambers and the Constitutional Court before dissolution. The Council of Representatives can withdraw confidence from an individual minister by a two-thirds majority, whereas a declaration of non-cooperation with the prime minister is referred to the king for a decision. (data.ipu.org)

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, with a Supreme Judicial Council supervising the courts and their supporting institutions. Ordinary courts hear civil, commercial and criminal cases through first-instance and appellate proceedings, with the Court of Cassation providing final review on points of law. Separate sharia courts, organized into Sunni and Jaafari branches, adjudicate Muslim personal-status matters such as marriage, divorce and child custody. Islamic sharia is a principal source of legislation under Article 2. The Constitutional Court, comprising a president and six members appointed by royal order, reviews the constitutionality of laws and regulations. A 2017 amendment removed the previous constitutional restriction limiting military jurisdiction principally to offences committed by military and security personnel, enabling military trials of civilians under the subsequent statutory framework. (icj.org)

Demonstrations beginning on 14 February 2011 demanded political and constitutional reforms, including greater participation in government. Pearl Roundabout in Manama became a principal gathering place. A state of national safety was declared on 15 March, and security forces cleared the roundabout the following day. On 29 June, the king established the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, chaired by international jurist M. Cherif Bassiouni. Its report, submitted on 23 November 2011, documented excessive force, arbitrary arrests and systematic mistreatment of detainees, including torture. It identified 35 deaths linked to the events between 14 February and 15 April, including five security personnel, and recommended investigations, accountability and changes to detention and security procedures. (policinglaw.info)

Population, Society and Religion

Bahrain’s official population figures for 2024 recorded 1,588,670 residents: 739,736 Bahraini citizens (46.6%) and 848,934 non-Bahrainis (53.4%). Citizenship is therefore an essential distinction in interpreting the country’s demography: the resident population includes a large expatriate workforce, not simply citizens and their families. The 2020 census counted 1,501,635 people, including 712,362 citizens and 789,273 non-citizens. Its age distribution was concentrated in adulthood: 20.1% were under 15, 76.7% were aged 15–64, and 3.2% were 65 or older. Men accounted for approximately 62.8% of residents, a demographic imbalance associated with the recruitment of predominantly male migrant workers. (bahrain.gov.bh)

The expatriate population has a substantially greater weight in employment than in the population as a whole. In the second quarter of 2023, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority recorded 770,129 employed people, comprising 609,028 foreign workers and 161,101 Bahrainis; foreigners thus represented approximately 79.1% of total employment. South and Southeast Asian communities include Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Filipinos and Indonesians, alongside migrants from other Arab countries and Africa. India’s Ministry of External Affairs reported approximately 340,000 Indians in Bahrain in its 2024 annual report. This community includes construction and maintenance workers as well as business owners, bankers, engineers, doctors and teachers, illustrating the occupational diversity of migration into the Bahraini labour market. (lmra.gov.bh)

Nationality does not correspond directly to ethnicity or religious affiliation. Among established Bahraini communities are the Baharna, an Arabic-speaking Shia population, and the Ajam, Bahrainis of Persian ancestry; Sunni Arab communities also have historical connections with different parts of the Arabian Peninsula. These identities reflect older regional settlement and maritime connections and should be distinguished from the nationalities of contemporary foreign residents. Both Manama and Muharraq contain long-established communities as well as expatriate populations. (etheses.whiterose.ac.uk)

Islam is the state religion, and the constitution identifies Islamic sharia as a principal source of legislation. Bahraini Muslims belong to both Sunni and Shia communities, but the government does not publish a contemporary statistical breakdown between them. Official estimates for 2020 classified approximately 74% of all residents as Muslim; this figure covers citizens and foreigners together and does not measure the sectarian composition of the citizen population. Religious institutions include Sunni and Shia mosques and Shia maatams, or religious assembly halls. Non-Muslim communities include adherents of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and the Baha’i faith, as well as a small established Jewish community. Christian congregations include Roman Catholic, Protestant, Syrian Orthodox and Mar Thoma traditions, reflecting the origins of many expatriate residents. (ecoi.net)

Settlement is strongly concentrated in the northern parts of the archipelago. Official figures for 2023 put population density at approximately 6,873 people per square kilometre in the Capital Governorate, compared with 3,905 in Muharraq, 2,881 in the Northern Governorate and 663 in the Southern Governorate. This uneven distribution is more informative than treating the islands as uniformly populated. Household composition has also changed: the 2018 Bahrain Human Development Report, drawing on nationwide household income and expenditure surveys, recorded a decline in average private-household size from six people in 1994–1995 to 4.8 in 2014–2015. These household averages are distinct from the composition of the employed population and encompass both Bahraini and non-Bahraini private households. (bahrain.gov.bh)

Language, Education and Health

Arabic is Bahrain’s official language. Modern Standard Arabic is used in government, schooling and the media, alongside locally spoken Arabic dialects. English is commonly used in business and also has an important educational role; the University of Bahrain’s teacher-training college, for example, uses both English and Arabic as languages of instruction. Migrant communities add other languages to everyday life, including Urdu and Malayalam among South Asian workers, as well as Persian and Tagalog. This multilingual environment distinguishes the language of official administration from the languages used in workplaces, households and particular educational programmes. (bahrain.gov.bh)

The school education system comprises six years of primary education, three years of intermediate education and three years of secondary education. Basic education begins at age six and covers the first nine years. Article 6 of Education Law No. 27 of 2005 requires parents or guardians to ensure children’s participation for at least this period, while Article 7 establishes free basic and secondary education in government schools. Secondary schooling provides different routes before entry into university or vocational study. The Ministry of Education’s digital-empowerment initiative, launched in 2015, developed the eduNET platform to connect government-school pupils, teachers and parents through digital educational services. (lloc.gov.bh)

National statistics recorded an adult literacy rate of 97.82% among residents aged 15 and above in 2024, compared with 99.52% among those aged 15–24. The corresponding adult rates were 98.67% for males and 96.29% for females; literacy among people aged 65 and above was 84.79%. (data.gov.bh) Major higher-education institutions include the University of Bahrain, established on 24 May 1986 by decree of Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa through the merger of two predecessor colleges, and the Arabian Gulf University, established in 1980 as a regional institution with a major focus on medical and health sciences. (arts.uob.edu.bh) Technical and employment-oriented education expanded with Bahrain Polytechnic, established by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa under Royal Decree No. 65 of 2008. Its programmes combine classroom instruction with projects, internships and work placements; an employability framework developed with industry partners in 2010 identified eight skill areas, including communication, problem-solving, teamwork and technology. (polytechnic.bh)

The public health system uses local health centres for preventive and first-contact care, with referral to hospital specialists when required. Primary services include family medicine, maternal and child health, immunization, dentistry, laboratory testing and radiology. Salmaniya Medical Complex provides secondary care and serves as a teaching and research institution. Government hospitals and health centres provide free care to Bahraini citizens, whereas non-national residents’ charges depend on employment, coverage and exemption status. Ministry of Health guidance specifies a consultation fee of seven Bahraini dinars for uninsured non-Bahraini patients who are not government employees, with separate provisions for eligible family members of Bahrainis. (moh.gov.bh)

WHO estimates placed life expectancy at birth at 74.4 years in 2021, up from 69.7 years in 2000. (data.who.int) Non-communicable diseases accounted for approximately 74% of deaths in 2021 according to WHO’s 2025 progress monitor. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease are covered by national management guidelines. (cdn.who.int) Public-health work addresses tobacco use, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets through prevention and coordination across health and other government sectors. These were explicit priorities of WHO’s work with Bahrain in 2024. (applications.emro.who.int)

Hydrocarbons, Refining and Gas

Bahrain’s oil endowment is small relative to those of the larger Gulf producers, and its upstream industry combines a mature domestic field with an entitlement to offshore production shared with Saudi Arabia. The onshore Bahrain, or Awali, field produced an average of 37,007 barrels per day in 2025, down from 38,929 in 2023. Under a treaty signed in 1958, Bahrain receives half the output of the offshore Abu Saafa field; its share averaged 138,953 barrels per day in 2025. Consequently, domestic extraction and Bahrain’s total oil entitlement are distinct measures. The offshore Khalij Al-Bahrain discovery has remained subject to technical and economic evaluation rather than becoming an established source of large-scale production. (rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com)

Refining gives the energy sector a scale substantially greater than domestic crude extraction alone would support. Bapco Refining’s refinery at Sitra processes Bahraini crude alongside Saudi feedstock supplied by pipeline. The company’s supply agreement with Saudi Aramco provides for 350,000 barrels per day of Arabian crude to support the expanded refinery. (bapcoenergies.com) King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa inaugurated the Bapco Modernization Project in December 2024. (bapco.net) Earlier project specifications envisaged increasing capacity from 267,000 to 380,000 barrels per day; Bapco’s updated programme description gives approximately 400,000. The expansion adds a crude-distillation unit capable of processing 225,000 barrels per day and increases production of higher-value, low-sulphur fuels. Diesel hydrotreatment uses hydrogen to remove sulphur, nitrogen and metals, while heat-recovery equipment reduces energy requirements. These changes concern both throughput and the proportion of marketable products recovered from each barrel. (bapcoenergies.com)

Natural gas production and processing serve a different, predominantly domestic industrial market. Gas from the Khuff reservoirs supplies power generation, aluminium smelting, refining and petrochemicals; power stations and Aluminium Bahrain accounted for 37% and 32%, respectively, of gas utilisation in 2025. (rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com) Bapco Gas, formerly Banagas, recovers propane, butane and naphtha from associated gas produced with oil and from refinery off-gas. Compression and separation turn these streams into saleable liquids: propane and butane enter refrigerated storage at Sitra for shipment, while naphtha passes to the refinery for storage and export. Residual gas is retained as fuel rather than discarded. (bapco-phase2.objects.frb.io) Banagas lists combined daily production values for its three central gas plants of 6,300 barrels of propane, 5,800 of butane and 8,600 of naphtha. (banagas.com.bh) Fertilizer production relies principally on natural gas itself, not these separated liquids: Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company uses gas as direct feedstock for ammonia, urea and methanol. (gulfindustryonline.com)

Hydrocarbon receipts remain important to public finances despite the larger non-oil economy. Oil and gas supplied 60.1% of government revenue in 2024 and 49.9% in 2025. International price movements therefore affect budget receipts independently of production volumes, while prolonged low prices can widen deficits and increase financing requirements. (rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com) The International Monetary Fund recorded hydrocarbon revenue rising from 9.2% of GDP in 2020 to 13.9% in 2022, before falling to 11.9% in 2023—illustrating the fiscal significance of the pandemic-era downturn and subsequent oil-market recovery. (imf.org)

Economic Structure and the Financial Sector

Non-oil activities accounted for 86.0% of Bahrain’s real gross domestic product (GDP) in the preliminary national accounts for 2024. Real GDP grew by 2.6% that year, with non-oil activities expanding by 3.8% while oil activities contracted by 4.0%. Financial and insurance activities were the largest individual contributor to output, followed by manufacturing; other components included commerce, construction, transport, accommodation, information and communications, and public services. This statistical distinction does not imply that non-oil production is independent of hydrocarbons: aluminium smelting and petrochemical manufacturing, for example, use energy or feedstock derived from natural gas. (mofne.gov.bh)

Bahrain’s role as a regional financial centre developed through the establishment of offshore banking units from October 1975. These institutions were authorized to conduct business abroad while their dealings with the domestic economy were restricted. They provided a base for international financial intermediation rather than simply serving Bahrain’s relatively small domestic market. In July 2006, the conventional wholesale-bank licence replaced the earlier offshore banking-unit and investment-bank categories. Wholesale banking retained a strongly international orientation: at December 2024, wholesale banks held US$136.9 billion in assets, of which approximately US$118.4 billion were foreign assets. Western Europe accounted for 29.0% of their assets, Gulf Cooperation Council countries for 24.7%, and the Americas for 18.9%, illustrating the sector’s connections beyond the Gulf. (elibrary.imf.org)

The Central Bank of Bahrain, established on 6 September 2006 as successor to the Bahrain Monetary Agency, regulates banking, insurance, investment business and capital-market activities within a single institutional framework. The banking system includes both retail and wholesale institutions operating under conventional or Islamic finance principles. Islamic banking assets reached US$63.3 billion in December 2024, with domestic assets representing 56.3% and foreign assets 43.7% of the total. Bahrain also hosts the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), established in 1991, which develops accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and Sharia standards. Its presence gives Bahrain a role in the institutional infrastructure of Islamic finance as well as in banking transactions themselves. (careers.cbb.gov.bh)

Manufacturing combines large, energy-intensive plants with downstream processing. Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) reported net finished production of 1,622,261 metric tonnes in 2024. Its smelting process uses natural-gas-generated electricity to reduce alumina to aluminium; combined-cycle generation recovers waste heat to produce additional power. Output includes extrusion billets, rolling slabs and foundry alloys, while molten metal is supplied directly to nearby manufacturers, linking the smelter to producers of fabricated aluminium goods. At Sitra, Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company uses natural gas as feedstock for ammonia, urea and methanol. Ammonia and urea principally serve fertilizer markets, while methanol has a range of chemical and industrial applications. These industries convert energy and raw materials into exportable manufactured products, but remain dependent on gas supplies. (albasmelter.com)

Foreign direct investment supports this combination of internationally oriented services and manufacturing. Inward FDI stock reached BHD17.3 billion at the end of 2024, an increase of 5.7% over the previous year; this measures accumulated investment rather than the annual inflow. Full foreign ownership is permitted in most sectors without a mandatory local partner, although eligibility depends on the specific activity. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Sijilat system identifies permitted ownership structures, registration conditions and licensing or approval requirements by business activity. Its classifications distinguish activities open to full foreign ownership from those subject to ownership limits or a Bahraini-shareholder requirement, shaping how foreign investors participate in privately operated businesses. (mofne.gov.bh)

Economic Diversification and Economic Vision

Bahrain’s diversification policy dates to the late 1960s, when the government began developing manufacturing and services alongside its limited oil resources; banking, logistics and tourism subsequently became major areas of expansion. Economic Vision 2030, launched by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in October 2008, placed these earlier initiatives within a long-term reform framework. Developed through the Economic Development Board, chaired by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the vision identified sustainability, competitiveness and fairness as its guiding principles. Its objectives included higher productivity, improved workforce skills and living standards, and a competitive environment for private enterprise, rather than dependence on oil-funded public expenditure. (cidob.org)

The Economic Recovery Plan, launched in late 2021, translated the vision into more specific programmes following the pandemic. It comprised five pillars and 27 programmes, including sector strategies for tourism, logistics, financial services, manufacturing, hydrocarbons, and information and communications technology. Announced targets included creating 20,000 jobs for Bahrainis and training 10,000 Bahrainis annually through 2024. In logistics, policy concentrated on attracting freight-handling and distribution businesses and integrating maritime and air cargo operations. The proposed sea-to-air hub included a two-hour end-to-end bonded transfer target, while the plan sought to place Bahrain among the top 20 logistics countries by 2030. These figures were programme objectives, not measurements of completed outcomes. (digitallibrary.un.org)

The 2022–2026 tourism strategy sought to broaden visitor demand through sports, cultural, family, maritime and events tourism. Investment promotion accordingly emphasized hotels, leisure facilities and exhibition infrastructure, including Exhibition World Bahrain, rather than relying exclusively on short regional visits. Digital diversification combined infrastructure investment with government procurement reform: Bahrain adopted a cloud-first policy in 2017, and Amazon Web Services established its Bahrain region in 2019. Moving data processing and applications to locally available cloud infrastructure supported digital public services and technology businesses. Skills development accompanied this investment; in September 2019, the University of Bahrain announced a cloud-computing programme intended to prepare graduates for industry employment. (tenderboard.gov.bh)

Education and healthcare were also promoted as investment sectors, as well as services supporting the wider economy. The Economic Development Board’s 2021 programme identified opportunities in private hospitals, medical research, higher education and executive training. Examples included KIMSHEALTH’s modernization of the Umm Al Hassam Medical Centre and expansion of its services, and the MENA Training Centre’s courses in management, finance, big data and artificial intelligence. This approach sought to attract private provision while developing the human capital needed by higher-value service industries. (bahrainedb.com)

Revenue diversification proceeded through changes in taxation. Bahrain introduced value-added tax on 1 January 2019 at a standard rate of 5%, increasing it to 10% on 1 January 2022. The system retained zero-rating or exemptions for specified goods and services, while requiring registration by businesses whose annual taxable supplies exceeded BHD 37,500. A domestic minimum top-up tax took effect on 1 January 2025, applying the international 15% minimum-tax framework to qualifying multinational groups with consolidated annual revenue of at least €750 million. Unlike VAT, which taxes consumption, this measure addresses the effective taxation of large multinational enterprises’ Bahraini profits. (bahrain.gov.bh)

The Fiscal Balance Program, introduced in 2018, initially targeted balanced government finances by 2022; the pandemic and lower hydrocarbon prices prompted an extension to 2024. Its mechanisms included reducing recurrent expenditure, prioritizing capital projects, restructuring government entities, better targeting cash subsidies, increasing contributions from state-owned enterprises and introducing additional service revenues. The target was not achieved: the International Monetary Fund reported an overall fiscal deficit of 11% of GDP and government gross debt of 134% of GDP for 2024. Its January 2026 consultation also recorded the authorities’ commitment to reduce monetary financing by gradually lowering the government overdraft at the central bank, while calling for further fiscal measures to place debt on a declining path. (mofne.gov.bh)

Recent Economic Developments in 2026

Bahrain’s gross domestic product contracted by 3.8% year on year at constant prices in the first quarter of 2026, according to preliminary national accounts compiled by the Information & eGovernment Authority and reported by the Ministry of Finance and National Economy. Oil activities declined by 37.2%, while non-oil activities expanded by 2.2%. At current prices, total GDP fell by 2.7%, comprising a 31.1% decrease in oil activities and a 1.9% increase in non-oil activities. These figures measure changes from the corresponding quarter of 2025, not quarter-on-quarter movements, and remain subject to revision. (mofne.gov.bh)

The sectoral results showed continued expansion across much of the non-oil economy despite the overall contraction. Nine of the thirteen non-oil activities recorded positive growth, and non-oil activities represented 90.1% of constant-price GDP during the quarter. Financial and insurance activities grew by 8.6% and accounted for 19.7% of GDP, remaining the largest individual contributor. Manufacturing represented 14.6%, public administration 9.0%, and construction 7.0%; these figures are output shares rather than growth rates. The increased relative weight of non-oil activities therefore reflected both their continued expansion and the sharp reduction in oil output. (mofne.gov.bh)

The ministry attributed the oil-sector decline principally to restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which reduced export capacity, together with scheduled maintenance. The maintenance affected the Abu Sa’afa offshore field, shared with Saudi Arabia. The disruption was thus a constraint on production and market access, rather than simply a movement in oil prices. Its wider transmission channels included higher shipping and insurance costs, interrupted supply chains and weaker investor confidence. The World Bank also identified damage to the Sitra refinery in March 2026 as a setback to the previously anticipated increase in production. (mofne.gov.bh)

Forecasts changed substantially after the shock. In its statement of January 27, 2026, the International Monetary Fund had projected annual real growth of 3.3% for 2026. Its April regional outlook instead forecast a contraction of 0.5%, followed by growth of 4.5% in 2027—a projected rebound, not an observed recovery. The World Bank’s April Macro Poverty Outlook retained a positive but weaker 2026 forecast of 1.3%. These institution-specific projections should be distinguished from the subsequently published preliminary first-quarter results: they concerned the full calendar year and incorporated different assessments of the disruption and recovery. (imf.org)

Public finances faced the combined effects of disrupted oil exports, security expenditure and debt-servicing costs. The World Bank’s April forecast placed the 2026 fiscal deficit at 10.2% of GDP and public debt at 139.7% of GDP; neither figure was a final annual outturn. It identified weaker confidence and higher shipping-insurance costs as risks to foreign direct investment. The monetary framework continued to centre on the dinar’s fixed exchange rate of BD 0.376 per US dollar, reiterated in Bahrain’s June 2026 sovereign offering circular. The contraction did not itself constitute a change in that parity; its relevance to the peg lay in the associated external-financing and foreign-currency pressures. (documents1.worldbank.org)

Infrastructure, Transport and Urban Development

The King Fahd Causeway, opened in 1986, provides a 25-kilometre road connection between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. It carries cross-border passenger and freight traffic, linking Bahrain’s road network with the Saudi mainland and providing an overland route for goods that would otherwise require maritime or air transport. Border processing combines passport checks, customs clearance and vehicle-insurance requirements; the causeway authority also provides traffic information to help travellers choose crossing times. Its importance therefore extends beyond the physical crossing to the administration of regional trade and everyday travel between the two countries. (bahrain.bh)

Bahrain International Airport’s new passenger terminal began operations on 28 January 2021. Covering 210,000 square metres, it increased the airport’s design capacity to 14 million passengers annually, with capacity for 130,000 aircraft movements a year and baggage handling of 4,700 bags per peak hour. These figures describe infrastructure capacity rather than actual annual traffic. The airport also supports freight forwarding, transshipment and road distribution through a 25,000-square-metre cargo terminal equipped with bonded warehousing, refrigerated storage and specialised areas for dangerous goods and valuable consignments. Airport cargo volumes exceeded 350,000 tonnes in 2023. (newsofbahrain.com)

Khalifa bin Salman Port began operations in 2009 and is managed by APM Terminals Bahrain. Built on approximately 900,000 square metres of reclaimed land, the multipurpose seaport has 1,800 metres of quay, accommodating container handling, general cargo, roll-on/roll-off traffic and passenger vessels. Its proximity to the airport supports integrated logistics rather than separate maritime and aviation systems. In September 2021, the transport ministry launched the Bahrain Global Sea-Air Hub, using digitised processing and streamlined clearance procedures to transfer consignments between the port and airport. The ministry announced an end-to-end transfer time of under two hours; this was a service-performance claim, not a measure of total international shipping time. (apmterminals.com)

Domestic public transport operates principally through the road-based bus network. In its September 2025 description, the transport ministry recorded 26 routes, more than 600 designated stops and 140 air-conditioned buses, connecting Manama, Muharraq, Isa Town, Riffa and other settlements with the airport. The planned Bahrain Metro would introduce an urban railway network of 109 kilometres developed in phases. The ministry describes the first phase as approximately 29 kilometres with 20 stations on two lines: airport–Seef and Juffair–Isa Town’s educational district. These are planned corridors, not operating services. An additional eight-kilometre phase with four stops is intended to connect the metro to the proposed King Hamad International Railway Station. (mtt.gov.bh)

Regional railway plans depend on a second Saudi–Bahraini crossing, the proposed King Hamad Causeway, running parallel to the existing causeway with four road lanes and two railway tracks. The associated 57-kilometre rail connection would link a station in Bahrain’s Ramli area with Dammam in Saudi Arabia, where it would connect with the Saudi railway system and the wider proposed Gulf network. The Bahrain station is intended to combine passenger interchange with freight facilities, while the metro would distribute arriving passengers to the airport and residential and commercial districts. The project thus links regional freight transport with domestic passenger planning, but remains distinct from the existing road crossing. (mtt.gov.bh)

Coastal land reclamation has supplied land for both transport facilities and new urban districts. Diyar Al Muharraq, north of Muharraq, comprises seven islands with approximately ten square kilometres of reclaimed land, combining housing, commercial premises and community facilities. In Manama, the Bahrain Bay master plan organised a 432,000-square-metre island site around a mixed-use boulevard, public spaces, residential towers and a hotel, with causeways connecting it to the mainland. At national scale, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill submitted the Bahrain 2030 National Planning Development Strategy in 2007 after an 18-month planning process. The strategy addressed land development and national infrastructure, placing individual waterfront projects within a broader urban-planning framework. (diyar.bh)

Culture, Heritage and Sport

Bahrain’s three properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List represent archaeological landscapes and the built heritage of pearling. Qal’at al-Bahrain—Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun, inscribed in 2005, comprises a settlement mound, maritime remains and surrounding palm groves; its successive occupation layers extend from approximately 2300 BCE to the sixteenth century, with a Portuguese-period fortress above them. The Dilmun Burial Mounds, inscribed in 2019, comprise 21 components: six cemetery fields containing approximately 11,774 mounds, and 15 components containing individual or paired royal tombs. Dating approximately to 2200–1750 BCE, their differing sizes and chamber arrangements preserve evidence of social distinctions in Early Dilmun society. (whc.unesco.org)

Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy, inscribed in 2012, connects seventeen buildings in Muharraq with three offshore oyster beds, a surviving shoreline section and Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress. Merchant residences, shops, warehouses and a mosque document the institutions supporting the pearl trade, rather than pearl diving alone. Their timber and plaster decoration also preserves the craftsmanship financed by the industry’s prosperity. Conservation requirements emphasize retaining original building fabric, using traditional materials and maintaining the relationship between individual monuments and the surrounding urban landscape. The property therefore treats cultural heritage as a linked marine and urban system, not simply a collection of historic houses. (whc.unesco.org)

The Bahrain National Museum, inaugurated by Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa on 15 December 1988, presents archaeology alongside social history. Permanent galleries cover graves, Dilmun, Tylos and Islam, customs and traditions, trades and crafts, and documents and manuscripts. Its approximately 20,000-square-metre complex combines public exhibition spaces with conservation laboratories, research facilities and collection storage, supporting both interpretation and preservation. The adjacent Bahrain National Theatre opened in November 2012; its main auditorium seats 1,001 people, and its programme has included orchestral concerts, opera and ballet, with performers such as Plácido Domingo and the Mariinsky Ballet. (culture.gov.bh)

Traditional skills remain visible through production, demonstrations and organized training. Al Jasra Handicrafts Centre presents pottery, cloth weaving, woodworking and basketry; workshops announced in 2021 included palm-frond weaving, clay shaping, embroidery and silver crafting. Loom weaving is associated particularly with Bani Jamra and Jasra. Everyday food traditions include machboos, rice cooked with meat and spices, notably dried black lime; muhammar, rice sweetened with caramelized sugar or date molasses and served with fish; and harees, wheat slow-cooked with meat. Bahraini halwa uses starch and caramelized sugar, with saffron, rosewater and nuts. (culture.gov.bh)

Pearling also survives in musical performance. Fjiri, entered on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021, commemorates the experiences of divers and pearling crews. Performers sit in a circle, singing and playing drums, finger chimes and a jahl, a clay vessel used as a percussion instrument; a lead singer directs the performance, while dancers occupy the centre. Transmission occurs through repeated practice in cultural spaces called durs and through public performances. Another continuing repertoire is sawt, performed by the Mohammed bin Faris ensemble, whose first concert took place at an Arab music festival in Paris on 14 June 2001. (ich.unesco.org)

International motorsport is centred on the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir. On 4 April 2004 it hosted the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix held in the Middle East. The standard Grand Prix circuit measures 5.412 kilometres. The Bahrain Grand Prix became a floodlit night race on 6 April 2014, marking ten years since its inaugural event. Beyond Formula One, the circuit has hosted World Endurance Championship racing and other international series, while the adjoining karting circuit provides a separate venue for kart competition. (bahraingp.com)

Foreign Relations and Regional Organizations

Bahrain joined the Arab League on 11 September 1971 and the United Nations on 21 September 1971, shortly after independence. It was one of the six founding members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), whose charter was signed in Abu Dhabi on 25 May 1981, alongside Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The charter established a framework for coordination and integration among the member states rather than a federal government. Bahrain’s multilateral diplomacy also includes membership of the United Nations Security Council: elected on 3 June 2025, it began a two-year term on 1 January 2026. (mbma.gov.bh)

Saudi Arabia is a particularly close regional security partner. Concrete expressions of this relationship included the Saudi-led GCC deployment to Bahrain in March 2011, Bahrain’s participation in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, and its alignment with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates during the 2017 diplomatic rupture with Qatar. Relations with Iran have followed a different trajectory: Bahrain severed diplomatic relations in January 2016 following attacks on Saudi diplomatic facilities in Iran. On 23 June 2024, Bahraini foreign minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani and acting Iranian foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani met in Tehran and agreed to establish mechanisms for talks on resuming political relations. This agreement concerned the initiation of negotiations, rather than the immediate restoration of diplomatic ties. (congress.gov)

Relations with Qatar have also been shaped by territorial disputes. In its judgment of 16 March 2001, the International Court of Justice recognized Bahrain’s sovereignty over the Hawar Islands and Qit’at Jaradah, while recognizing Qatar’s sovereignty over Zubarah and Janan Island, including Hadd Janan; it also placed the low-tide elevation of Fasht ad Dibal under Qatar’s sovereignty. The Court drew a single maritime boundary between the two states, distinguishing territorial sovereignty from the delimitation of their waters. Although the judgment settled the legal dispute, it did not prevent the later diplomatic rupture in 2017. Bahrain and Qatar agreed to resume diplomatic relations in April 2023 as part of the reconciliation among Gulf states. (icj-cij.org)

The United States naval presence makes Bahrain an important base for regional maritime security. In 1971, the US Navy leased part of the former British naval base; Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama subsequently became the headquarters of US Naval Forces Central Command and the Fifth Fleet, re-established in 1995. The fleet’s operating area includes the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, linking operations around the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab and Suez Canal. Bahrain also hosts the headquarters of Combined Maritime Forces, established in 2002 to coordinate multinational maritime-security operations. The bilateral relationship was further institutionalized through the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, signed on 13 September 2023 and effective from 20 October 2023, covering defense and security, technology, trade and investment cooperation. (navsea.navy.mil)

Bahrain’s normalization with Israel was formalized in Washington on 15 September 2020 through the Abraham Accords declaration signed by Al Zayani and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with US president Donald Trump as witness. It committed the parties to full diplomatic relations, reciprocal embassies and negotiations on cooperation in fields including investment, direct flights, telecommunications, healthcare and security. The declaration also referred to a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Bahrain continued to participate in collective Arab diplomacy on Palestinian statehood: the Arab League summit hosted in Manama on 16 May 2024 adopted the Bahrain Declaration, supporting a Palestinian state on the basis of the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and calling for an international peace conference. (2021-2025.state.gov)

Environmental Challenges and Climate Vulnerability

Over-extraction of groundwater has reduced freshwater reserves and encouraged seawater intrusion into the Dammam aquifer. Bahrain’s Second National Communication reported that abstraction had exceeded sustainable yield since the mid-1960s, lowering groundwater levels and increasing salinity. This deterioration restricts agricultural use and increases dependence on desalination, whose environmental burdens include energy consumption and concentrated marine discharges. (unfccc.int) A 2022 study of the Al-Dur desalination outfall recorded temperatures above 38°C and salinity above 55 parts per thousand at some locations near the outlet and in deeper bottom waters. The observations demonstrate localized thermal and salinity stress, rather than uniform conditions across Bahrain’s coastal waters. (sciencedirect.com)

Coastal reclamation and dredging remove marine habitats directly and disturb adjoining areas through sediment suspension and deposition. A 2013 study, The continuing decline of coral reefs in Bahrain, reported that more than 71 square kilometres had been reclaimed around Manama between 1968 and 2007, with associated damage to mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. Development pressures have compounded heat-related coral mortality: elevated sea temperatures in the late 1990s were associated with an estimated loss of more than 90% of Bahrain’s coral. Surveys in 2007 found mean coral cover of only 2% at formerly coral-dominated sites on Fasht Al-Adhm, indicating limited recovery there. (sciencedirect.com)

Air pollution combines industrial and combustion emissions with windblown mineral dust. Majeed S. Jassim and colleagues’ 2018 analysis used observations collected at 17 monitoring sites between July 2006 and December 2012. It identified regional sandstorms, industrial activities, traffic, power generation and desalination among the principal sources, with particulate matter dominating the calculated air-quality index. (tshe.org) Refining is an identifiable local source: an observational study covering 2019–2024 found persistent nitrogen-dioxide concentrations around the Sitra refinery and other northeastern industrial and transport sites. (doi.org) Dust episodes add inhalable particles to this industrial background. Their established health effects include increased short-term respiratory and cardiovascular risks; these effects cannot be attributed solely to factory emissions. (who.int)

Climate change adds rising temperatures and sea-level rise to these existing pressures. Bahrain’s 2020 Third National Communication modelled approximately 27 square kilometres—nearly half of the assessed wetlands—as exposed to inundation under a 0.5-metre sea-level-rise scenario. This was a scenario-based vulnerability estimate, not a dated prediction of inevitable loss. (unfccc.int) Extreme heat also poses a physiological hazard: high humidity restricts evaporative cooling, while outdoor work and strenuous activity increase the body’s heat load. (who.int) Bahrain’s Coastal Resilience Strategy uses a digital terrain model and sea-level scenarios extending to 2100; its action plan comprises more than 190 proposed measures, scheduled in five-year intervals through 2040. (bahrain.bh)

National measures distinguish adaptation from emissions reduction. In 2021, Bahrain announced a net-zero goal for 2060 and a 30% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035; the Supreme Council for Environment coordinates climate policy. (bahrain.bh) Its December 2025 nationally determined contribution specifies renewable energy equal to 20% of installed electricity-generation capacity by 2035—not 20% of actual generation—alongside increasing the tree population from 1.8 million to 3.6 million and planting 1.6 million mangrove seedlings. These commitments are conditional on sufficient implementation resources. Adaptation measures include replacing leaking water pipelines, improving brine management, adopting energy-efficient desalination and incorporating future climate risks into water-infrastructure design. (unfccc.int)

References

1. Bahrainen.wikipedia.org
2. BAHRAINiranicaonline.org
3. CARMATIANSiranicaonline.org
4. Bahrain — World Factbook country profilejewishvirtuallibrary.org
5. Bahrain - Countries - Office of the Historianhistory.state.gov
6. Bahrain Country Handbookupload.wikimedia.org
7. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrainlloc.gov.bh
8. Bahrain Initial Report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsnihr.org.bh
9. Legislative Decree No. 56 of 2014 amending Article 1 of Legislative Decree No. 17 of 2002 regarding the Governorates Systemlloc.gov.bh
10. Overview of the Kingdom of Bahrainrns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com
11. Background informationdigitallibrary.un.org
12. Bahrain: Mauritius Strategy Implementation Reviewun.org
13. List of islands of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org
14. Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities: About Bahrainculture.gov.bh
15. Country Profile – Bahrainun.org
16. National Circumstancesbnature.info
17. Bahrain Islanden.wikipedia.org
18. Bahrain – USGS Earthshotseros.usgs.gov
19. Area of the Kingdom of Bahraindata.gov.bh
20. King Fahd Causeway – Saudipediasaudipedia.com
21. Persian Gulf States: Country Studiestile.loc.gov
22. Geology of the Arabian Peninsulapubs.usgs.gov
23. A successful 3-D seismic survey over Bahrain Islandpdfs.semanticscholar.org
24. IV. Country Reports: Bahrain—Irrigation and Soilsfao.org
25. Bahrain—Geography and Populationcountrystudies.us
26. ClimatView / World Climate / TCCdata.jma.go.jp
27. Monthly Weather Summary – August 2021wmo.int
28. MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY – JANUARY 2023mtt.gov.bh
29. Monthly Weather Summary – April 2024public.wmo.int
30. Heavy rain floods streets in Bahrain's capitalyahoo.com
31. Bahrain National Adaptation Investment Plan 2025unfccc.int
32. Electricity and Water Statistical Summary 2003legacy.ewa.bh
33. ACWA Power (SIDEM as EPC contractor) is preferred bidder for the Al Dur 2 IWPP Projectsidem-desalination.com
34. Photos & Videosewa.bh
35. The Water Networkewa.bh
36. Energy Consumption in the Municipal Water Supply Sector in the Kingdom of Bahrainpdfs.semanticscholar.org
37. Electricity and Water Authority Announces Issuance of Prequalification Documentsewa.bh
38. Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitationsdgs.gov.bh
39. Tubli Sewage Treatment Plant Expansion Project – Phase Fourworks.gov.bh
40. CBD Sixth National Report - Bahrain (English version)cbd.int
41. CBD First National Report - Bahrain (English version)cbd.int
42. Bahrain's tree of life - in picturesthenationalnews.com
43. Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities - Kingdom of Bahrain | September 2019culture.gov.bh
44. CBD Strategy and Action Plan - Bahrain (English version)cbd.int
45. Ramsar Sites Information Servicersis.ramsar.org
46. Protected Areas — Bahrain Open Data Portaldata.gov.bh
47. Bahrain History Timelineculture.gov.bh
48. Barbar Templesculture.gov.bh
49. Om Barbartemplets dateringtidsskrift.dk
50. Hall of Tylos and Islamculture.gov.bh
51. Archaeology of Trade in the Western Indian Ocean, 300 BC–AD 700link.springer.com
52. Bahrain in Perspectivefieldsupport.dliflc.edu
53. ʿARAB ii. Arab conquest of Iraniranicaonline.org
54. BASRAiranicaonline.org
55. Usfurid Emirate in The Towns Of Bahraindergipark.org.tr
56. History of Pearlingpearlingpath.bh
57. Bahrains historie – Store norske leksikonsnl.no
58. Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquirybici.org.bh
59. Bapco - About Usbapco.net
60. Bapco - About Usbapco.net
61. Bahrain Petroleum Companyen.wikipedia.org
62. Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council, Sixth Supplementmain.un.org
63. Resolution 278 (1970)digitallibrary.un.org
64. Historical Documents - Office of the Historianhistory.state.gov
65. Accomplishing Objectives - MBMAmbma.gov.bh
66. Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquirypolicinglaw.info
67. Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policyeverycrsreport.com
68. Attacks on Justice 2002: Bahrainicj.org
69. Bahrain: Issues for U.S. Policycongress.gov
70. Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquirybici.org.bh
71. News: Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquirybici.org.bh
72. Demographics of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org
73. Labour Market Indicators: Kingdom of Bahrain, Second Quarter 2023lmra.gov.bh
74. Hasan Hafidh — Thesisetheses.whiterose.ac.uk
75. Culture of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org
76. 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Bahrainecoi.net
77. 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Bahrainecoi.net
78. Bahrain Human Development Report 2018hdr.undp.org
79. Bahrain Culture Guideinfo.publicintelligence.net
80. Mohammed Jaber Al Ansari College for Teachers - Hometeachers.uob.edu.bh
81. Law No. 27 of 2005 concerning Educationlloc.gov.bh
82. Literacy rate for Population by Sexdata.gov.bh
83. College of Arts - Homearts.uob.edu.bh
84. University History - Arabian Gulf Universityagu.edu.bh
85. Our Story - Bahrain Polytechnicpolytechnic.bh
86. Programmes - Bahrain Polytechnicpolytechnic.bh
87. Teaching and Learning Philosophy - Bahrain Polytechnicpolytechnic.bh
88. Bahrain 2026 — Final Drawdown Offering Circularrns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com
89. Bapco Energies — Base Listing Particulars 2023bapcoenergies.com
90. Bapco — Press Releasesbapco.net
91. Bapco Refiningbapcoenergies.com
92. Bapco Modernization Programme (BMP)bapco.net
93. Bapco Energies — Base Listing Particulars 2024bapco-phase2.objects.frb.io
94. GPIC: building on its successgulfindustryonline.com
95. The Ministry of Finance and National Economy released the Bahrain Economic Report 2024mofne.gov.bh
96. Bahrain’s Real GDP Grows by 2.6% in 2024 Compared to the Previous Yeariga.gov.bh
97. Bahrain’s offshore banking center: The impressive growth of this center and its effects on the regionelibrary.imf.org
98. Entire Section — Central Bank of Bahrain Rulebookcbben.thomsonreuters.com
99. Financial Stability Report, March 2025cbb.gov.bh
100. Careers at Central Bank of Bahraincareers.cbb.gov.bh
101. Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutionsaaoifi.com
102. Alba Sets New Production Record, Exceeding 1.622 million MTalbasmelter.com
103. Production Process — Aluminium Bahrain (Alba)albasmelter.com
104. SAFCO Shareholder Circular, 27 October 2020sabic-agrinutrients.com
105. Invest in Bahrain, Why Bahrain, Sector Pagesbahrainedb.com
106. Business Services & Bahrain Investors Center Servicesmoic.gov.bh
107. Bahrain’s Economy: Oil Prices, Economic Diversification, Saudi Support, and Political Uncertaintiescidob.org
108. Bahrain 2030bahrain.bh
109. Bahrain Economic Vision 2030pmo.gov.bh
110. E/HLPF/2023/5digitallibrary.un.org
111. Bahrain-EDB-Annual-report-2021bahrainedb.com
112. Tender Board - Kingdom of Bahraintenderboard.gov.bh
113. VISION & OPPORTUNITYbahrainedb.com
114. About Us - Invest in Bahrainbahrainedb.com
115. Enabling workforce development and tech for good at the AWS Summit Bahrain: recapaws.amazon.com
116. Fiscal Balance Programmofne.gov.bh
117. 바레인] 2026년 1분기 바레인 경제 동향mofa.go.kr
118. Regional Economic Outlook Update, Middle East and Central Asia, April 2026: War in the Middle East: Economic Spillovers and Policy Challengeselibrary.imf.org
119. Macro Poverty Outlook: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan, April 2026documents1.worldbank.org
120. King Fahd Causewaybahrain.bh
121. Bahrain: Country in Perspectivefieldsupport.dliflc.edu
122. The Daily Tribune, 28 January 2021newsofbahrain.com
123. About Usbahrainairport.bh
124. Cargo & Logisticsbahrainairport.bh
125. Khalifa Bin Salman Port celebrates a decade of contribution to Bahrain's economic developmentapmterminals.com
126. Bahrain launches fastest Global Sea-to-Air logistics Hub in regionmtt.gov.bh
127. BUSmtt.gov.bh
128. Bahrain Metromtt.gov.bh
129. Railwaymtt.gov.bh
130. About Diyar Al Muharraq citydiyar.bh
131. About Bahrain National Museumculture.gov.bh
132. Bahrain National Theatreculture.gov.bh
133. Destinations: Al Jasraculture.gov.bh
134. Craftsculture.gov.bh
135. May 2021: Al Jasra Handicraft Center workshopsculture.gov.bh
136. Bahrain Gastronomypre-webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
137. Fjiriich.unesco.org
138. Current UN Member States Resourcesresearch.un.org
139. About Usgcc-sg.org
140. General Assembly Elects Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, Liberia Non-Permanent Security Council Members, Proclaims 11 July World Horse Daypress.un.org
141. Bahrain: Issues for U.S. Policycongress.gov
142. Bahrain and Iran agree to start talks on resuming political relationstheprint.in
143. Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain (Qatar v. Bahrain)icj-cij.org
144. Bahrain and Qatar Restore Diplomatic Ties2021-2025.state.gov
145. FDRMC - Bahrainnavsea.navy.mil
146. Historycusnc.navy.mil
147. Bahrain (23-1020) - Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement2021-2025.state.gov
148. Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement2021-2025.state.gov
149. Bahrain’s Second National Communicationunfccc.int
150. Spatial Distribution and Source Apportionment of Air Pollution in Bahrain using Multivariate Analysis Methodstshe.org
151. An observational assessment of the impact of nature-based solutions on spatiotemporal patterns of NO2 pollution in Bahrain (2019–2024)doi.org
152. Sand and dust stormswho.int
153. Bahrain’s Third National Communicationunfccc.int
154. Heat and healthwho.int
155. Climate Change and Environment Protectionbahrain.bh
156. Bahrain’s NDC 3.0 (2025)unfccc.int