Bahrain

constitutional monarchy

name: Manama geographic coordinates: 26 14 N, 50 34 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: name derives from the Arabic word al-manama , meaning "place of rest" or "place of dreams"

chief of state: King HAMAD bin Isa Al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad Al-Khalifa (since 11 November 2020) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

legislature name: National Assembly (Al-Majlis Al-Watani) legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): Court of Cassation (consists of the chairman and 3 judges); Supreme Court of Appeal (consists of the chairman and 3 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the president and 6 members); High Sharia Court of Appeal (court sittings include the president and at least one judge) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by royal decree and serve for a specified tenure; Constitutional Court president and members appointed by the Higher Judicial Council, a body chaired by the monarch and includes judges from the Court of Cassation, sharia law courts, and Civil High Courts of Appeal; members serve 9-year terms; High Sharia Court of Appeal member appointments by royal decree for a specified tenure subordinate courts: Civil High Courts of Appeal; middle and lower civil courts; High Sharia Court of Appeal; Senior Sharia Court; Administrative Courts of Appeal; military courts note: the judiciary of Bahrain is divided into civil law courts and sharia law courts; sharia courts (involving personal status and family law) are further divided into Sunni Muslim and Shia Muslim; the Courts are supervised by the Supreme Judicial Council.

history: previous 1973; latest adopted 14 February 2002, entry into force 14 February 2002 amendment process: proposed by the king or by at least 15 members of either chamber of the National Assembly followed by submission to an Assembly committee for review and, if approved, submitted to the government for restatement as drafts; passage requires a two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both chambers and validation by the king; constitutional articles on the state religion (Islam), state language (Arabic), and the monarchy and "inherited rule" cannot be amended

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CICA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

3% of GDP (2024 est.) 3.2% of GDP (2023 est.) 3.2% of GDP (2022 est.) 3.6% of GDP (2021 est.) 4.2% of GDP (2020 est.)

Bahrain Defense Force (BDF): Royal Bahraini Army (includes the Royal Guard), Royal Bahraini Navy, Royal Bahraini Air Force Ministry of Interior: National Guard, Special Security Forces Command (SSFC), Coast Guard (2025) note 1: the Royal Guard is officially under the command of the Army, but exercises considerable autonomy note 2: the Ministry of Interior is responsible for internal security and oversees police and specialized security units responsible for maintaining internal order; the National Guard's primary mission is to guard critical infrastructure such as the airport and oil fields and is a back-up to the police; the Guard is under the Ministry of Interior but reports directly to the king

18 years of age for voluntary military service; 18-55 to voluntarily join the reserves (2025)

the BDF (established 1968) is responsible for territorial defense and support to internal security; its primary concern is Iran, both the conventional military threat and Tehran's support to regional terrorist groups; the BDF participates in multinational exercises and has conducted small deployments outside of the country; in 2015, for example, Bahrain joined the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in Yemen, supplying a few hundred troops and combat aircraft Bahrain s closest security partners are Saudi Arabia and the US; Bahraini leaders have said that the security ties of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are indivisible ; Saudi Arabia sent forces to Bahrain to assist with internal security following the 2011 uprising; Bahrain hosts the US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT; established 1983), which includes the US 5 th Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces (established 2002), a coalition of more than 30 nations providing maritime security for regional shipping lanes; Bahrain also has close security ties with the UK, which maintains a naval support facility there Bahrain hosts the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Unified Maritime Operations Center and is a member of the Peninsula Shield Forces, a joint military force established by the GCC countries with the aim of maintaining security and stability in the region (2025)

$93.937 billion (2024 est.) $91.185 billion (2023 est.) $87.781 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$59,100 (2024 est.) $57,800 (2023 est.) $57,600 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

3% (2024 est.) 3.9% (2023 est.) 6.2% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

0.9% (2024 est.) 0.1% (2023 est.) 3.6% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

111.6% of GDP (2020 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$41.303 billion (2024 est.) $40.344 billion (2023 est.) $44.58 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$33.044 billion (2024 est.) $32.374 billion (2023 est.) $33.066 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

1.2% (2024 est.) 1.2% (2023 est.) 1.4% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $5.538 billion (2020 est.) expenditures: $9.982 billion (2020 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing, tourism

lamb/mutton, dates, milk, tomatoes, chicken, eggs, sheep offal, sheepskins, eggplants, chillies/peppers (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 1,566,888 (2024 est.) male: 940,022 female: 626,866

0.79% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 18.1% (male 143,399/female 139,667) 15-64 years: 77.7% (male 762,190/female 454,616) 65 years and over: 4.3% (2024 est.) (male 34,433/female 32,583)

12.08 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

2.86 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 80.4 years (2024 est.) male: 78.1 years female: 82.7 years

urban population: 89.9% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Bahraini 47.4%, Asian 43.4%, other Arab 4.9%, African 1.4%, North American 1.1%, Gulf Co-operative countries 0.9%, European 0.8%, other 0.1% (2020 est.)

Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu major-language sample(s): كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Muslim 74.2%, other 25.9% (2020 est)

total population: 97.8% (2024 est.) male: 98.7% (2024 est.) female: 96.3% (2024 est.)

oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls

al-Ashtar Brigades; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force note 1: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide note 2: in addition to the al-Ashtar Brigades and the IRGC/Qods Force, Saraya al-Mukhtar (aka The Mukhtar Brigade) is an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Bahrain, reportedly receiving financial and logistic support from the IRGC; Saraya al-Mukhtar's self-described goal is to depose the Bahraini Government with the intention of paving the way for Iran to exert greater influence in Bahrain; the group was designated by the US as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in Dec 2020

refugees: 371 (2024 est.)

3 (2025)

total: 184 (2023) by type: general cargo 12, oil tanker 3, other 169

total subscriptions: 2,415,720 (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 160 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 100% (2023 est.)