THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 710.90 sq km
Population: 666,442 (including over
260,000 expatriates)
Capital City: Manama (Al Manamah)
People: Arab, Muslim majority, of which
33% are Sunni and 66% are Shia
Languages: Arabic is the official
language; English is widely spoken and
is the main commercial language
Religion(s): Islam is the state religion;
places of worship for other faiths
exist
Currency: Bahraini Dinar (BD); 1
Bahraini Dinar = 1,000 fils
Major political parties: Political parties
are not permitted but the first political
society was licensed in September 2001
Government: Monarchy
GEOGRAPHY
Bahrain is a group of 33 Gulf islands
off the east coast of Saudi Arabia. By
far the largest island, 50km by 16km, is
Bahrain Island. Causeways connect the
four main islands. Bahrain Island is also
connected to Saudi Arabia by the 16
mile King Fahd Causeway. The
population is concentrated in the north
around the capital, Manama. The
climate is hot and humid, with minimal
rain. Maximum temperatures average
30-40oC between May and October
and 20-30oC for the remainder of the
year.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Recent archaeological evidence
suggests Bahrain was the site of the
lost civilisation of Dilmun, dating from
the third millennium BC. It has also
revealed the civilisation of Tylos, which
existed two thousand years later.
On 14 August 1971, Bahrain announced
its independence. Previously it was a
UK protectorate, as were other Gulf
states. In 1973, a constitution was
introduced, together with a democratic
National Assembly. However, the
National Assembly was dissolved in 1975
after refusing to pass the State
Security Law.
In the mid-1990s, Bahrain suffered a
spate of anti-government disturbances
stemming from the disaffection of the
Shia majority. The situation calmed
during the summer of 1995, but in
early 1996 a number of hotels and
restaurants were bombed (7 people
died in one of the restaurants). As a
result of the disturbances, over 1,000
people were held in detention without
trial (since released - see below).
There have been few disturbances
since then.
BBC News Timeline: Bahrain
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
succeeded his father, Shaikh Isa, as
Amir on 6 March 1999. Whilst the ruling
family and many leading Bahrainis are
Sunni Muslims, approximately
two-thirds of the population are Shia
Muslims.
Since Shaikh Hamad's succession he
has worked hard to transform Bahrain
into a constitutional monarchy.
In November 2000 Shaikh Hamad set up
a committee to review plans for
further constitutional changes detailed
in his National Action Charter. These
were endorsed in a referendum on
14-15 February 2001 by an
overwhelming 98.4% of voters. This
was the first popular vote in Bahrain
since the 1970s and both men and
women participated. Support for the
referendum from leading Shia clerics
emphasised the significant
reconciliation between the Government
and the Shia community. This included
regular meetings between Shaikh Abdul
Amir Al-Jamri and other leading
clerics and the King. The King promised
to create a bicameral system, similar
to the UK, with a directly elected
legislative house and a consultative,
appointed house. The Crown Prince,
Shaikh Salman bin Hamad, was put in
charge of implementation.
On 5 February 2001, Shaikh Hamad
pardoned all political prisoners and
detainees, including those imprisoned,
exiled or detained on security charges.
This included 142 convicted prisoners,
75 detainees held without trial, 72
accused and released on bail and 108
Bahrainis living abroad. A further Amiri
decree of 18 February 2001 abolished
the State Security Law and State
Security Court, which were much
criticised by opposition groups for
suppressing freedom. The State
Security Law had allowed people to be
detained without trial for up to three
years. The first non-governmental
human rights organisation, the Bahrain
Human Rights Society, was established.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
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Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$8,130 million
GDP per head: US$11,614
Annual Growth: 5.0%
Inflation: 0.5%
Major Industries: Aluminium, financial
services, oil, tourism
Major trading partners: Saudi Arabia,
US, India, Japan, UK, France, South
Korea. Imports: US $4,373 million.
Exports: US$5,701 million.
Exchange rate: £1 = BD 0.59 (linked to
US$ at US$ 1 = BD 0.38)
A small, reasonably prosperous
economy with less dependence on oil
than most other Gulf states. Having
been the first to discover oil in 1932
the economy is now well diversified
and the acknowledged banking, financial
services and human resources
development and training area of the
Gulf. The economic environment is
liberal but well regulated; the
authorities have managed recent oil
price fluctuations sensibly and
successfully trained Bahraini nationals
for private sector employment.
However, long term prospects for the
small Bahraini market are bound up
with the larger Gulf, particularly Saudi,
market. Bahrain already has a large
offshore financial sector mainly
serving Saudi needs. But due to Saudi
restrictions it has not so far become a
base for investment serving the Saudi
market. Recent Saudi moves towards
economic liberalisation and WTO
accession could make it easier for
Bahrain based firms to do business in
Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain had a trade surplus of US$
490 million in 2001.
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