"text":"In 1783, the Sunni Al-Khalifa family took power in Bahrain. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has become an international banking center. Bahrain's small size and central location among Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. ++ The Sunni-led government has struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo has led to sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia"
},
"Geographic coordinates":{
"text":"26 00 N, 50 33 E"
},
"Map references":{
"text":"Middle East"
},
"Area":{
"total":{
"text":"760 sq km"
},
"land":{
"text":"760 sq km"
},
"water":{
"text":"0 sq km"
}
},
"Area - comparative":{
"text":"3.5 times the size of Washington, DC",
"Area comparison map":{
"text":null
}
},
"Land boundaries":{
"text":"0 km"
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"161 km"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"territorial sea":{
"text":"12 nm"
},
"contiguous zone":{
"text":"24 nm"
},
"continental shelf":{
"text":"extending to boundaries to be determined"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment"
},
"Elevation extremes":{
"lowest point":{
"text":"Persian Gulf 0 m"
},
"highest point":{
"text":"Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m"
}
},
"Natural resources":{
"text":"oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls"
"text":"desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources (groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs)"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean"
}
},
"People and Society":{
"Nationality":{
"noun":{
"text":"Bahraini(s)"
},
"adjective":{
"text":"Bahraini"
}
},
"Ethnic groups":{
"text":"Bahraini 46%, Asian 45.5%, other Arabs 4.7%, African 1.6%, European 1%, other 1.2% (includes Gulf Co-operative country nationals, North and South Americans, and Oceanians) (2010 est.)"
"text":"each governorate administered by an appointed governor"
}
},
"Independence":{
"text":"15 August 1971 (from the UK)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 was the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 was the date of independence from British protection"
},
"Constitution":{
"text":"adopted 14 February 2002; amended 2012 (2012)"
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of Islamic law, English common law, Egyptian civil, criminal, and commercial codes; customary law"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
"text":"20 years of age; universal; note - Bahraini Cabinet in May 2011 endorsed a draft law lowering eligibility to 18 years"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"King HAMAD bin Isa Al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad Al-Khalifa (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al-Khalifa (since 1971); First Deputy Prime Minister SALMAN bin Hamad Al Khalifa (since 11 March 2013); Deputy Prime Ministers ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, Jawad bin Salim al-ARAIDH (since 11 December 2006), KHALID bin Abdallah Al Khalifa (since November 2010), MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa (since September 2005)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Cabinet appointed by the monarch"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch"
}
},
"Legislative branch":{
"description":{
"text":"bicameral National Assembly consists of the Consultative Council or Majlis al Shura (40 seats; members appointed by the king) and the Council of Representatives or Majlis al Nuwab (40 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 4-year renewable terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"Council of Representatives - last held in two rounds on 23 and 29 November 2014 (next in November 2018)"
"text":"Council of Representatives - percent of vote by society - NA; seats by society - Al-Asalah (Sunni Salafi) 2, Islamic Minbar (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) 1, independent 36, other 1; note - Bahrain has societies rather than parties"
"text":"Court of Cassation or 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"
},
"note":{
"text":"the judiciary of Bahrain is divided into civil law courts and sharia law courts"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"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 appointment and tenure NA"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Civil High Courts of Appeal; middle and lower civil courts; High Sharia Court of Appeal; Senior Sharia Court"
"text":"political parties are prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law ++ Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society or Al-Wefeq [Ali SALMAN] ++ Arab Islamic Center Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER] ++ Constitutional Gathering Society [Abdulrahman AL-BAKER] ++ Islamic Asalah [Abd al-Halim MURAD] ++ Islamic Saff Society [Abdullah Khalil BU GHAMAR] ++ Islamic Shura Society ++ Movement of National Justice Society [Muhi al-Din KHAN] ++ National Action Charter Society [Muhammad AL-BUAYNAYN] ++ National Democratic Action Society [Radhi AL-MOUSAWI] ++ National Democratic Assembly [Hasan AL-ALI] ++ National Dialogue Society ++ National Fraternity Society [Musa AL-ANSARI] ++ National Islamic Minbar [Ali AHMAD] ++ National Progressive Tribune [Abd al-Nabi SALMAN] ++ National Unity Gathering ++ Unitary National Democratic Assemblage [Fadhil ABBAS] ++ "
"text":"Ambassador ABDALLAH bin Muhammad bin Rashid Al Khalifa (since 3 December 2013)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 342-1111"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 362-2192"
},
"consulate(s) general":{
"text":"New York"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador William V. ROEBUCK (since 12 December 2014)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"Building "
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"PSC 451, Box 660, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[973] 1724-2700"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[973] 1727-0547"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam",
"note":{
"text":"until 2002 the flag had eight white points, but this was reduced to five to avoid confusion with the Qatari flag"
}
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"a red field surmounted by a white serrated band with five white points; national colors: red, white"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Bahrainona\" (Our Bahrain)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"unknown"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1971; although Mohamed Sudqi AYYASH wrote the original lyrics, they were changed in 2002 following the transformation of Bahrain from an emirate to a kingdom"
"text":"Bahrain has made great efforts to diversify its economy; its highly developed communication and transport facilities make Bahrain home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. As part of its diversification plans, Bahrain implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in August 2006, the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. Bahrain's economy, however, continues to depend heavily on oil. In 2013, petroleum production and refining accounted for 73% of Bahrain's export receipts, 88% of government revenues, and 21% of GDP. Other major economic activities are production of aluminum - Bahrain's second biggest export after oil - finance, and construction. Bahrain continues to seek new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. In 2011 Bahrain experienced economic setbacks as a result of domestic unrest, however, the economy recovered in 2012-14, partly as a result of improved tourism. Lower oil prices in 2015 will likely exacerbate Bahrain's budget deficit."
"Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy":{
"text":"32.2 million Mt (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Communications":{
"Telephones - fixed lines":{
"total subscriptions":{
"text":"280,000"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"22 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular":{
"total":{
"text":"2.3 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"177 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system":{
"general assessment":{
"text":"modern system"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones"
},
"international":{
"text":"country code - 973; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth station - 1 (2007)"
}
},
"Broadcast media":{
"text":"state-run Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC) operates 5 terrestrial TV networks and several radio stations; satellite TV systems provide access to international broadcasts; 1 private FM station directs broadcasts to Indian listeners; radio and TV broadcasts from countries in the region are available (2007)"
"text":"Bahrain Defense Force (BDF): Royal Bahraini Army (RBA), Royal Bahraini Navy (RBN), Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF), Royal Bahraini Air Defense Force (RBADF) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18 years of age for voluntary military service; 15 years of age for NCOs, technicians, and cadets; no conscription (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"508,863"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"290,801 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"423,757"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"245,302 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually":{
"male":{
"text":"8,988"
},
"female":{
"text":"8,117 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"4.2% of GDP (2014) ++ 4.1% of GDP (2013) ++ 3.9% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"none"
},
"Trafficking in persons":{
"current situation":{
"text":"Bahrain is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; unskilled and domestic workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, and other countries migrate willingly to Bahrain, but some face conditions of forced labor through the withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, nonpayment, threats, and abuse; many Bahraini labor recruitment agencies and some employers charge foreign workers exorbitant fees that make them vulnerable to forced labor and debt bondage; domestic workers are particularly at risk of experiencing forced labor and sexual exploitation because they are not protected under labor laws; women from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, and other Eastern European countries are forced into prostitution in Bahrain"
},
"tier rating":{
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List – Bahrain does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute a significant effort toward meeting the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking; an increased number of trafficking offenders were investigated, prosecuted, and convicted in 2013; the government did not prosecute or convict any forced labor perpetrators and often treated these cases as labor violations rather than serious crimes; some progress was made in identifying victims and referring them to protection services, but trafficking victims continued to be punished for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2014)"
