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. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors. It has also endeavored to become a leading regional banking center, especially with respect to Islamic finance. Bahrain's small size, central location among Gulf countries, economic dependence on Saudi Arabia, and proximity to Iran require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Its foreign policy activities usually fall in line with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In 2022, the United States designated Bahrain as a major non-NATO ally.
The Sunni royal family has long struggled to manage relations with its Shia-majority population. In 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government responded to similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces. In 2020, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords with Israel. In 2023, Bahrain and the United States signed the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement to enhance cooperation across a wide range of areas, from defense and security to emerging technology, trade, and investment.
" } }, "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" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "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": { "highest point": { "text": "Jabal ad Dukhan 135 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Persian Gulf 0 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "11.3% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 2.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 3.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 5.3% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "0.7% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "88% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "40 sq km (2012)" }, "Major aquifers": { "text": "Arabian Aquifer System" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "smallest population of the Gulf States, but urbanization rate exceeds 90%; largest settlement concentration is found on the far northern end of the island in and around Manamah and Al Muharraq" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "periodic droughts; dust storms" }, "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": { "Population": { "total": { "text": "1,566,888" }, "male": { "text": "940,022" }, "female": { "text": "626,866 (2024 est.)" } }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Bahraini(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Bahraini" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "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.)" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "
note: political parties are prohibited, but political societies were legalized under a July 2005 law
" }, "International organization participation": { "text": "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" }, "Diplomatic representation in the US": { "chief of mission": { "text": "Ambassador Abdulla bin Rashed AL KHALIFA (since 21 July 2017)" }, "chancery": { "text": "3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008" }, "telephone": { "text": "[1] (202) 342-1111" }, "FAX": { "text": "[1] (202) 362-2192" }, "email address and website": { "text": "the BDF is a small, but well-equipped military focused on 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 the US and Saudi Arabia; it hosts the US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT; established 1983), which includes the US 5th Fleet, several subordinate naval task forces, and the Combined Maritime Forces (established 2002), a coalition of more than 30 nations providing maritime security for regional shipping lanes; in 2003, the US granted Bahrain Major Non-NATO Ally status, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; Bahraini leaders have said that the security of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are “indivisible”; Saudi Arabia sent forces to Bahrain to assist with internal security following the 2011 uprising; Bahrain also has close security ties to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, particularly Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UK (2024)" } }, "Space": { "Space agency/agencies": { "text": "Bahrain National Space Science Agency (NSSA; established 2014) (2024)" }, "Space program overview": { "text": "space program in nascent stages and is focused on developing the capabilities to build and operate satellites; the NSSA’s mission includes promoting space science, technology, and research, building capacity in the fields of satellite manufacturing, tracking, control, data processing and analysis, and remote sensing, developing space-related programs and space policy, and facilitating international cooperation; cooperates with a variety of foreign agencies and commercial entities, including those of India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the UAE, and the US; also a member of the Arab Space Coordination Group, established by the UAE in 2019 (2024)", "note": "note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in the Space Programs reference guide" } }, "Terrorism": { "Terrorist group(s)": { "text": "al-Ashtar Brigades; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force", "note": "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