Bahrain

Map of Bahrain

Country	Conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
Capital	Manama
Population	1,248,348
Sex ratio	1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.75 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.54 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Religions	Muslim (Shia and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census)
Languages	Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu
	Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 94.6% Male: 96.1% Female: 91.6% (2010 census)
Nationality	Bahraini
Independence	15 August 1971 (from the UK)
National holiday	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
Location	Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates	26 00 N, 50 33 E
Map references	Middle East
Area	Total: 760 sq km Land: 760 sq km Water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	161 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
Climate	arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain	mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Elevation extremes	Lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m Highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Natural resources	Oil, Associated and Nonassociated Natural Gas, Fish, Pearls
Exports - commodities	petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles
Imports - commodities	crude oil, machinery, chemicals
Land use	Arable land: 2.82% Permanent crops: 5.63% Other: 91.55% (2005)
Irrigated land	40 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	0.1 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Total: 0.3 cu km/yr (40%/3%/57%) Per capita: 411 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Periodic droughts; dust storms
Environment - current issues	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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	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