August 2004

Background Note: Bahrain

PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:

Kingdom of Bahrain (Mamlakat al Bahrayn)

Geography

Area: 710 sq. km. ( 274 sq. mi.); approximately four times the size of Washington, D.C. Bahrain is an archipelago of 36 islands located off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The four main islands are joined by causeways, and make up about 95% of the total land area. Cities: Capital – Manama, pop. (2002 est.) 148,000. Other cities – Al Muharraq. Terrain: Low desert plain (highest elevation point – 122 m). Climate: Hot and humid from May-September, with average highs ranging from 30-40 C (86-104 F). Maximum temperatures average 20-30C (68-86F) the remainder of the year.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective – Bahraini(s). Population (July 2003 est.): 667,238, including about 235,108 non-nationals. Annual growth rate: 1.61%. Ethnic groups: Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%. Religions: 98% Muslim (Shi'a 70%, Sunni 30%), with small Christian, Jewish and Hindu communities. Languages: Arabic (official), English, Farsi, and Urdu are also widely spoken. Education: Education is not compulsory, but is provided free to Bahrainis and non-nationals at all levels, including higher education. Estimated net primary school attendance (1991-2001) – 84%. Adult Literacy (age 15 and over) (2003 est.) – 89.1% for the overall population (male 91.9% female 85%). Health: Infant mortality rate – -19.02 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy – 71 yrs. Males, 76 yrs. Females. Work force (2001): 307,000 of which 59% are foreigners and 20.8% female..

Government

Type: Constitutional Monarchy. Independence: August 15, 1971 (from the UK). Constitution: Approved and promulgated May 26, 1973; suspended on August 26, 1975; amended and approved by a national popular referendum again on February 14-15, 2001. Branches: Executive – King (chief of state); Prime Minister (head of government); Council of Ministers (cabinet) is appointed by the King and headed by the Prime Minister. Legislative – The bicameral parliament (al-Majlis al-Watani) consists of a 40-member elected House of Deputies and a 40-member Shura Council appointed by the King. Members of both chambers serve four-year terms. Judicial-High Civil Appeals Court. The judiciary is independent with right of judicial review.

Administrative subdivisions: 12 municipalities (manatiq): Al Hidd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah. Political parties: None. Formal parties are banned but political societies have been formally sanctioned since 2001. Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Economy

GDP (2002): $7.7 billion. Real GDP Growth Rate (2002 est.): 5.1%. Per capita GDP (2002 est.): $14,000. Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish, pearls. Agriculture (less than 1% of GDP): Products – With the exception of eggs, vegetables, dates, and fish, most food is imported. Industry: Types – oil and gas (16.5 % of GDP), manufacturing (12.2% of GDP), aluminum. Services: Finance (15.7 % of GDP), transport and communications (8.9% of GDP), real estate (7.8% of GDP), . Government Services(10.4% of GDP). Trade (2002 – about 13.3 % of GDP): Exports – $5.8 billion: oil and other mineral products, base metals, textiles. Major markets – India (4.5 %), U.S. (3.2%), Saudi Arabia (2.3%), Japan (1.7%), South Korea (1.7%). Imports – $5.0 billion: crude oil, machinery and appliances, transport equipment, foodstuffs. Major suppliers – Saudi Arabia (30.2%), U.S. (11.7%), France (7.1%), U.K. (6.1%),Germany (5.6%).

HISTORY

The site of the ancient Bronze Age civilization of Dilmun, Bahrain was an important center linking trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley as early as 5,000 years ago. The Dilmun civilization began to decline about 2,000 B.C. as trade from India was cut off. From 750 B.C. on, Assyrian kings repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the islands. Shortly after 600 B.C., Dilmun was formally incorporated into the new Babylonian empire. There are no historical references to Bahrain until Alexander the Great's arrival in the Gulf in the 4th century B.C. Although Bahrain was ruled variously by the Arab tribes of Bani Wa'el and Persian governors, Bahrain continued to be known by its Greek name Tylos until the 7th century, when many of its inhabitants converted to Islam. A regional pearling and trade center, Bahrain came under the control of the Ummayad Caliphs of Syria, the Abbasid Caliphs of Baghdad, Persian, Omani and Portuguese forces at various times from the 7th century until the Al Khalifa family, a branch of the Bani Utbah tribe that have ruled Bahrain since the 18th century, succeeded in capturing Bahrain from a Persian garrison controlling the islands in 1783.

In the 1830s the Al Khalifa signed the first of many treaties establishing Bahrain as a British Protectorate. Similar to the binding treaties of protection entered into by other Persian Gulf principalities, the agreements entered into by the Al Khalifa prohibited them from disposing of territory and entering into relationships with any foreign government without British consent in exchange for British protection against the threat of military attack from Ottoman Turkey. The main British naval base in the region was moved to Bahrain in 1935 shortly after the start of large-scale oil production. From all aggression by sea and to lend support in case of land attack.

In 1968, when the British Government announced its decision (reaffirmed in March 1971) to end the treaty relationships with the Persian Gulf sheikdoms, Bahrain initially joined the other eight states (Qatar and the seven Trucial Sheikhdoms now the United Arab Emirates) under British protection in an effort to form a union of Arab emirates. The nine sheikhdoms still had not agreed on terms of union by 1971, however, prompting. Bahrain to declare itself fully independent on August 15, 1971.

Bahrain promulgated a constitution and elected its first parliament in 1973, but just two years later, in August 1975, the Amir disbanded the National Assembly after it attempted to legislate the end of Al-Khalifa rule and the expulsion of the U.S. Navy from Bahrain. In the 1990s, Bahrain suffered from repeated incidents of political violence stemming from the disaffection of the Shi'a majority. In response, the Amir instituted the first Bahraini cabinet change in 20 years in 1995 and also and increased the membership of the Consultative Council, which he had created in 1993 to provide advice and opinion on legislation proposed by the cabinet and, in certain cases, suggest new laws on its own, from 30 to 40 the following year. . These steps led to an initial decline in violent incidents, but in early 1996 a number of hotels and restaurants were bombed, resulting in several fatalities. Over 1,000 people were arrested and held in detention without trial in connection with these disturbances. The government has since released these individuals (see Government and Political Conditions Section below for details).

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa succeeded the throne in March 1999, after the death of his father Shaikh Isa bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain's ruler since 1961. He championed a program of democratic reform shortly after his succession. In November 2000, Shaikh Hamad established a committee to create a blueprint to transform Bahrain from a hereditary emirate to a constitutional monarchy within 2 years. The resulting "National Action Charter" was presented to the Bahraini public in a referendum in February 2001. In the first comprehensive public vote in Bahrain since the 1970s, 94.8% of voters overwhelmingly endorsed the charter. That same month, Shaikh Hamad pardoned all political prisoners and detainees, including those who had been imprisoned, exiled or detained on security charges. He also abolished the State Security Law and the State Security Court, which had permitted the government to detain individuals without trial for up to 3 years.

On February 14, 2002, one year after the referendum endorsing his National Action Charter, Shaikh Hamad pronounced Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and changed his status from Amir to King. He simultaneously announced that the first municipal elections since 1957 would be held in May 2002, and that a bicameral parliament, with a representative lower house, would be reconstituted with parliamentary elections in October 2002. As part of these constitutional reforms, the government also created an independent financial watchdog empowered to investigate cases of embezzlement and violations of state expenditure in July 2002.

Turnout for the May 2002 municipal elections was 51%, with female voters making up 52 % percent of voters. Turnout for the 2002 parliamentary elections – the first in almost three decades – was 53% in the first round and 43% in the second round, despite the fact that the four-largest Shi'a political societies organized a boycott to protest constitutional amendments enacted by the King that gave the appointed upper chamber of parliament voting rights equal to the elected lower chamber. Sunni Islamists won 19 of the 40 seats. Despite strong participation by female voters, none of the female candidates standing in these elections won a parliamentary seat. The new parliament held its first joint sitting in December 2002.

Bahrain has a complex system of courts, based on diverse legal sources, including Sunni and Shi'a Sharia (religious law), tribal law, and other civil codes and regulations created with the help of British advisers in the early 20th century. In 2001, Shaikh Hamad created the Supreme Judicial Council to regulate these courts and separate the administrative and judicial branches of government.

Principal Government Officials

King – Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Crown Prince and Commander in Chief of the Bahrain Defense Force – Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Prime Minister – Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Deputy Prime Minister and Islamic Affairs Minister – Shaikh Abdullah bin Khaled Al Khalifa Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister – Shaikh Mohammad bin Mubarak Al Khalifa

Ambassador to the United States – Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali Al-Khalifa

Ambassador to the United Nations – Tawfeeq al-Ahmed al-Mansoor

Bahrain maintains an embassy in the United States at 3502 International Drive N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008; tel: [1] (202) 342-1111; fax: [1] (202) 362-2192. The Bahraini Mission to the UN is located at866 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017; tel: [1] (212)223-6200; fax [1] (202) 319-0687.

PEOPLE

Bahrain is one of the most densely populated countries in the Middle East; about 89% of the population lives in the two principal cities of Manama and Al Muharraq. Approximately 66% of the indigenous population is originally from the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Bahrain currently has a sizeable foreign labor force (about 38% of the total population). The government's policies on naturalization remain controversial. In June 2002, the King issued a decree allowing citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to take up dual Bahraini nationality. Opposition political groups charge that the government is granting citizenship to foreign nationals who have served in the Bahraini armed forces and security services to alter the demographic balance of the country, which is primarily Shi'a. According to passport officials, about 40,000 individuals have been naturalized over the past 50 years (about 10% of the total population).

The indigenous population is 98% Muslim. Although more than two-thirds of the indigenous population is Shi'a Muslim, the ruling family and the majority of government, military, and corporate leaders are Sunni Muslims. The small indigenous Christian and Jewish communities make up the remaining 2% of the population. Roughly half of foreign resident community are non-Muslim, and include Christians, Hindus, Baha'is, Buddhists and Sikhs.

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