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Arabian Peninsula

Bahrain

Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia.

Muslim population74.2%of the population

Population1.6 millionpeople (current)

CapitalManamaUTC+3

Currency0.38 = $1Bahraini dinars (BHD) (2024)

Country basics

Bahrain is an island state in the Persian Gulf, linked to Saudi Arabia by a road causeway.

Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy with Manama as its capital and Arabic as its official language. The dinar is pegged to the United States dollar, and banking, aluminium smelting and refining have grown as its own oil output fell.

Official name

Kingdom of Bahrain

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Unitary constitutional monarchy under an authoritarian government

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+973

Currency

Bahraini dinar (BHD, .د.ب)

Member of

Arab League; UN

Website

https://www.bahrain.bh

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 74.2%, other 25.9%

Languages

Arabic

People and cities

Population

1.6 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

33.5 years (2025)

Living in cities

89.9% (2023)

Largest cities

Manama (capital) 709,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

0.38 Bahraini dinars (BHD) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$59,100 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

0.9% (2024)

Unemployment

1.2% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

13.6% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

80.4 years (2024)

Doctors

0.74 per 1,000 people (2020)

Hospital beds

1.7 per 1,000 people (2019)

Safe drinking water

99.9% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

100% of people (2023)

Literacy

97.8% of adults (2024)

Land and climate

Climate

Arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Size3.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.

765 sq km

Natural hazards

Periodic droughts; dust storms

National holiday

National Day, 16 December (1971)