Просмотр кода страницы Английская Википедия:Bahrain

{{Английская Википедия/Панель перехода}}
{{Short description|Country in West Asia}} 
{{About|the country in West Asia}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Use British English|date = September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Bahrain
| common_name            = Bahrain
| native_name            = {{native name|ar|مملكة البحرين|italics=off}}<br />{{small|{{transliteration|ar|Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Bahrain.svg
| alt_flag               = White band on the hoist side separated from a red area by five triangles in a vertical line representing the five pillars of Islam
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of The Kingdom of Bahrain.svg
| coa_size               = 95
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = {{lang|ar|بحريننا}}<br />''[[Bahrainona|Baḥraynunā]]''<br />''Our Bahrain''<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Bahraini Anthem.ogg|center]]</div>
| royal_anthem           = <!--''[[name of/link to anthem]]''-->
| image_map              = Map of Bahrain.svg
| map_caption            = {{map caption |location_color= in green}}
| image_map2             = 
| capital                = [[Manama]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|26|13|N|50|35|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = [[Manama]]
| official_languages     = [[Modern Standard Arabic|Arabic]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain (Issued in 2002) and Its Amendments (Issued in 2012) |url=http://www.nihr.org.bh/en/MediaHandler/GenericHandler/documents/download/1-%20Constitution%20of%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20Bahrain.pdf |website=National Institution for Human Rights |publisher=National Institute for Human Rights |access-date=31 August 2020}}</ref>
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list
  | 53.2% [[Arabs]]
  | 43.4% [[Asian people|Asians]]
  | 1.4% [[African diaspora|Africans]]
  | 1.1% [[North Americans]]
  | 0.8% [[European emigration|Europeans]]
  | 0.1% [[Ethnic, cultural and religious groups of Bahrain|Others]]}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2020
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name=Census2020 />
| religion               = {{unbulleted list
|69.7% [[Islam in Bahrain|Islam]] ([[State religion|official]])
|—51% [[Sunni Islam]]
|—49% [[Shia Islam]]
|14.1% [[Christianity in Bahrain|Christianity]]
|10.2% [[Hinduism in Arab states|Hinduism]]
|3.1% [[Buddhism]]
|0.002% [[Jewish]]
|0.9% [[Demographics of Bahrain#Religion|Others]]
|2% [[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]]}}
| religion_year          = 2021
| religion_ref           = <ref>[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]: [http://www.aljazeera.net/news/reportsandinterviews/2011/7/4/%d9%88%d8%ab%d9%8a%d9%82%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d9%8a%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%a3%d9%82%d9%84-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d8%b5%d9%81 ''وثيقة بحرينية: الشيعة أقل من النصف''], 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021</ref><ref name="pew"/>
| demonym                = [[Demographics of Bahrain|Bahraini]]
| government_type        = Unitary [[Islamic state|Islamic]] parliamentary [[semi-constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1          = [[King of Bahrain|King]]
| leader_name1           = [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]]
| leader_title2          = [[Line of succession to the Bahraini throne|Crown Prince]] and [[Prime Minister of Bahrain|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa]]
| legislature            = [[National Assembly (Bahrain)|National Assembly]]
| upper_house            = [[Consultative Council of Bahrain|Consultative Council]]
| lower_house            = [[Council of Representatives of Bahrain|Council of Representatives]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Bahrain|Establishment]]
| established_event1     = [[House of Khalifa|Al Khalifa dynasty]]
| established_date1      = 1783
| established_event2     = Declared Independence<ref>{{cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19710815-1.2.11.aspx|title=Bahrain ends special pact|date=15 August 1971|newspaper=[[The Straits Times]]}}</ref>
| established_date2      = 14 August 1971
| established_event3     = Independence from [[British Empire|United Kingdom]]<ref name="CIA" />
| established_date3      = 15 August 1971
| established_event4     = [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 296|Admitted to the]] [[United Nations]]
| established_date4      = 21 September 1971
| established_event5     = [[National Action Charter of Bahrain|Kingdom of Bahrain]]
| established_date5      = 14 February 2002
| area_km2               = 786.5<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.bahrain.bh/wps/wcm/connect/bnp_en/about%20the%20kingdom/about%20bahrain/related%20topics/facts%20and%20figures |title = Facts & Figures |website=data.gov.bh |access-date = 3 Jan 2024}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 173rd
| area_sq_mi             = 303.1
| percent_water          = negligible
| population_estimate    = {{UN Population|Bahrain}}{{UN Population|ref}}
| population_census      = 1,501,635<ref name=Census2020 />
| population_estimate_year = {{UN Population|Year}}
| population_estimate_rank = 149th
| population_census_year = 2020
| population_density_km2 = 1,864
| population_density_sq_mi = 4,828
| population_density_rank = 6th <!--See [[List of countries by population density]]-->
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $95.973 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.BH">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=419,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Bahrain) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2023
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 101st
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $60,715<ref name="IMFWEO.BH" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 23rd
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $44.994 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.BH" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2023
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 97th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{decrease}} $28,464<ref name="IMFWEO.BH" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 39th
| Gini                   = <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 
| Gini_change            = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = 
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.875<!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2021<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="HDI">{{cite book |title=Human Development Report 2021-22: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World |date=8 September 2022 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |isbn=978-9-211-26451-7 |pages=272–276 |website=hdr.undp.org |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf |access-date=8 September 2022 |archive-date=8 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908114232/hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 35th
| currency               = [[Bahraini dinar]]
| currency_code          = BHD
| time_zone              = [[Arabia Standard Time|AST]]
| utc_offset             = +3
| utc_offset_DST         = <!-- +N, where N is number of hours -->
| DST_note               = 
| date_format            = 
| drives_on              = Right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Bahrain|+973]]
| cctld                  = [[.bh]]
| official_website       = {{URL|bahrain.bh}}
| footnote_a             = Since 17 November 1967<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ltXZAAAAMAAJ&q=bahrain+driving+right+1967 ''Bahrain Government Annual Reports''], Volume 8, Archive Editions, 1987, page 92</ref>
| today                  = 
| footnote_b             = 46% are Bahraini citizens, 4.7% are other Arabs.
}}
'''Bahrain''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Bahrain.ogg|b|ɑː|ˈ|r|eɪ|n}} {{respell|bah|RAYN}}, {{IPAc-en|b|æ|x|ˈ|r|eɪ|n}}; {{lang-ar|البحرين|al-Baḥrayn}}, locally {{IPA-ar|æl baħˈreːn||Ar-Bahrain-1.oga}}), officially the '''Kingdom of Bahrain''',{{efn|{{lang-ar|مملكة البحرين|links=no}} ''{{audio|Ar-Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn.oga|Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn|help=no}}''}} is an [[island country]] in [[West Asia]]. It is situated on the [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Persian Gulf]], and comprises a small [[archipelago]] made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 [[artificial island]]s, centered on [[Bahrain Island]] which makes up around 83 per cent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between [[Qatar]] and the northeastern coast of [[Saudi Arabia]], to which it is connected by the [[King Fahd Causeway]]. The current population of&nbsp;Bahrain&nbsp;is&nbsp;1,501,635&nbsp;as of May 14, 2023, based on elaborations of the latest United Nations data, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals.<ref name=Census2020>{{cite web|date=28 February 2021|title=Bahrain 2020 Census|url=https://www.data.gov.bh/en/ResourceCenter/DownloadFile?id=3582|access-date=5 April 2021|website=Information and eGovernment Authority|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502014151/https://www.data.gov.bh/en/ResourceCenter/DownloadFile?id=3582|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bahrain spans some {{Convert|760|km2|}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bahrain|title = Bahrain – the World Factbook|date = 19 October 2021}}</ref> and is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|third-smallest nation]] in Asia after the [[Maldives]] and [[Singapore]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cio.gov.bh/cio_eng/SubDetailed.aspx?subcatid=541 |title=Area of Bahrain Expands to 765.3 square kilometres |access-date=1 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201193028/http://www.cio.gov.bh/cio_eng/SubDetailed.aspx?subcatid=541 |archive-date=1 February 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The capital and largest city is [[Manama]].

Bahrain is the site of the ancient [[Dilmun civilization]].<ref name=":1">[http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198303/oman-the.lost.land.htm Oman: The Lost Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006085542/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198303/oman-the.lost.land.htm |date=6 October 2014 }}. Saudi Aramco World. Retrieved on 7 November 2016.</ref> It has been famed since antiquity for its [[pearl fisheries]], which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} Bahrain was one of the [[Spread of Islam|earliest areas to be influenced by Islam]], during the lifetime of [[Muhammad]] in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the [[Portuguese Empire]] from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah [[Abbas the Great]] of the [[Safavid Iran]]. In 1783, the [[Bani Utbah]] clan captured Bahrain from [[Nasr Al-Madhkur]] and it has since been ruled by the [[House of Khalifa|Al Khalifa royal family]], with [[Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalifa|Ahmed al Fateh]] as Bahrain's first [[Hakim (title)#In Arab countries|''hakim'']].

In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]], Bahrain became a [[protectorate]] of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|title=The history of British involvement in Bahrain's internal security|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opensecurity/history-of-british-involvement-in-bahrains-internal-security/|access-date=7 July 2021|website=openDemocracy|language=en}}</ref> In 1971, it [[Independence Day (Bahrain)|declared independence]]. Formerly an [[emirate]], Bahrain was declared an Islamic [[constitutional monarchy]] in 2002. 

Bahrain developed the first post-oil economy in the [[Persian Gulf]],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bahrain: Reform-Promise and Reality|url=http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Peterson_Bahrain_Reforms.pdf|publisher=J.E. Peterson|page=157}}</ref> the result of decades of investing in the [[banking]] and [[tourism]] sectors;<ref name="EDB">{{cite web|title=Bahrain's economy praised for diversity and sustainability|url=http://www.bahrainedb.com/EDBInBahrain.aspx?id=2134|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228154653/http://www.bahrainedb.com/EDBInBahrain.aspx?id=2134|archive-date=28 December 2010|publisher=Bahrain Economic Development Board|access-date=24 June 2012}}</ref> many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in the country's capital. It is recognised by the [[World Bank]] as a [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income economy]]. Bahrain is a member of the [[United Nations]], [[Non-Aligned Movement]], [[Arab League]], [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] and the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain|url=https://www.imuna.org/resources/country-profiles/bahrain/|access-date=7 July 2021|website=IMUNA {{!}} NHSMUN {{!}} Model UN|language=en-US}}</ref> Bahrain is a Dialogue partner of the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organization]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eng.sectsco.org/politics/20230718/951659/The-SCO-signs-a-memorandum-on-granting-the-Kingdom-of-Bahrain-the-status-of-dialogue-partner.html|title=Shanghai Cooperation Organisation|website=eng.sectsco.org|access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Bahrain granted the status of SCO dialogue partner | website=bna.bh/en/ | date=15 July 2023| url=https://www.bna.bh/en/BahraingrantedthestatusofSCOdialoguepartner.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDlDCMEcGKMPY4rKOqGpdTL4%3D#:~:text=Shanghai%2C%20July%2015%20(BNA)%3A,People's%20Republic%20of%20China%20Dr | access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref>

== Etymology<!--linked--> ==
[[File:Bellin - Karte von der Küste von Arabien c.1745 (crop).png|thumb|A 1745 [[Jacques-Nicolas Bellin|Bellin]] map of the historical region of Bahrain]]
''Bahrain'' is the [[dual form]] of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word ''Bahr'' (meaning literally "[[sea]]"), so ''al-Bahrayn'' originally means literally "the two [[sea]]s". However, the name has been lexicalised as a feminine [[proper noun]] and does not follow the grammatical rules for duals; thus its form is always ''Bahrayn'' and never ''Bahrān'', the expected singular form. Endings are added to the word with no changes, as in the name of the national anthem ''Bahraynunā'' ("our Bahrain") or the [[demonym]] ''Bahraynī''. The medieval grammarian [[Ismail ibn Hammad al-Jawhari|al-Jawahari]] commented on this, saying that the more formally correct term ''Bahrī'' (lit. "belonging to the sea") would have been misunderstood and so was unused.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bahrain Etymology, History, Geography, Government and politics, The Free Encyclopedia |url=https://rsmag.org/en/Bahrain-0826228008 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=rsmag.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

It remains disputed which "two seas" the name ''Bahrayn'' originally refers to.<ref name="EoI" /> The term appears five times in the [[Quran]], but does not refer to the modern island—originally known to the Arabs as ''Awal''.<ref name="EoI">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Houtsma |first=M. Th. |author-link=Martijn Theodoor Houtsma|title=Baḥrayn|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam|year=1960|publisher=E.J. Brill|location=Leiden|volume=I|page=941}}</ref>

Today, Bahrain's "two seas" are generally taken to be the bay east and west of the island,<ref>{{cite web |title=Bahrain |url=https://teachmideast.org/country-profiles/bahrain/ |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=TeachMideast |language=en-US}}</ref> the seas north and south of the island,<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=E.J. Brill|title=First encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936|isbn=978-90-04-09796-4|page=584|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rezD7rvuf9YC&pg=PA584|year=1993}}</ref> or the salt and fresh water present above and below the ground. In addition to wells, there are areas of the sea north of Bahrain where fresh water bubbles up in the middle of the saltwater as noted by visitors since antiquity.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Bahrain Human Development Report 2018 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/bahrain_hdr_2018.pdf |journal=Bahrain Human Development Report 2018}}</ref> An alternative theory concerning Bahrain's toponymy is offered by the al-Ahsa region, which suggests that the two seas were the [[Persian Gulf|Great Green Ocean]] (the Persian Gulf) and a [[Al-Asfar Lake|peaceful lake]] on the Arabian mainland.

Until the late [[Middle Ages]], "Bahrain" referred to the [[Eastern Arabia|region of Eastern Arabia]] that included Southern [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]], [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Al-Hasa]], [[Qatif]], and Bahrain. The region stretched from [[Basra]] in Iraq to the [[Strait of Hormuz]] in [[Oman]]. This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn's "Bahrayn Province." The exact date at which the term "Bahrain" began to refer solely to the Awal archipelago is unknown.<ref name=Rentz /> The entire [[coastal strip]] of Eastern Arabia was known as "Bahrain" for a millennium.<ref name="maj">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJLjAKH7-rIC&pg=PR16|title=Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary|work=Clive Holes|year=2001|pages=XIX|isbn=9004107630|last1=Holes|first1=Clive|publisher=BRILL }}</ref> The island and kingdom were also commonly spelled '''Bahrein'''{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} into the 1950s.

== History ==
{{Main|History of Bahrain}}

=== Antiquity ===
[[File:AncientTombsOfBahrain.svg|thumb|Map showing the locations of the [[Dilmun Burial Mounds|ancient burial mounds]]. There are an estimated 350,000 burial mounds.]]
[[File:Persia 600ad.jpg|thumb| The [[Sassanid Empire|Persian Empire in the Sassanid era]] on the eve of the Arab conquest, c. 600 AD.]]
Bahrain was home to [[Dilmun]], an important [[Bronze Age]] trade centre linking [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1192 |title=Qal'at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=5 October 2012}}</ref> Bahrain was later ruled by the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] and [[Babylonia]]ns.<ref>{{cite book |title=Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands: The Geoarchaeology of an Ancient Society |last=Larsen |first=Curtis E. |year=1984 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-46906-5 |pages=52–55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q65mRSPPU6UC&pg=PA52}}</ref>

From the sixth to third century BC, Bahrain was part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. By about 250 BC, [[Parthia]] brought the Persian Gulf under its control and extended its influence as far as Oman. The Parthians established garrisons along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf to control trade routes.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Concise History of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eACqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 | date=14 September 2011 | isbn=9789382573470 | last1=Syed | first1=Muzaffar Husain | last2=Akhtar | first2=Syed Saud | last3=Usmani | first3=B. D. | publisher=Vij Books India Pvt }}</ref>

During the [[classical era]], Bahrain was referred to by the [[ancient Greek]]s as ''[[Tylos]]'', the centre of pearl trading, when the Greek admiral [[Nearchus]] serving under [[Alexander the Great]] landed on Bahrain.{{sfn|Larsen|1983|p=13}} Nearchus is believed to have been the first of Alexander's commanders to visit the island, and he found a verdant land that was part of a wide trading network; he recorded: "That on the island of Tylos, situated in the Persian Gulf, are large plantations of cotton trees, from which are manufactured clothes called ''sindones'', of strongly differing degrees of value, some being costly, others less expensive. The use of these is not confined to India, but extends to Arabia."<ref>Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren, Historical Researches Into the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Principal Nations of Antiquity, Henry Bohn, 1854 p38</ref> The Greek historian [[Theophrastus]] states that much of Bahrain was covered by these cotton trees and that Bahrain was famous for exporting walking canes engraved with emblems that were customarily carried in Babylon.<ref>Arnold Heeren, ibid, p441</ref>

Alexander had planned to settle Greek colonists in Bahrain, and although it is not clear that this happened on the scale he envisaged, Bahrain became very much part of the Hellenised world: the language of the upper classes was Greek (although [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] was in everyday use). Local coinage shows a seated Zeus, who may have been worshipped there as a syncretised form of the Arabian sun-god Shams.<ref>Potts, D.T., in: ''Coinage of the Caravan Kingdoms: Studies in Ancient Arabian Monetization'', Huth, Martin, and van Alfen, Peter G., (editors), Numismatic studies, The American Numismatic Society, New York, 2010, p. 36</ref> Tylos was also the site of Greek athletic contests.<ref>W. B. Fisher et al. The Cambridge History of Iran, Cambridge University Press 1968 p40</ref>

The Greek historian [[Strabo]] believed the [[Phoenicians]] originated from Bahrain.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ju. B. Tsirkin|title=Canaan. Phoenicia. Sidon.|url=http://www.aulaorientalis.org/AuOr%20escaneado/AuOr%2019-2001/2/7.pdf|page=274|access-date=22 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010135456/http://www.aulaorientalis.org/AuOr%20escaneado/AuOr%2019-2001/2/7.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Herodotus]] also believed that the homeland of the Phoenicians was Bahrain.<ref>{{cite book|author=R. A. Donkin|title=Beyond Price: Pearls and Pearl-fishing: Origins to the Age of Discoveries, Volume 224 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leHFqMQ9mw8C&pg=PA48|page=48|isbn=978-0-87169-224-5 |year=1998 |publisher=American Philosophical Society }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Rice|title=Bahrain Through The Ages – Archa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2hmbc9evgB0C&pg=PA401|pages=401–402|isbn=978-0-7103-0112-3 |year=1986 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref> This theory was accepted by the 19th-century German classicist [[Arnold Heeren]] who said that: "In the Greek geographers, for instance, we read of two islands, named Tyrus or [[Tylos]], and [[Arad, Bahrain|Aradus]], which boasted that they were the mother country of the Phoenicians, and exhibited relics of Phoenician temples."<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Historical Researches Into the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Principal Nations of Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5NMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA434 |journal=A.H.L. Heeren| year=1846 }}</ref> The people of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], in particular, have long maintained [[Persian Gulf]] origins, and the similarity in the words "Tylos" and "Tyre" has been commented upon.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf | publisher=Routledge | author=Rice, Michael | year=1994 | page=20 | isbn=978-0-415-03268-1}}</ref> However, there is little evidence of any human settlement at all on Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf | publisher=Routledge | author=Rice, Michael | year=1994 | page=21 | isbn=978-0-415-03268-1}}</ref>

The name Tylos is thought to be a Hellenisation of the Semitic ''Tilmun'' (from [[Dilmun]]).<ref>Jean Francois Salles in Traces of Paradise: The Archaeology of Bahrain, 2500BC-300AD in Michael Rice, [[Harriet Crawford]] Ed, IB Tauris, 2002 p132</ref> The term Tylos was commonly used for the islands until [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Geographia (Ptolemy)|Geographia]]'' when the inhabitants are referred to as Thilouanoi.<ref>{{cite web |title=GAMEON-ARABIA'2015, March 2–4, 2015, AOU, Manama, Bahrain, Conference Venue {{!}} EUROSIS |url=https://www.eurosis.org/cms/index.php?q=node/2956 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=www.eurosis.org}}</ref> Some place names in Bahrain go back to the Tylos era; for instance the name of Arad, a residential suburb of [[Muharraq]], is believed to originate from "Arados", the ancient Greek name for Muharraq.{{sfn|Larsen|1983|p=13}}

In the 3rd century, [[Ardashir I]], the first ruler of the [[Sassanid dynasty]], marched on Oman and Bahrain, where he defeated Sanatruq the ruler of Bahrain.<ref name="books.google">{{cite book |title=Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam |last=Hoyland |first=Robert G. |year=2001 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-19535-5 |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZb9g1tSeXYC&pg=PA28}}</ref>

Bahrain was also the site of worship of an ox deity called [[Awal]] ({{Lang-ar|اوال|links=no}}) Worshipers built a large statue to Awal in [[Muharraq]], although it has now been lost. For many centuries after ''Tylos'', Bahrain was known as ''Awal''. By the 5th century, Bahrain became a centre for [[Nestorianism|Nestorian Christianity]], with the village [[Samahij]]<ref>From Persian sa-mahij (سه ماهی) meaning Three Fish.</ref> as the seat of bishops. In 410, according to the Oriental Syriac Church synodal records, a bishop named Batai was excommunicated from the church in Bahrain.<ref name="Jean Francois Salles p132">Jean Francois Salles p132</ref> As a sect, the Nestorians were often persecuted as heretics by the [[Byzantine Empire]], but Bahrain was outside the Empire's control, offering some safety. The names of several [[Muharraq]] villages today reflect Bahrain's Christian legacy, with [[Al Dair]] meaning "the monastery".

Bahrain's pre-Islamic population consisted of [[Arab Christians|Christian Arabs]] (mostly [[Abd al-Qays]]), Persians ([[Zoroastrians]]), [[History of the Jews in Bahrain#Early history|Jews]],<ref name="orig">{{cite web|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7942/1/7942_4940.PDF?+UkUDh:CyT|title=Social and political change in Bahrain since the First World War|pages=46–47|work=[[Durham University]]|year=1973}}</ref> and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]-speaking agriculturalists.<ref name="ram">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJLjAKH7-rIC&pg=PR24|title=Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary|work=Clive Holes|year=2001|pages=XXIV–XXVI|quote=Thus the pre-Islamic ethno-linguistic situation in eastern Arabia appear to have been a mixed tribal population of partially Christianised Arabs of diverse origins who probably spoke different old Arabian vernaculars; a mobile Persian-speaking population, possibly of traders and administrators, with strong links to Persia, with which they maintained close contact; a sedentary, non-tribal community of Aramaic-speaking farmers; a Persian clergy, which we know for certain, used Syriac as a language of liturgy and general writing, probably alongside Persian as a spoken language.|isbn=9004107630|last1=Holes|first1=Clive|publisher=BRILL }}</ref><ref name="om">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8glrgh87kEC&pg=PA305|title=Tradition and Modernity in Arabic Language And Literature|author= J. R. Smart|year=2013|publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7007-0411-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Va6oSxzojzoC&pg=PA98|title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 5|work= M. Th. Houtsma|page=98|year=1993|isbn=9004097910|last1=Houtsma|first1=M. Th|publisher=BRILL }}</ref> According to [[Robert Bertram Serjeant]], the [[Baharna]] may be the [[Arabization|Arabised]] "descendants of converts from the original population of Christians (Aramaeans), Jews and Persians inhabiting the island and cultivated coastal provinces of [[Eastern Arabia]] at the time of the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquest]]".<ref name="ram" /><ref name="Robert Bertram Serjeant 1968 488">{{cite journal|jstor=614301 |title=Fisher-folk and fish-traps in al-Bahrain|author-link=Robert Bertram Serjeant|author=Serjeant, Robert Bertram |journal= Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=31|issue=3 |year=1968|pages= 486–514 (488) |doi=10.1017/s0041977x00125522|s2cid=128833964}}</ref> The sedentary people of pre-Islamic Bahrain were [[Aramaic language#Geographic distribution|Aramaic speakers]] and to some degree Persian speakers, while [[Syriac language|Syriac]] functioned as a [[Sacred language|liturgical language]].<ref name="om" />

=== Arrival of Islam ===
{{Main|List of expeditions of Muhammad}}
[[File:Muhammad Bahrain letter facsimile.png|thumb|[[Facsimile]] of a letter sent by [[Muhammad]] to [[Munzir ibn-Sawa al-Tamimi]], governor of Bahrain, in AD&nbsp;628]]

[[Muhammad]]'s first interaction with the people of Bahrain was the [[Al Kudr Invasion]]. Muhammad ordered a surprise attack on the [[Banu Salim]] tribe for plotting to attack Medina. He had received news that some tribes were assembling an army in Bahrain and preparing to attack the mainland, but the tribesmen retreated when they learned Muhammad was leading an army to do battle with them.<ref>Emerick, Yahiya (2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=GAxh0K8-BVgC&pg=PA185 Critical Lives: Muhammad], p. 185, Penguin</ref><ref>Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 147. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110826203308/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch4s6.html online])</ref>

Traditional Islamic accounts state that [[Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami]] was sent as an envoy during the [[Expedition of Zayd ibn Harithah (Hisma)]]<ref>Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA222 The Sealed Nectar], p. 226</ref><ref name=history>Akbar Shāh Ḵẖān Najībābādī, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pi5tAAAAMAAJ History of Islam, Volume 1], p. 194. Quote: "Again, the Holy Prophet «P sent Dihyah bin Khalifa Kalbi to the Byzantine king Heraclius, Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh to the king of Egypt and Alexandria; Allabn Al-Hazermi to Munzer bin Sawa the king of Bahrain; Amer bin Aas to the king of Oman. Salit bin Amri to Hozah bin Ali— the king of Yamama; Shiya bin Wahab to Haris bin Ghasanni to the king of Damascus"</ref> to the [[Eastern Arabia|Bahrain region]] by the prophet [[Muhammad]] in AD&nbsp;628 and that [[Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi]], the local ruler, responded to his mission and converted the entire area.<ref>A letter purported to be from Muhammad to al-Tamimi is preserved at the [[Beit al-Qur'an Museum]] in [[Hoora]], Bahrain</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The letters of the Prophet Muhammed beyond Arabia |url=http://www.alghurabaa.org/books/seerah/The%20letters%20of%20the%20Prophet%20Muhammad%20to%20the%20Kings%20beyond%20Arabia.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206161001/http://www.alghurabaa.org/books/seerah/The%20letters%20of%20the%20Prophet%20Muhammad%20to%20the%20Kings%20beyond%20Arabia.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 December 2010 |access-date=18 June 2012 }}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
In the year 899, the [[Qarmatians]], a [[Millenarianism|millenarian]] [[Isma'ilism|Ismaili]] Muslim sect, seized Bahrain, seeking to create a [[utopia]]n society based on reason and redistribution of property among initiates. Thereafter, the Qarmatians demanded [[tribute]] from the caliph in [[Baghdad]], and in 930 [[Sack of Mecca|sacked]] [[Mecca]], bringing the sacred [[Black Stone]] back to their base in [[Bahrain (historical region)|Ahsa]], in medieval Bahrain, for ransom. According to historian [[Al-Juwayni]], the stone was returned 22 years later in 951 under mysterious circumstances. Wrapped in a sack, it was thrown into the [[Great Mosque of Kufa]] in Iraq, accompanied by a note saying "By command we took it, and by command, we have brought it back." The theft and removal of the Black Stone caused it to break into seven pieces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/shia/qarma.html |title=Qarmatiyyah |publisher=St. Martin's College |work=Overview of World Religions |access-date=4 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428055134/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/shia/qarma.html |archive-date=28 April 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="glasse">Cyril Glasse, ''New Encyclopedia of Islam'', p. 245. Rowman Altamira, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7591-0190-6}}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9015514 "Black Stone of Mecca"]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 25 June 2007.</ref>

Following their defeat in the year 976 by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]],<ref name="autogenerated2">{{Cite book
|last=Cole
|first=Juan
|year=2002
|title=Sacred Space And Holy War: The Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ntarP5hrza0C
|publisher=I. B. Tauris
|isbn=978-1-86064-736-9}}</ref> the Qarmatians were overthrown by the Arab [[Uyunid dynasty]] of [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|al-Hasa]], who took over the entire Bahrain region in 1076.<ref>Smith, G.R. "Uyūnids". ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. 16 March 2008 [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-7786] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401120424/http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-7786|date=1 April 2020}}</ref> The Uyunids controlled Bahrain until 1235, when the archipelago was briefly occupied by the Persian ruler of [[Fars Province|Fars]]. In 1253, the [[Bedouin]] [[Usfurids]] brought down the Uyunid dynasty, thereby gaining control over eastern [[Arabia]], including the islands of Bahrain. In 1330, the archipelago became a tributary state of the rulers of [[Ormus|Hormuz]],<ref name="Rentz">Rentz, G. "al- Baḥrayn". ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. 15 March 2008 [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_COM-0089]{{dead link|date=October 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> though locally the islands were controlled by the Shi'ite [[Jarwanids|Jarwanid]] dynasty of [[Qatif]].<ref>[[#Cole|Cole]], p. 179</ref>
In the mid-15th century, the archipelago came under the rule of the [[Jabrids]], a Bedouin dynasty also based in [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Al-Ahsa]] that ruled most of eastern Arabia.<ref>{{cite web |title=erickbonnier-pictures – Barhain – Pearl of Gulf |url=https://www.erickbonnier-pictures.com/reports-travels/barhain-pearl-of-gulf/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=www.erickbonnier-pictures.com |language=fr}}</ref>

=== Early modern era ===
{{Main|Bani Utbah invasion of Bahrain|History of Bahrain (1783–1971)|Qatari–Bahraini War}}
[[File:Bahrain Fort overview.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Qal'at al-Bahrain|Portuguese Fort of Barém]], built by the [[Portuguese Empire]] while it ruled Bahrain from 1521 to 1602.]]

In 1521, the [[Portuguese Empire]] allied with Hormuz and seized Bahrain from the [[Jabrids|Jabrid]] ruler [[Muqrin ibn Zamil]], who was killed during the takeover. Portuguese rule lasted for around 80 years, during which time they depended mainly on [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Persian governors.<ref name=Rentz /> The Portuguese were expelled from the islands in 1602 by [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] of the [[Safavid Iran]],<ref>[[#Cole|Cole]], p. 186</ref> which gave impetus to [[Shia Islam]].<ref>[[#Cole|Cole]], p. 198.</ref> For the next two centuries, Persian rulers retained control of the archipelago, interrupted by the 1717 and 1738 invasions of the [[Ibadi]]s of Oman.<ref name="autogenerated4">[[#Cole|Cole]], p. 194</ref> During most of this period, they resorted to governing Bahrain indirectly, either through the city of [[Bushehr]] or through [[immigration|immigrant]] Sunni Arab clans. The latter were tribes returning to the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf from Persian territories in the north who were known as ''[[Huwala]]''.<ref name=Rentz /><ref>[[#Cole|Cole]], p. 187</ref><ref name=McCoy /> In 1753, the Huwala clan of [[Nasr Al-Madhkur]] invaded Bahrain on behalf of the Iranian [[Zand dynasty|Zand]] leader [[Karim Khan Zand]] and restored direct Iranian rule.<ref name=McCoy>{{Cite book
|last=McCoy
|first=Eric Andrew
|year=2008
|title=Iranians in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates: Migration, Minorities, and Identities in the Persian Gulf Arab States
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsU798UPaeYC
|page=73
|isbn=978-0-549-93507-0
}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1783, Al-Madhkur lost the islands of Bahrain following his defeat by the [[Bani Utbah]] tribe at the 1782 Battle of [[Zubarah]]. Bahrain was not new territory to the Bani Utbah; they had been a presence there since the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite book
|last=Slot
|first=B.
|year=1991
|title=The Origins of Kuwait
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoTsorEN_yEC
|publisher=BRILL
|page=110
|isbn=978-90-04-09409-3}}</ref> During that time, they started purchasing date palm gardens in Bahrain; a document shows that 81 years before the arrival of the Al Khalifa, one of the sheikhs of the [[Al Bin Ali]] tribe (an offshoot of the Bani Utbah) had bought a palm garden from Mariam bint Ahmed Al Sanadi in [[Sitra]] island.<ref>[http://www.albdoo.info/imgcache2008/3af882fe7cb2511eb935435895e1a566.gif Ownership deeds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124223501/http://www.albdoo.info/imgcache2008/3af882fe7cb2511eb935435895e1a566.gif |date=24 January 2016 }} to a palm garden on the island of Sitra, Bahrain, which was sold by Mariam bint Ahmed Al Sindi to Shaikh Salama Bin Saif Al Utbi, dated 1699–1111 Hijri,</ref>
[[File:Persian Gulf Pt8.png|alt=|thumb|Purple – [[Portuguese empire|Portuguese]] in the Persian Gulf in the 16th and 17th centuries. Main cities, ports and routes.]]
The Al Bin Ali were the dominant group controlling the town of Zubarah on the Qatar peninsula,<ref name="Arabia's Frontiers p44">{{Cite book
|last=Wilkinson
|first=John Craven
|year=1991
|title=Arabia's frontiers: the story of Britain's boundary drawing in the desert
|publisher=I.B. Tauris
|page=44}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
|last=Rihani
|first=Ameen Fares
|author-link=Ameen Rihani
|year=1930
|title=Around the coasts of Arabia
|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company
|page=297}}</ref> originally the centre of power of the Bani Utbah. After the Bani Utbah gained control of Bahrain, the Al Bin Ali had a practically independent status there as a self-governing tribe. They used a flag with four red and three white stripes, called the [[Al-Sulami flag]]<ref>''Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman, and Central Arabia'', Geographical, Volume 1, 1905</ref> in Bahrain, Qatar, [[Kuwait]], and the Eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Later, different Arab family clans and tribes from Qatar moved to Bahrain to settle after the fall of Nasr Al-Madhkur of [[Bushehr]]. These families included the [[House of Khalifa]], Al-Ma'awdah, Al-Fadhil, Al-Mannai, Al-Noaimi, Al-Sulaiti, Al-Sadah, Al-Thawadi and other families and tribes.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Background Notes: Mideast, March, 2011|year=2011|publisher=US State Department|isbn=978-1-59243-126-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bLRoWtwJnZQC}}</ref>

The House of Khalifa moved from Qatar to Bahrain in 1799. Originally, their ancestors were expelled from [[Umm Qasr]] in central Arabia by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] due to their predatory habits of preying on caravans in [[Basra]] and trading ships in [[Shatt al-Arab]] waterway until Turks expelled them to Kuwait in 1716, where they remained until 1766.<ref name="qdl1">{{cite web|url=http://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023575946.0x00009c|title='Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915' [1000] (1155/1782)|date=30 September 2014|publisher=qdl.qa|page=1000|access-date=16 January 2015}}</ref>

Around the 1760s, the [[Al Jalahma]] and House of Khalifa, both belonging to the Utub Federation, migrated to [[Zubarah]] in modern-day [[Qatar]], leaving Al Sabah as the sole proprietors of Kuwait.<ref>''Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf''. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915 [1000] (1155/1782), p. 1001</ref>

=== 19th century and later ===
In the early 19th century, Bahrain was invaded by both the Omanis and the [[House of Saud|Al Sauds]]. In 1802 it was governed by a 12-year-old child, when the Omani ruler Sayyid Sultan installed his son, Salim, as governor in the [[Arad Fort]].<ref>Onley, James. ''[https://exeter.academia.edu/JamesOnley/Papers/335321/_The_Politics_of_Protection_in_the_Gulf_The_Arab_Rulers_and_the_British_Resident_in_the_Nineteenth_Century_2004_ The Politics of Protection in the Persian Gulf: The Arab Rulers and the British Resident in the Nineteenth Century]'', Exeter University, 2004 p44</ref> In 1816, the British political resident in the Persian Gulf, William Bruce, received a letter from the Sheikh of Bahrain who was concerned about a rumour that Britain would support an attack on the island by the Imam of Muscat. He sailed to Bahrain to reassure the Sheikh that this was not the case and drew up an informal agreement assuring the Sheikh that Britain would remain a neutral party.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1vUckJbC8JIC&q=Bahrain+Britain+1816+Bruce&pg=PP58|title=The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj. Merchants, Rulers and British in the Nineteenth-Century Gulf|last=Onley|first=James|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-922810-2|location=Oxford|entry=Chapter 1, (2.7)}}</ref>
[[File:Coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa 1933.jpg|thumb|This photograph shows the coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in February 1933.]]
In 1820, the Al Khalifa tribe were recognised by the United Kingdom as the rulers ("Al-Hakim" in Arabic) of Bahrain after signing a [[General Maritime Treaty of 1820|treaty relationship]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Al-Baharna|first=Husain|title=Legal Status of the Arabian Gulf States: A Study of Their Treaty Relations and Their International Problems|year=1968|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=0-7190-0332-6|page=31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH27AAAAIAAJ}}</ref> However, ten years later they were forced to pay yearly tributes to Egypt despite seeking Persian and British protection.<ref name="NAS">{{Cite book
|last3=Pridham
|first3=B. R.
|last2=Smith
|first2=G. Rex
|last1=Smart
|first1=J. R.
|year=2004
|title=New Arabian Studies
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mu3tEPkVBpIC
|publisher=University of Exeter Press
|pages=51, 52, 53, 67, 68
|isbn=978-0-85989-706-8}}</ref>

[[File:Trigonometrical Plan of the Island and Harbour of Bahrain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map of Bahrain in 1825.]]

In 1860, the Al Khalifas used the same tactic when the British tried to overpower Bahrain. Writing letters to the Persians and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]], Al Khalifas agreed to place Bahrain under the latter's protection in March due to offering better conditions. Eventually, the [[British Raj|Government of British India]] overpowered Bahrain when the Persians refused to protect it. Colonel [[Lewis Pelly|Pelly]] signed a new treaty with Al Khalifas placing Bahrain under British rule and protection.<ref name=NAS />

[[File:Bahrainharbor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Manama Harbour, c. 1870]]
Following the [[Qatari–Bahraini War]] in 1868, British representatives signed another agreement with the Al Khalifas. It specified that the ruler could not dispose of any of his territories except to the United Kingdom and could not enter into relationships with any foreign government without British consent.<ref>{{Cite book |last2=University of Exeter. Centre for Arab Gulf Studies
|last1=Pridham |first1=B. R.|year=1985 |title=The Arab Gulf and the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpIOAAAAQAAJ |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=7 |isbn=978-0-7099-4011-1 }}</ref><ref name=TPG /> In return the British promised to protect Bahrain from all aggression by sea and to lend support in case of land attack.<ref name=TPG /> More importantly the British promised to support the rule of the Al Khalifa in Bahrain, securing its unstable position as rulers of the country. Other agreements in 1880 and 1892 sealed the protectorate status of Bahrain to the British.<ref name=TPG>{{Cite book
|last=Wilson
|first=Arnold T.
|year=2011
|title=The Persian Gulf: A historical sketch from the earliest times to the beginning of the twentieth century
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FocirvdZKjcC
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1-136-84105-7}}</ref>

Unrest amongst the people of Bahrain began when Britain officially established complete dominance over the territory in 1892. The first revolt and widespread uprising took place in March 1895 against Sheikh Issa bin Ali, then ruler of Bahrain.{{sfn | Mojtahed-Zadeh | 1999 | p=130}} Sheikh Issa was the first of the Al Khalifa to rule without Persian relations. [[Arnold Wilson|Sir Arnold Wilson]], Britain's representative in the Persian Gulf and author of ''The Persian Gulf'', arrived in Bahrain from Muscat at this time.{{sfn | Mojtahed-Zadeh | 1999 | p=130}} The uprising developed further with some protesters killed by British forces.{{sfn | Mojtahed-Zadeh | 1999 | p=130}}

Before the development of the petroleum industry, the island was largely devoted to [[Pearl hunting|pearl fisheries]] and, as late as the 19th century, was considered to be the finest in the world.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} In 1903, German explorer [[Hermann Burchardt]] visited Bahrain and took many photographs of historical sites, including the old ''Qaṣr es-Sheikh'', photos now stored at the [[Ethnological Museum of Berlin]].<ref>[http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625685&bt=europeanaapi The old Qaṣr es-Sheikh] (click on photo to enlarge).</ref> Before the [[World War I|First World War]], there were about 400 vessels hunting pearls and an annual export of more than £30,000.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}

In 1911, a group of Bahraini merchants demanded restrictions on the British influence in the country. The group's leaders were subsequently arrested and exiled to India. In 1923, the British introduced [[Bahrain administrative reforms of the 1920s|administrative reforms]] and replaced Sheikh Issa bin Ali with his son. Some clerical opponents and families such as [[Dawasir|al Dossari]] left or were exiled to Saudi Arabia and Iran.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bahrain's Re-Reform Movement |first=Jane |last=Kinninmont |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67553/jane-kinninmont/bahrains-re-reform-movement |newspaper=Foreign Affairs |date=28 February 2011 |access-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> Three years later the British placed the country under the ''de facto'' rule of [[Charles Belgrave]] who operated as an adviser to the ruler until 1957.<ref name="All at sea over 'the Gulf'">{{cite news |title=All at sea over 'the Gulf' |first=Mahan |last=Abedin |url=http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL09Ak03.html |work=Asia Times Online |date=9 December 2004 |access-date=7 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625054007/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL09Ak03.html |archive-date=25 June 2012 |url-status=unfit }}</ref><ref name="archiveeditions">{{cite web |url=http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=8 |title=Near & Middle East Titles: Bahrain Government Annual Reports 1924–1970 |publisher=Cambridge Archives Editions |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000023/http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=8 |access-date=2 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Belgrave brought a number of reforms such as establishment of the country's first modern school in 1919 and the abolition of [[Arab slave trade|slavery]] in 1937.<ref>"[http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/treasure-troves-of-history-and-diversity-1.1137150 Treasure troves of history and diversity]". ''[[Gulf News]]''. 25 January 2013</ref> At the same time, the pearl diving industry developed at a rapid pace.

In 1927, [[Rezā Shāh]], then [[Shah of Iran]], demanded sovereignty over Bahrain in a letter to the [[League of Nations]], a move that prompted Belgrave to undertake harsh measures including encouraging conflicts between [[Shia Islam|Shia]] and Sunni Muslims to bring down the uprisings and limit the Iranian influence.<ref name=ICB>{{cite web|title=Bahrain:"How was separated from Iran" ?|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/geography/articles/mishmahig_islands_bahrain.php|publisher=Iran Chamber Society|access-date=17 June 2012}} Based on extracts from {{cite journal | title=Bahrain: the land of political movements | last=Mojtahedzadeh | first=Piruz | journal=Rahavard, A Persian Journal of Iranian Studies | year=1995 | volume=XI | issue=39}}</ref> Belgrave even went further by suggesting to rename the [[Persian Gulf]] to the "Arabian Gulf"; however, the proposal was refused by the British government.<ref name="All at sea over 'the Gulf'" /> Britain's interest in Bahrain's development was motivated by concerns over Saudi and Iranian ambitions in the region.

[[File:First Oil Well, Bahrain.jpg|thumb|A photograph of the First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931]]

The [[Bahrain Petroleum Company]] (Bapco), a subsidiary of the [[Standard Oil Company]] of California (Socal),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/business/forum-the-incessant-lure-of-kuwait-s-oil.html |title=The Incessant Lure of Kuwait's Oil |date=13 January 1991 |work=The New York Times |access-date=5 October 2012 |first1=Daniel |last1=Yergin}}</ref> discovered oil in 1932.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yergin |first1=Daniel |title=The Prize, The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power |date=1991 |publisher=Touchstone |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-79932-8 |pages=282–283}}</ref>

In the early 1930s, Bahrain Airport was developed. [[Imperial Airways]] flew there, including the [[Handley Page HP42]] aircraft. Later in the same decade, the Bahrain Maritime Airport was established, for flying boats and seaplanes.<ref>''Old Days'' Bahrain 1986 pp. 108–113</ref>

Bahrain [[Participants in World War II#Bahrain|participated]] in the [[World War II|Second World War]] on the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] side, joining on 10 September 1939. On 19 October 1940, four Italian [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.82|SM.82s]] bombers [[Bombing of Bahrain in World War II|bombed Bahrain]] alongside [[Dhahran]] oilfields in Saudi Arabia,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197604/air.raid.a.sequel.htm |title=Air Raid! A Sequel |author=Mulligan, William E. |date=July–August 1976 |work=Saudi Aramco World |archive-date=29 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929071403/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197604/air.raid.a.sequel.htm |access-date=2 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> targeting Allied-operated oil refineries.<ref name=Hamza /> Although minimal damage was caused in both locations, the attack forced the Allies to upgrade Bahrain's defences, an action which further stretched Allied military resources.<ref name=Hamza>{{Cite book|last=Hamza|first=Abdul Aziz|title=Tears on an Island: A History of Disasters in the Kingdom of Bahrain|year=2009|publisher=Al Waad|isbn=978-99901-92-22-3|page=165}}</ref>

[[File:View of Manama from the South, 1953.png|thumb|Overview of Manama, 1953.]]
After World War II, increasing anti-British sentiment spread throughout the Arab World and led to riots in Bahrain. The riots focused on the Jewish community.<ref name=MOMENT>{{cite news|title=The Unlikely Emissary: Houda Nonoo |first=Sarah |last=Breger |url=http://momentmag.com/Exclusive/2011/04/bahrain.html |newspaper=[[Moment (magazine)|Moment]] |year=2011 |access-date=7 July 2012 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 1948, following [[1947 Manama pogrom|rising hostilities and looting]],<ref name="israelnationalnews.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127201 |title=The King of Bahrain Wants the Jews Back |author=Ratzlav-Katz, Nissan |date=14 August 2008 |work=Israel National News |archive-date=3 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003051455/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127201 |access-date=2 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> most members of Bahrain's Jewish community abandoned their properties and evacuated to [[Bombay]], later settling in Israel ([[Pardes Hanna-Karkur]]) and the United Kingdom. {{As of|2008}}, 37 Jews remained in the country.<ref name="israelnationalnews.com" /> In the 1950s, the [[National Union Committee]], formed by reformists following sectarian clashes, demanded an elected popular assembly, removal of Belgrave and carried out a number of protests and general strikes. In 1965 a month-long [[March Intifada|uprising]] broke out after hundreds of workers at the Bahrain Petroleum Company were laid off.<ref name="BBC 11.5.2012" />

=== Independence ===
{{See also|Bahrain Province}}
[[File:Manama Souq 1965.JPG|thumb|[[Manama souq]] in 1965]]
On 15 August 1971,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bahrain.htm|title=Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain – Country Profile – Al Bahrayn – Persian Gulf|first=klaus kästle -|last=nationsonline.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://didyouknow.org/lists/independence/|title=Country independence dates|publisher=didyouknow.org}}</ref> though the [[Shah of Iran]] was claiming historical sovereignty over Bahrain, he accepted [[Bahraini independence survey, 1970|a referendum]] held by the United Nations and eventually Bahrain declared independence and signed a new treaty of friendship with the United Kingdom. Bahrain joined the United Nations and the [[Arab League]] later in the year.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Middle East and North Africa 2004|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-85743-184-7|page=225|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pP315Mw3S9EC&pg=PA225}}</ref> The oil boom of the 1970s benefited Bahrain greatly, although the subsequent downturn hurt the economy. The country had already begun diversification of its economy and benefited further from the [[Lebanese Civil War]] in the 1970s and 1980s, when Bahrain replaced [[Beirut]] as the Middle East's financial hub after Lebanon's large banking sector was driven out of the country by the war.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/story.html?id=9be313d4-b349-40e2-a5f0-05fe3ee3a17a |title=Bahrain |work=National Post |archive-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904024610/http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=9be313d4-b349-40e2-a5f0-05fe3ee3a17a |access-date=5 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic revolution]] in Iran in 1981, the Bahraini [[Shia Islam|Shia]] population orchestrated a [[1981 failed coup in Bahrain|failed coup]] attempt under the auspices of a front organisation, the [[Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain]]. The coup would have installed a Shia cleric exiled in Iran, [[Hujjat al-Islam|Hujjatu l-Islām]] [[Hadi al-Modarresi|Hādī al-Mudarrisī]], as supreme leader heading a [[theocracy|theocratic government]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953597-4,00.html |title=Gulf States: Stay Just on the Horizon, Please |author=Talbott, Strobe |date=25 October 1982 |magazine=Time |archive-date=3 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003125315/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953597-4,00.html |access-date=2 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In December 1994, a group of youths threw stones at female runners for running bare-legged during an international marathon. The resulting clash with police soon grew into civil unrest.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-55237347 |title=Bahrain remains stable despite arson attacks that took place in the country |author=Darwish, Adel |date=1 March 1999 |work=The Middle East |via= |url-access=|access-date=}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83925934.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074426/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83925934.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2013 |title=The Rich/Poor & Sunni/Shiite Rift |date=18 March 2002 |work=APS Diplomat |via=[[HighBeam Research]]|access-date=5 October 2012}}</ref>

A [[1990s uprising in Bahrain|popular uprising]] occurred between 1994 and 2000 in which leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue1/jv3n1a7.html |title=Rebellion in Bahrain |author=Darwish, Adel |date=March 1999 |journal=Middle East Review of International Affairs |volume=3 |issue=1 |archive-date=14 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414210838/http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue1/jv3n1a7.html |access-date=2 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The event resulted in approximately forty deaths and ended after [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]] became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain's monarch opens parliament after a span of nearly 30 years |author=Malik, Adnan |agency=Associated Press |via= [[HighBeam Research]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70367092.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004010101/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70367092.html |archive-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead |date=14 December 2002 }}</ref> He instituted elections for parliament, gave women the right to vote, and released all political prisoners.<ref name="AI_Bahr_promising" /> A referendum on 14–15 February 2001 massively supported the [[National Action Charter of Bahrain|National Action Charter]].<ref name="UNDP-POGAR">{{cite web|title=Country Theme: Elections: Bahrain |publisher=[[United Nations Development Program|UNDP]]-Programme on Governance in the Arab Region |year=2011 |url=http://www.pogar.org/countries/theme.aspx?t=3&cid=2 |access-date=9 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021433/http://www.pogar.org/countries/theme.aspx?t=3&cid=2 |archive-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As part of the adoption of the National Action Charter on 14 February 2002, Bahrain changed its formal name from the State (''dawla'') of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Bahrain.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Kingdom of Bahrain: The Constitutional Changes |url=http://www.theestimate.com/public/022202b.html |access-date=17 February 2011 |newspaper=The Estimate: Political and Security Analysis of the Islamic World and its Neighbors |date=22 February 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003120816/http://www.theestimate.com/public/022202b.html |archive-date=3 October 2009 }}</ref> At the same time, the title of the Head of State, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, was changed from Emir to King.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/ruling-bahrain-part-i-emir-declares-himself-king|title = Ruling Bahrain (Part I): The emir declares himself king|date = 14 March 2019}}</ref>

After the [[September 11 attacks]], the country participated in [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|military action]] against the [[Taliban]] in October 2001 by deploying a [[frigate]] in the Arabian Sea for rescue and humanitarian operations.<ref name=Europa /> As a result, in November of that year, US president [[George W. Bush]]'s administration designated Bahrain as a "[[major non-NATO ally]]".<ref name=Europa /> Bahrain opposed the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]] and had offered [[Saddam Hussein]] asylum in the days before the invasion.<ref name=Europa>{{Cite book|title=The Middle East and North Africa 2004|year=2003|publisher=Europa Publications|isbn=1-85743-184-7|page=232|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pP315Mw3S9EC&pg=PA232}}</ref> Relations improved with neighbouring [[Qatar]] after the border dispute over the [[Hawar Islands]] was resolved by the [[International Court of Justice]] in [[The Hague]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last1=International Court of Justice |title=Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain (Qatar v. Bahrain) |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/case/87 |website=icj-cij |publisher=United Nations |access-date=3 October 2023}}</ref> Following the political liberalisation of the country, Bahrain negotiated a [[Bahrain–United States Free Trade Agreement|free trade agreement]] with the United States in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=To Implement the United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, and for Other Purposes|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060727-14.html|publisher=White House Archives|access-date=23 June 2012}}</ref>

In 2005, [[Qal'at al-Bahrain]], a fort and archaeological complex was inscribed as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].

=== 2011 Bahraini protests ===
{{Main|Bahraini uprising of 2011|Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain|Arab Spring}}
Inspired by the regional [[Arab Spring]], Bahrain's Shia majority [[Day of Rage (Bahrain)|started]] large protests against its Sunni rulers in early 2011.<ref name="reutbahsoe">{{cite news|title=Bahrain declares state of emergency after unrest |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bahrain-emergency-idUKTRE72E3E620110315 |work=Reuters |date=15 March 2011 |access-date=3 October 2012 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023021911/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-bahrain-emergency-idUKTRE72E3E620110315 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=23 November 2011|title=BICI {{!}} Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry|url=http://www.bici.org.bh/|access-date=22 November 2020|website=www.bici.org.bh|pages=162–163}}</ref> The government initially allowed [[March of loyalty to martyrs|protests]] following a [[Bahrain Bloody Thursday|pre-dawn raid]] on protesters camped in [[Pearl Roundabout]].<ref>{{cite web|date=23 November 2011|title=BICI {{!}} Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry|url=http://www.bici.org.bh/|access-date=22 November 2020|website=www.bici.org.bh|pages=73–74; 88}}</ref> A month later it requested security assistance from [[Saudi Arabia]] and other [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] countries and declared a three-month state of emergency.<ref name="bici">{{cite web|date=23 November 2011|title=Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry|url=http://www.bici.org.bh/|publisher=BICI|pages=132–139}}</ref> The government then launched a crackdown on the opposition that included conducting thousands of arrests and [[Torture during the Bahraini uprising (2011–present)|systematic torture]].<ref name="BBC News">Law, Bill (6 April 2011). [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12975832 "Police Brutality Turns Bahrain Into 'Island of Fear{{'"}}]. ''[[Crossing Continents]]'' (via [[BBC News]]). Retrieved 15 April 2011.</ref><ref>[[Press release]] (30 March 2011). [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1103/S01049/usa-emphatic-support-to-saudi-arabia.htm "USA Emphatic Support to Saudi Arabia"]. Zayd Alisa (via [[Scoop (website)|Scoop]]). Retrieved 15 April 2011.</ref><ref>[[Patrick Cockburn|Cockburn, Patrick]] (18 March 2011). [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-footage-that-reveals-the-brutal-truth-about-bahrains-crackdown-2245364.html "The Footage That Reveals the Brutal Truth About Bahrain's Crackdown&nbsp;– Seven Protest Leaders Arrested as Video Clip Highlights Regime's Ruthless Grip on Power"]. ''[[The Independent]]''. Retrieved 15 April 2011.</ref> Almost daily clashes between protesters and security forces led to [[Casualties of the Bahraini uprising (2011–present)|dozens of deaths]].<ref name="AJE 23.4.2012">Carlstrom, Gregg (23 April 2012). [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/20124231124916976.html "Bahrain court delays ruling in activists case"]. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 14 June 2012.</ref> Protests, sometimes staged by opposition parties, were ongoing.<ref name="reutbahral">{{cite news|title=Thousands rally for reform in Bahrain |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bahrain-idUSTRE75A19G20110611 |work=Reuters |author=Solomon, Erika |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022170504/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/11/us-bahrain-idUSTRE75A19G20110611 |date=11 June 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bbcbahmar">{{cite news|title=Bahrain protesters join anti-government march in Manama |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17309839 |work=BBC News |date=9 March 2012 |access-date=3 October 2012 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425072214/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17309839 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="reutbahmass">{{cite news|title=Mass pro-democracy protest rocks Bahrain |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bahrain-protest-idUKBRE82816T20120309 |work=Reuters |date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023021816/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/09/uk-bahrain-protest-idUKBRE82816T20120309 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> More than 80 civilians and 13 policemen have been killed {{as of|2014|March|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bomb blast kills three Bahrain policemen|publisher=BBC|date=3 March 2014|access-date=6 March 2014|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26421744}}</ref>
According to [[Physicians for Human Rights]], 34 of these deaths were related to government usage of [[tear gas]] originally manufactured by U.S.-based [[Federal Laboratories]].<ref name="phr">{{cite web|title=Tear Gas or Lethal Gas? Bahrain's Death Toll Mounts to 34|url=http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/blog/tear-gas-or-lethal-gas.html|publisher=Physicians for Human Rights|access-date=12 January 2018|date=6 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="ukforeignaffairscommittee">{{cite web|author1=Bahrain Watch|title=UK's relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (further written evidence)|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmfaff/writev/bahrain/sab51.htm|publisher=[[Foreign Affairs Select Committee]]|access-date=12 January 2018|date=31 July 2013}}</ref> The lack of coverage by Arab media in the Persian Gulf,<ref name="Hammond">{{cite news|last=Hammond|first=Andrew|title=Gulf media find their red line in uprisings:Bahrain|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/oukwd-uk-mideast-protests-media-idAFTRE73D1HB20110414?sp=true|agency=Reuters Africa|access-date=26 April 2013|date=14 April 2011}}</ref> as compared to other [[Arab Spring]] uprisings, has sparked several controversies. Iran is alleged by United States and others to have a hand in the arming of Bahraini militants.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mekhennet |first=Souad |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-increasingly-sees-irans-hand-in-the-arming-of-bahraini-militants/2017/04/01/be5e61fc-1329-11e7-833c-503e1f6394c9_story.html |title=U.S. increasingly sees Iran's hand in the supporting of Bahraini democracy supporters |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1 April 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>

=== Post-Arab Spring years ===
The Saudi-led Intervention of Bahrain issued swift suppression of widespread government protests through military assistance from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The [[2011 Bahraini uprising]], inspired by [[the Arab Spring]], ended in a bloody crackdown against the mainly Shiite demonstrators who had demanded an elected government, threatening the Sunni monarchy's grip on power.

In 2012, the [[Bahrain Pearling Trail]], consisting of three oyster beds, was designated as a [[World Heritage Site]], inscribing it as "Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy".

On 9 April 2020, Bahrain launched a committee to paying private-sector employees for a three-month period in order to ease the financial pain caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

Bahrain assailed the movement as an Iranian plot, and banned opposition parties, put civilians in front of military courts and jailed dozens of peaceful political opponents, eliciting harsh international criticism.<ref name="france1">{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210212-ten-years-on-bahrain-paralysed-by-legacy-of-arab-spring |title=Ten years on, Bahrain paralysed by legacy of Arab Spring |publisher=France 24 |date=2021-02-12 |access-date=2022-05-02}}</ref>

"Ten years after Bahrain's popular uprising, systemic injustice has intensified and political repression targeting dissidents, human rights defenders, clerics and independent civil society have effectively shut any space for the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression or peaceful activism", [[Amnesty International]] said in a statement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/02/bahrain-dreams-of-reform-crushed-10-years-after-uprising/|title=Bahrain: Dreams of reform crushed 10 years after uprising|date=11 February 2021|website=Amnesty International}}</ref>

Bahrain remains militarily and financially dependent on Saudi Arabia and the UAE,<ref name="france1"/> though this is changing with the economic reforms being implemented by the government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bahrain News Agency |url=https://www.bna.bh/en/index.aspx |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=www.bna.bh}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Bahrain}}
[[File:Bahrain Topography.png|thumb|Topography|upright=1.2]]
Bahrain is a generally flat and arid [[archipelago]] in the Persian Gulf. It consists of a low desert plain rising gently to a low central escarpment with the highest point the {{convert|134|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} [[Mountain of Smoke]] ''(Jabal ad Dukhan)''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain Geography and Population|url=http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/34.htm|access-date=29 June 2012|publisher=countrystudies.us|archive-date=23 September 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923065706/http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/34.htm}}</ref><ref name= Britannica /> Bahrain had a total area of {{convert|665|km2||abbr=on}} but due to [[land reclamation]], the area increased to {{convert|780|km2|abbr=on}}, which is slightly larger than [[Anglesey]].<ref name= Britannica>{{cite web|title=Bahrain|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/49072/Bahrain|publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref>

Often described as an archipelago of 33 islands,<ref>{{cite report |title=Kingdom of Bahrain National Report |publisher=[[International Hydrographic Organization]] |year=2013 |url=http://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/rhc/RSAHC/RSAHC5/RSAHC%205-7.1%20-%20Bahrain%20National%20Report.pdf |access-date=11 June 2013 |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010140839/http://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/rhc/RSAHC/RSAHC5/RSAHC%205-7.1%20-%20Bahrain%20National%20Report.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> extensive land reclamation projects have changed this; by August 2008 the number of islands and island groups had increased to 84.<ref>{{cite book| title=تاريخ البحرين الحديث (1500–2002) |trans-title=Modern History of Bahrain (1500–2002) | isbn=978-99901-06-75-6 |year=2009 |last1=Abdulla |first1=Mohammed Ahmed |last2=Zain al-'Abdeen |first2=Bashir |location=Bahrain |publisher=Historical Studies Centre, [[University of Bahrain]] |pages=26, 29, 59}}</ref> Bahrain does not share a land boundary with another country but does have a {{convert|161|km|abbr=on}} coastline. The country also claims a further {{convert|22|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} of [[territorial sea]] and a {{convert|44|km|nmi|0|abbr=on}} [[contiguous zone]]. Bahrain's largest islands are [[Bahrain Island]], the [[Hawar Islands]], [[Muharraq Island]], [[Umm an Nasan]], and [[Sitra]]. Bahrain has mild winters and very hot, humid summers. The country's natural resources include large quantities of oil and natural gas as well as fish in the offshore waters. Arable land constitutes only 2.82%<ref name="CIA">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bahrain/ |title=CIA World Factbook, "Bahrain" |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=25 January 2011}}</ref> of the total area.

About 92% of Bahrain is desert with periodic droughts and dust storms, the main natural hazards for Bahrainis.<ref name=TR /> Environmental issues facing Bahrain include desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, [[coral reef]]s, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, distribution stations, and illegal land reclamation at places such as [[Tubli Bay]]. The agricultural and domestic sectors' over-utilisation of the Dammam Aquifer, the principal aquifer in Bahrain, has led to its [[Soil salinity|salinisation]] by adjacent brackish and saline water bodies. A hydrochemical study identified the locations of the sources of aquifer salinisation and delineated their areas of influence. The investigation indicates that the aquifer water quality is significantly modified as groundwater flows from the northwestern parts of Bahrain, where the aquifer receives its water by lateral underflow from eastern Saudi Arabia to the southern and southeastern parts. Four types of salinisation of the aquifer are identified: brackish-water up-flow from the underlying brackish-water zones in north-central, western, and eastern regions; seawater intrusion in the eastern region; intrusion of [[sabkha]] water in the southwestern region; and irrigation return flow in a local area in the western region. Four alternatives for the management of groundwater quality that are available to the water authorities in Bahrain are discussed and their priority areas are proposed, based on the type and extent of each salinisation source, in addition to groundwater use in that area.<ref>{{Cite book
|last=Alsharhan
|first=A. S.
|year=2001
|title=Hydrogeology of an Arid Region: The Arabian Gulf and Adjoining Areas
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NT38_2MNqdQC
|publisher=Elsevier
|pages=188–190
|isbn=978-0-444-50225-4}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of Bahrain}}
<!---this is already stated in the geography section above
Bahrain is an island located east of the mainland of Saudi Arabia. [[Jabal ad Dukhan]] is the highest point in Bahrain with hills up to {{convert|134|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above sea level.
--->[[File:Water_Stress,_Top_Countries_(2020).svg|thumb|Bahrain is the eleventh most water stressed country in the world.]]
The [[Zagros Mountains]] across the Persian Gulf in Iran cause low-level winds to be directed toward Bahrain. Dust storms from Iraq and Saudi Arabia transported by northwesterly winds, locally called [[shamal (wind)|shamal]] wind, cause reduced visibility in the months of June and July.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hasanean|first=H.M|title=Middle East Meteorology|url=http://www.iprc.soest.hawaii.edu/~yqwang/Middle-east-meteorology.doc|publisher=International Pacific Research Center|access-date=2 October 2012}}{{dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Summers are very hot. The seas around Bahrain are very shallow, heating up quickly in the summer to produce very high [[humidity]], especially at night. Summer temperatures may reach up to {{convert|40|C|4=0|abbr=on}} under the right conditions.<ref>Martin-King, Philippa (June 2011). [http://www.iec.ch/etech/2011/etech_0611/tech-1.htm "Intelligent buildings"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711124633/http://www.iec.ch/etech/2011/etech_0611/tech-1.htm |date=11 July 2015 }}. [[International Electrotechnical Commission]]. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref> Rainfall in Bahrain is minimal and irregular. Precipitation mostly occurs in winter, with an average of 70.8mm of rainfall recorded annually.

=== Biodiversity ===
{{Main|Wildlife of Bahrain|List of birds of Bahrain}}
[[File:Birds in Al-Areen Wildlife Park.jpg|thumb|upright|
[[Greater flamingo]]s (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') are native to Bahrain.]]

More than 330 species of birds were recorded in the Bahrain archipelago, 26 species of which breed in the country. Millions of migratory birds pass through the Persian Gulf region in the winter and autumn months.<ref name=Fuller /> One globally endangered species, ''[[Houbara bustard|Chlamydotis undulata]]'', is a regular migrant in the autumn.<ref name=Fuller /> The many islands and shallow seas of Bahrain are globally important for the breeding of the [[Socotra cormorant]]; up to 100,000 pairs of these birds were recorded over the Hawar Islands.<ref name=Fuller /> Bahrain's national bird is the [[bulbul]] while its national animal is the [[Arabian oryx]]. And the national flower of Bahrain is the beloved Deena.

Only 18 species of mammals are found in Bahrain, animals such as [[gazelle]]s, desert rabbits and [[hedgehog]]s are common in the wild but the [[Arabian oryx]] was hunted to [[extinction]] on the island.<ref name=Fuller /> Twenty-five species of [[amphibian]]s and [[reptile]]s were recorded as well as 21 species of [[Butterfly|butterflies]] and 307 species of [[flora]].<ref name=Fuller>{{Cite book|title=Towards a Bahrain National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity|year=2005|publisher=Fuller & Associates|pages=22, 23, 28|url=http://www.fuller-imc.com/images/Bahrain%20CBD%20Final%20Report.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000005/http://www.fuller-imc.com/images/Bahrain%20CBD%20Final%20Report.pdf|archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> The marine [[biotope]]s are diverse and include extensive [[sea grass]] beds and [[mudflats]], patchy [[coral reef]]s as well as offshore islands. Sea grass beds are important foraging grounds for some threatened species such as [[dugong]]s and the [[green turtle]].<ref name=CBD /> In 2003, Bahrain banned the capture of [[Sirenia|sea cows]], [[Sea turtle|marine turtles]] and [[dolphin]]s within its territorial waters.<ref name=Fuller />

The Hawar Islands Protected Area provides valuable feeding and breeding grounds for a variety of migratory seabirds, it is an internationally recognised site for [[bird migration]]. The breeding colony of [[Socotra cormorant]] on Hawar Islands is the largest in the world, and the dugongs foraging around the archipelago form the second-largest dugong aggregation after Australia.<ref name=CBD>{{cite web|title=Country profile: Bahrain|url=http://www.cbd.int/countries/profile.shtml?country=bh#status|publisher=Convention on Biological Diversity|access-date=24 June 2012}}</ref>

Bahrain has five designated [[protected area]]s, four of which are marine environments.<ref name=Fuller /> They are:
* [[Hawar Islands]]
* Mashtan Island, off the coast of Bahrain.
* [[Arad, Bahrain|Arad]] bay, in Muharraq.
* [[Tubli Bay]]
* [[Al Areen Wildlife Park]], which is a zoo and a breeding centre for [[endangered species|endangered animals]], is the only protected area on land and also the only protected area which is managed on a day-to-day basis.<ref name=Fuller />
Bahrain [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita|emits a lot of carbon dioxide per person]] compared to other countries, primarily due to it just being a small country.<ref>{{cite web|title=EDGAR – The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research|url=https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/report_2020#emissions_table|access-date=24 April 2021|website=edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu}}</ref>

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Bahrain}} <!--Please add new information to relevant articles of the series-->
[[File:Hamad-Bin-Isa-Al-Khalifa.jpg|thumb|upright|Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain]]

Bahrain under the Al Khalifa is a [[semi-constitutional monarchy]] headed by the [[King of Bahrain|King]], [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa|Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]]. King Hamad enjoys wide executive powers which include appointing the [[Prime Minister of Bahrain|Prime Minister]] and his [[Cabinet of Bahrain|ministers]], commanding the [[Bahrain Defence Force|army]], chairing the [[Judiciary of Bahrain|Higher Judicial Council]], appointing the [[National Assembly (Bahrain)|parliament]]'s [[Consultative Council (Bahrain)|upper house]] and dissolving its elected [[Council of Representatives (Bahrain)|lower house]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web|date=23 November 2011|title=BICI {{!}} Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry|url=http://www.bici.org.bh/|access-date=22 November 2020|website=www.bici.org.bh|page=15}}</ref> The head of government is the prime minister. In 2010, about half of the [[Cabinet of Bahrain|government]] was composed of the [[House of Khalifa|Al Khalifa family]].<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2010/03/2010356756685605.html "Bahrain Shia demand cabinet change"]. Al Jazeera English. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

Bahrain has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] National Assembly (''al-Majlis al-Watani'') consisting of the Shura Council (''Majlis Al-Shura'') with 40 seats and the Council of Representatives (''Majlis Al-Nuwab'') with 40 seats. The forty members of the Shura are appointed by the king. In the Council of Representatives, 40 members are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve four-year terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electionguide.org/country.php?ID=18|title=Bahrain|date=26 July 2010|publisher=[[International Foundation for Electoral Systems]]|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> The appointed council "exercises a ''de facto'' veto" over the elected, because draft acts must be approved so they may pass into law. After approval, the king may ratify and issue the act or return it within six months to the National Assembly where it may only pass into law if approved by two-thirds of both councils.<ref name=":2" />

In 1973, the country held its first [[Bahraini general election, 1973|parliamentary elections]]; however, two years later, the [[Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa|late emir]] dissolved the parliament and suspended the [[Constitution of Bahrain#Constitution of 1973|constitution]] after parliament rejected the [[State Security Law in Bahrain|State Security Law]].<ref name="BBC 11.5.2012">[[Adam Curtis|Curtis, Adam]] (11 May 2012). [https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2012/05/if_you_take_my_advice_-_id_rep.html "If you take my advice – I'd repress them"]. [[BBC News]]. Retrieved 27 June 2012.</ref> The period between 2002 and 2010 saw three parliamentary elections. The [[Bahraini parliamentary election, 2002|first]], held in 2002 was boycotted by the opposition, [[Al Wefaq]], which won a majority in the [[Bahraini general election, 2006|second]] in 2006 and [[Bahraini general election, 2010|third]] in 2010.<ref>[http://www.electionguide.org/country-news.php?ID=18 "Bahrain – News Archive"]. Election Guide. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.</ref> The [[Bahraini parliamentary by-election, 2011|2011 by-election]] was held to replace 18 members of Al Wefaq who resigned in protest against government crackdown.<ref name="ThReut_boycott">{{cite news|title=Bahrain holds vote to fill seats vacated during unrest |date=24 September 2011 |publisher=[[Al-Ahram]]/[[Thomson Reuters]] |url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/2/8/22324/World/Region/Bahrain-holds-vote-to-fill-seats-vacated-during-un.aspx |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910020714/http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/2/8/22324/World/Region/Bahrain-holds-vote-to-fill-seats-vacated-during-un.aspx |archive-date=10 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYT_violence">{{cite news|first=Ethan |last=Bronner |title=Bahrain Vote Erupts in Violence |date=24 September 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/middleeast/bahrain-protesters-and-police-clash-during-election.html |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925105104/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/middleeast/bahrain-protesters-and-police-clash-during-election.html |archive-date=25 September 2011 |url-status=live |work=The New York Times }}</ref> According to the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] Bahrain is 2023 the 4th least [[Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa|electoral democratic country in the Middle East]].<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref> 

The opening up of politics saw big gains for both [[Shia Islam|Shīa]] and [[Sunnī]] [[Islamists]] in elections, which gave them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Islamists Dominate Bahrain Elections |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600280.html |access-date=17 June 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=26 November 2006 |first=Jim |last=Krane |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502020532/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600280.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It gave a new prominence to clerics within the political system, with the most senior Shia religious leader, Sheikh [[Isa Qassim]], playing a vital role.<ref>Katja Niethammar (2006). [http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/WP-Texts/06_27.pdf "Voices in Parliament, Debates in Majalis, Banners on the Street: Avenues of Political Participation in Bahrain"]. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. [[European University Institute]]. Retrieved 5 July 2012. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234454/http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/WP-Texts/06_27.pdf |date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> This was especially evident when in 2005 the government called off the Shia branch of the "Family law" after over 100,000 Shia took to the streets. Islamists opposed the law because "neither elected MPs nor the government has the authority to change the law because these institutions could misinterpret the word of God". The law was supported by women activists who said they were "suffering in silence". They managed to organise a rally attended by 500 participants.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Jones, Sandy Russell |year=2007|jstor=25164777|title=The Battle over Family Law in Bahrain| journal=Middle East Report|volume=242|issue=242|pages=33–39 |doi=10.2307/25164777|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>Hamada, Suad (5 June 2009). [http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/06/religion-new-family-law-for-sunni-women-in-bahrain-not-for-shiites/ "Religion: New Family Law for Sunni Women in Bahrain Not for Shiites"]. [[Inter Press Service]]. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref><ref>{{Cite report |author=Human Rights Without Frontiers |date=28 October 2011 |title=Which Future For Bahrain? |url=http://www.religlaw.org/content/blurb/files/bahrain%20preliminary%20report.pdf |publisher=[[International Center for Law and Religion Studies]] |pages=8–9 |access-date=5 July 2012 }}</ref> [[Ghada Jamsheer]], a leading woman activist<ref>MacLeod, Scott (14 May 2006). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110122030857/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1193998,00.html "Ghada Jamsheer: Activist"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref> said the government was using the law as a "bargaining tool with opposition Islamic groups".<ref name="GJ 18.12.2006">[[Ghada Jamsheer|Jamsheer, Ghada]] (18 December 2006). [http://www.wluml.org/sites/wluml.org/files/Bahraini%20activist%20Ghada%20Jamsheer's%20speech%20to%20the%20House%20of%20Lords%202006.pdf "Women in Bahrain and the Struggle Against Artificial Reforms"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010140026/http://www.wluml.org/sites/wluml.org/files/Bahraini%20activist%20Ghada%20Jamsheer%27s%20speech%20to%20the%20House%20of%20Lords%202006.pdf |date=10 October 2017 }}. Women Living Under Muslim Laws. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref>

Analysts of democratisation in the Middle East cite the Islamists' references to respect human rights in their justification for these programmes as evidence that these groups can serve as a progressive force in the region.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Islamist Terrorism and Democracy in the Middle East|url=http://www.tnr.com/book/review/islamist-terrorism-democracy-middle-east-katerina-dalacoura|magazine=The New Republic|access-date=17 June 2012|date=31 October 2011}}</ref> Some Islamist parties have been particularly critical of the government's readiness to sign international treaties such as the [[United Nations]]' International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. At a parliamentary session in June 2006 to discuss ratification of the convention, Sheikh [[Adel Mouwda]], the former leader of a [[Salafi movement|salafist]] party, [[Al Asalah|Asalah]], explained the party's objections: "The convention has been tailored by our enemies, God kill them all, to serve their needs and protect their interests rather than ours. This why we have eyes from the American Embassy watching us during our sessions, to ensure things are swinging their way".<ref>[http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=146230&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29086&date=6-14-2006 Rights push by Bahrain], ''Gulf Daily News'', 14 June 2006</ref>

=== Military ===
{{Main|Bahrain Defence Force}}
{{See also|Peninsula Shield Force|Naval Support Activity Bahrain}}
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = 
| caption1          = 
| image2            = RBNS Sabha (FFG 90) Bahrain.jpg
| caption2          = {{ship|RBNS|Sabha|FFG-90|6}} of the [[Royal Bahraini Navy]]
| image3            = Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16 Block 70 lands at Edwards Air Force Base.jpg
| caption3          = An [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]] of the [[Royal Bahraini Air Force]]
}}
The kingdom has a small but professional and well-equipped military called the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), numbering around 8,200 personnel, including 6,000 in the [[Royal Bahraini Army]], 700 in the [[Royal Bahraini Naval Force]], and 1,500 in the [[Royal Bahraini Air Force]]. The BDF command structure also includes the [[Bahrain Royal Guard]], which is the size of one battalion and has its own armored vehicles and artillery. The [[Bahrain National Guard]] is separate from the BDF, though it is tasked with assisting it in defense from external threats, and it has about 2,000 personnel.<ref>Barany, Zoltan (9 December 2016). [http://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/161214_Bahrain_Defence_Force.pdf The Bahrain Defence Force: The Monarchy’s Second-to-Last Line of Defense]. [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]. p. 10. Retrieved 4 February 2024.</ref><ref name="iiss2023">{{cite book |author=IISS |author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=2023 |title=The Military Balance 2023 |pages=318–319}}</ref> The supreme commander of the Bahraini military is King [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]] and the deputy supreme commander is the Crown Prince, [[Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Crown Prince Biography|url=http://www.mofa.gov.bh/AboutBahrain/Goverment/HHtheCrownPrince/tabid/139/language/en-US/Default.aspx|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain|access-date=27 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=HRH Prince Salman Exchanges Letters With BDF Chief Commander|url=http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/459401|access-date=6 October 2012|newspaper=Bahrain News Agency|date=4 June 2011}}</ref> The Commander-in-Chief of the BDF has been Field Marshal [[Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa]] since 2008.<ref>Barany, Zoltan (9 December 2016). [http://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/161214_Bahrain_Defence_Force.pdf The Bahrain Defence Force: The Monarchy’s Second-to-Last Line of Defense]. [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]. p. 8. Retrieved 4 February 2024.</ref>

The BDF is primarily equipped with United States-made-equipment, such as the [[F-16 Fighting Falcon]], [[F-5 Freedom Fighter]], [[UH-60 Blackhawk]], [[M60 Patton|M60A3 tanks]], and the ex-{{USS|Jack Williams|FFG-24|6}}, an [[Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate]] renamed the {{ship|RBNS|Sabha|FFG-90|6}}.<ref name="iiss2023" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh Singh|first=Ravi Shekhar|title=Asian Strategic And Military Perspective|year=2005|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=978-81-7062-245-1|page=368|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LVjhy7I2lDAC&pg=PA368}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=USS Jack Williams (FFG 24)|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/07/0724.htm|publisher=Navsource Online|access-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> On 7 August 2020, it was announced in a ceremony held at the [[HMNB Portsmouth]] Naval Base in the [[UK]], that ''[[HMS Clyde (P257)|HMS Clyde]]'' had been transferred to the [[Royal Bahrain Naval Force]], with the ship renamed as RBNS ''Al-Zubara''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bna.bh/en/news?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDuzkhUUi5NKmSGxrV1l8fdc%3D |title=Bahrain receives patrol warship "RBNS Al-Zubara" |first=Steve |last=W |date=7 August 2020 |website=Bahrain News Agency |publisher= (WHQ) |access-date=7 August 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/hms-clyde-sold-to-bahrain/ |title=HMS Clyde sold to Bahrain |first=Steve |last=W |date=8 August 2020 |website=UK Defence Journal |publisher= (George Allison) |access-date=8 August 2020 }}</ref> On 18 January 2024 the Bahraini Navy received a second ''Oliver Hazard Perry''-class frigate, the former {{USS|Robert G. Bradley|FFG-49|6}}, which was renamed RBNS ''Khalid bin Ali''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/bahrain-refurbishment-oliver-hazard-perry-class-ship-ex-robert-g-bradley-ffg-49|title=Bahrain – Refurbishment of the Oliver Hazard Perry Class Ship, Ex ROBERT G. BRADLEY (FFG 49)|publisher=Defense Security Cooperation Agency|date=23 October 2019|access-date=25 November 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bna.bh/en/news?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDvdHGdFWot2F5VnnkAMj6VE%3D ‘RBNS Khalid bin Ali’ ship arrives in Bahrain; joins RBNF]. Bahrain News Agency. Published 18 January 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.</ref> Bahrain was the first country in the Gulf to operate the F-16. Sometime in 2024 the Royal Bahraini Air Force expects to receive 16 aircraft of the modernized F-16 Block 70 variant,<ref name="aircombat">Losurdo, Marnee (10 March 2023). [https://www.acc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3327606/afcent-celebrates-key-partner-fms-success/ AFCENT celebrates key partner FMS success]. U.S. Air Combat Command. Retrieved 2 February 2024.</ref> in addition to its current 20 F-16C/D and 12 F-5E/F fighters. The Royal Bahraini Army has 180 M60A3 main battle tanks, with 100 in active service and 80 in storage.<ref name="iiss2023" />

The Government of Bahrain has [[Bahrain–United States relations|close relations]] with the United States, having signed a cooperative agreement with the [[United States Armed Forces|United States Military]] and has provided the United States a base in [[Juffair]] since the early 1990s, although a US naval presence existed since 1948.<ref>{{cite web|title=NSA Bahrain History|url=http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Bahrain/About/History/index.htm|publisher=Naval Support Activity Bahrain|access-date=4 October 2012|archive-date=1 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001000912/http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Bahrain/About/History/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> This is the home of the headquarters for Commander, ''United States Naval Forces Central Command'' ([[COMUSNAVCENT]]) / ''United States Fifth Fleet'' (COMFIFTHFLT),<ref>"[https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2012/06/18/u-s-hypocrisy-on-parade-washington-arms-bahrain-denounces-russia-for-arming-syria/ U.S. Hypocrisy on Parade: Washington Arms Bahrain, Denounces Russia For Arming Syria]". ''[[Forbes]]''. 18 June 2013.</ref> and around 6,000 United States military personnel.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cnic.navy.mil/bahrain/ |title= Welcome to Naval Support Activity Bahrain |publisher=Commander, Navy Installations Command |archive-date=10 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121010092437/http://www.cnic.navy.mil/bahrain/ |access-date=5 October 2012 |url-status= live}}</ref>

Bahrain participates in the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen]] against the [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Houthis]] and forces loyal to former President [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]],<ref>"[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/yemeni-bombing-led-by-saudis-is-backed-by-u-s-logistics-spying U.S. Backs Saudi-Led Yemeni Bombing With Logistics, Spying]". [[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]. 26 March 2015.</ref> who was deposed in the 2011 [[Arab Spring]] uprising.<ref>"[http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/26/middleeast/yemen-saudi-arabia-airstrikes/ Saudi-led coalition strikes rebels in Yemen, inflaming tensions in region]". [[CNN]]. 27 March 2015.</ref>

The permanent British [[Royal Navy]] base at [[Mina Salman]], ''[[HMS Jufair]]'', was officially opened in April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/uk-opens-persian-gulf-naval-base-in-bahrain/2018/04/05/b51e3a48-38d7-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180405165550/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/uk-opens-persian-gulf-naval-base-in-bahrain/2018/04/05/b51e3a48-38d7-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 5 April 2018|title=UK opens Persian Gulf military base in Bahrain|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=5 April 2018}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Bahrain}}
[[File:Donald Trump meets with King Hamed bin Issa of Bahrain, May 2017.jpg|thumb|King [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]] meets former U.S. President [[Donald Trump]], May 2017]]

Bahrain has established [[bilateral relations]] with 190 countries worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bilateral Relations|url=http://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=73&language=en-US |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain|access-date=27 June 2012}}</ref> {{As of|2012}}, Bahrain maintains a network of 25 [[embassies]], three [[consulates]] and four permanent missions to the Arab League, United Nations and [[Bahrain–European Union relations|European Union]] respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain|url= http://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=40&language=en-US|access-date=27 June 2012}}</ref> Bahrain also hosts 36 embassies. The United States designated Bahrain a [[major non-NATO ally]] in 2001.<ref name="Voice of America">{{Cite news|title=Bahrain Becomes a 'Major Non-NATO Ally'|url= http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-a-2001-10-26-13-bahrain-67542952/387338.html|access-date=24 June 2012|publisher= Voice of America|date=26 October 2001}}</ref> Bahrain plays a modest, moderating role in regional politics and adheres to the views of the Arab League on Middle East peace and [[State of Palestine|Palestinian]] rights by supporting the [[two state solution]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Palestine Peace Process|url= http://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=112&language=en-US|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain|access-date=27 June 2012}}</ref> Bahrain is also one of the founding members of the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Member States of the GCC|url= http://www.gcc-sg.org/eng/indexc64c.html?action=GCC|publisher=GCC|access-date=27 June 2012|url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120716060014/http://www.gcc-sg.org/eng/indexc64c.html?action=GCC|archive-date=16 July 2012}}</ref> Relations with Iran tend to be tense as a result of a [[1981 Bahraini coup d'état attempt|failed coup]] in 1981 which Bahrain blames Iran for and occasional claims of Iranian sovereignty over Bahrain by [[Conservatism|ultra-conservative]] elements in the Iranian public.<ref>{{Cite news |title=A Bahraini Hunger Strike and An Inhumane Argument |url= http://nyulocal.com/national/2012/04/13/a-bahraini-hunger-strike-and-an-inhumane-argument/|access-date=27 June 2012|newspaper=NYU Local|date=13 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Bahrain slams Iran's claims, suspends gas deal talks |url= http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/20/content_10852316.htm |access-date=27 June 2012 |newspaper= Xinhua News Agency |date=20 February 2009 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234841/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/20/content_10852316.htm |url-status= dead}}</ref> Bahrain and Israel established bilateral relations in 2020 under the [[Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump announces 'peace deal' between Bahrain and Israel |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54124996 |work=BBC News |date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

=== Human rights ===
{{Main|Human rights in Bahrain}}
[[File:4bahrain22011.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bahraini uprising of 2011|Bahraini protests]] against the ruling Al Khalifa family in 2011]]
The period between 1975 and 1999 known as the "[[State Security Law in Bahrain|State Security Law Era]]", saw wide range of human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, detention without trial, torture and forced exile.<ref name="Amnesty 27.9.1995">{{cite news|title=Bahrain Sa'id 'Abd al-Rasul al-Iskafi |date=27 September 1995 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde11/019/1995/en/ |access-date=2 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name="HRW 1.6.1997">{{cite news | title = Routine abuse, routine denial | date=1 June 1997 | publisher=Human Rights Watch | url = https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1997/bahrain/ | access-date=2 February 2012}}</ref> After the Emir Hamad Al Khalifa (now king) succeeded his father Isa Al Khalifa in 1999, he introduced wide reforms and human rights improved significantly.<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8246.htm "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices"]. [[United States Department of State]]. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref> These moves were described by Amnesty International as representing a "historic period of human rights".<ref name="AI_Bahr_promising">{{cite web|title=Bahrain: Promising human rights reform must continue |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |date=13 March 2001 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde11/005/2001/en/ |format=PDF |access-date=9 February 2011 }}</ref>

Consensual homosexual relations between adults over the age of 21 male and female are legal in Bahrain and the only Muslim Gulf country where it is legal since 1976.<ref>{{cite web |title=Equal age of consent in Bahrain |url=https://www.equaldex.com/region/bahrain |publisher=Equaldex |access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Protesters camped out infront of the Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain.jpg|thumb|upright|Protesters at the Pearl Roundabout just before it was demolished.]]
Human rights conditions started to decline by 2007 when [[Torture in Bahrain|torture]] began to be employed again.<ref name="HRW Torture Redux">[https://www.hrw.org/node/88200/section/2 Summary, "Torture Redux: The Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain"], published by [[Human Rights Watch]] 8 February 2010, {{ISBN|1-56432-597-0}}, accessed 19 June 2011</ref> In 2011, [[Human Rights Watch]] described the country's human rights situation as "dismal".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2011/world-report-2011-bahrain |title=World Report 2011: Bahrain |year=2011 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=5 October 2012}}</ref> Due to this, Bahrain lost some of the high [[International rankings of Bahrain|International rankings]] it had gained before.<ref name="Freedom in the World 2012">{{cite news| title = Freedom in Bahrain 2011 | year=2011 | publisher=[[Freedom House]] | url = http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/bahrain | access-date=29 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="FH FotN 2011">{{cite report |title=Freedom of the Net 2011 – Bahrain part |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |url=http://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Bahrain_FOTN2011.pdf |year=2011}}</ref><ref name="RWB 2002">{{cite news | title = RWB Press Freedom Index 2002 | year = 2002 | publisher = [[Reporters Without Borders]] | url = http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=297 | access-date = 29 January 2012 | archive-date = 5 February 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205233857/http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=297 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="RWB 2010">{{cite news | title = RWB Press Freedom Index 2010 | year = 2010 | publisher = [[Reporters Without Borders]] | url = http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1034 | access-date = 29 January 2012 | archive-date = 27 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120127185207/http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1034 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="FH Press Freedom 2011">{{cite news|title = FH Press Freedom Index 2011 | year=2011 | publisher=[[Freedom House]] | url = http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2011/bahrain | access-date=29 January 2012}}</ref>

In 2011, Bahrain was criticised for its crackdown on the [[Bahraini uprising of 2011|Arab spring uprising]]. In September, a government-appointed [[Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry|commission]] confirmed [[Human rights reports on the Bahraini uprising of 2011|reports]] of grave human rights violations, including [[Torture during the Bahraini uprising (2011–present)|systematic torture]]. The government promised to introduce reforms and avoid repeating the "painful events".<ref>Elizabeth Dickinson (23 November 2011). [http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/1123/Bahrain-commission-issues-brutal-critique-of-Arab-Spring-crackdown "Bahrain commission issues brutal critique of Arab Spring crackdown"]. ''The Christian Science Monitor''. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref> However, reports by human rights organisations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued in April 2012 said the same violations were still happening.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amnesty report: Bahrain reforms are 'flawed,' 'inadequate' |first=Ed |last=Payne |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/17/world/meast/bahrain-unrest/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=17 April 2012 |access-date=7 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17887731 "Bahrain police 'continue to torture detainees'"]. BBC. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.</ref>

Amnesty International's 2015 report on the country points to the continued suppression of dissent, restricted freedom of expression, unjust imprisonment, and frequent torture and other ill-treatment of its citizens.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde11/1396/2015/en/ Bahrain: Behind the rhetoric: Human rights abuses in Bahrain continue unabated], Amnesty International, 2015</ref> {{As of|2014|10}}, Bahrain is ruled by an "[[authoritarian regime]]" and is rated as "Not Free" by the U.S.-based non-governmental [[Freedom House]].<ref name= FH2013>{{cite web|title= Bahrain|url= http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/bahrain |website= Freedom house |access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref> Freedom House continues to label Bahrain as "not free" in its 2021 report.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain: Country Profile|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/bahrain|access-date=15 July 2021|website=Freedom House|language=en}}</ref> On 7 July 2016, the [[European Parliament]] adopted, with a large majority, a resolution condemning human rights abuses performed by Bahraini authorities, and strongly called for an end to the ongoing repression against the country's human rights defenders, political opposition and civil society.<ref>[https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/07/european-parliament-adopts-resolution-condemning-bahrains-crackdown-on-civil-society-and-political-opposition/ European Parliament adopts resolution condemning Bahrain's human rights abuses]. Indexoncensorship.org. Retrieved on 7 November 2016.</ref>
[[File:Sit-in in solidarity with Nabeel Rajab.JPG|thumb| Several people held a sit-in in solidarity with human rights activist [[Nabeel Rajab]]]]

In August 2017, United States Secretary of State [[Rex Tillerson]] spoke against the discrimination of Shias in Bahrain, saying, "Members of the Shia community there continue to report ongoing discrimination in government employment, education, and the justice system," and that "Bahrain must stop discriminating against the Shia communities." He also stated that "In Bahrain, the government continue to question, detain and arrest Shia clerics, community members and opposition politicians."<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain must stop discriminating against Shias: Tillerson|url=http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/bahrain/item/30090-bahrain-must-stop-discriminating-against-shias-tillerson|website=Shiite News|access-date=18 August 2017|archive-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819062026/http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/bahrain/item/30090-bahrain-must-stop-discriminating-against-shias-tillerson|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain must stop discriminating against Shias: Tillerson|url=http://muslimtimes.co/2017/08/16/bahrain-must-stop-discriminating-shias-tillerson/|website=Muslim Times|access-date=18 August 2017}}</ref> However, in September 2017, the U.S. State Department has approved arms sales packages worth more than $3.8 billion to Bahrain including F-16 jets, upgrades, missiles and patrol boats.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-bahrain-defense/state-department-approves-3-8-billion-in-arms-sales-to-bahrain-pentagon-idUSKCN1BJ2L9 |title=State Department approves $3.8 billion in arms sales to Bahrain: Pentagon |website=[[Reuters]] |access-date=12 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912160402/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-bahrain-defense/state-department-approves-3-8-billion-in-arms-sales-to-bahrain-pentagon-idUSKCN1BJ2L9 |archive-date=12 September 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=The New Arab |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/9/9/us-approves-huge-arms-sale-to-bahrain |title=US approves huge arms sale to Bahrain despite human rights concerns |publisher=Alaraby.co.uk |date=5 December 2014 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> In its latest report the Amnesty International accused both, US and the UK governments, of turning a blind eye to horrific abuses of human rights by the ruling Bahraini regime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde11/6790/2017/en/ |title=Document &#124; Amnesty International |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=7 September 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> On 31 January 2018, Amnesty International reported that the Bahraini government expelled four of its citizens after having revoked their nationality in 2012; turning them into stateless people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/01/bahrain-government-expels-citizens-after-having-revoked-their-nationality/ |title=Bahrain: Government expels citizens after having revoked their nationality &#124; Amnesty International |date=31 January 2018 |publisher=Amnesty.org |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> On 21 February 2018, human rights activist [[Nabeel Rajab]] was sentenced to a further five years in jail for tweets and documentation of human rights violations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bahrain Activist Gets 5-Year Sentence for 'Insulting' Tweets |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/world/middleeast/nabeel-rajab-bahrain-twitter.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222124052/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/world/middleeast/nabeel-rajab-bahrain-twitter.html |archive-date=2018-02-22 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=21 February 2018}}</ref> On behalf of the ruling family, Bahraini police have received training on how to deal with public protests from the British government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/43b4k9/britain-trained-a-bahraini-police-chief-who-presided-over-abuse-of-political-dissidents|title=Britain Trained a Bahraini Police Chief Who Presided Over Abuse of Political Dissidents – VICE|website=www.vice.com|date=6 April 2018 }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=December 2018}}<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-helps-train-violent-bahraini-police-hwk8flg5c|title= Britain helps train 'violent' Bahraini police|first=Jon |last= Ungoed-Thomas|date=5 February 2017|via=www.thetimes.co.uk | quote = the fund was used to pay for Bahrain's chief of police, Tariq al-Hassan, and other senior officers to travel to Belfast to learn how police in Northern Ireland deal with public protests.}}</ref>

==== Women's rights ====
{{Main|Women's rights in Bahrain}}
Women in Bahrain acquired voting rights and the right to stand in national elections in the 2002 election.<ref>{{cite news |title=In Bahrain, Women Run, Women Vote, Women Lose |first=Neil |last=MacFarquhar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/world/in-bahrain-women-run-women-vote-women-lose.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109232242/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/world/in-bahrain-women-run-women-vote-women-lose.html |archive-date=2012-11-09 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 May 2002 |access-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> However, no women were elected to office in that year's polls.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/bahrain/1411342/Islamists-gain-majority-in-Bahrain.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/bahrain/1411342/Islamists-gain-majority-in-Bahrain.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Islamists gain majority in Bahrain | last = Darwish | first = Adel |date=26 October 2002 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=5 October 2012 |location= London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In response to the failure of women candidates, six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom's indigenous Jewish and Christian communities.<ref>[http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=18635 Jew and Christian amongst 10 women in Shura council] ''Middle East Online''</ref> [[Nada Haffadh]] became the country's first female cabinet minister on her appointment as Minister of Health in 2004. The quasi-governmental women's group, the [[Supreme Council for Women]], trained female candidates to take part in the 2006 general election. When Bahrain was elected to head the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 2006 it appointed lawyer and women's rights activist [[Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa|Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa]] President of the United Nations General Assembly, only the third woman in history to head the world body.<ref>[https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18797&Cr=general&Cr1=assembly 'UN General Assembly to be headed by its third-ever woman president'], United Nations, 8 June 2006</ref> Female activist Ghada Jamsheer said "The government used women's rights as a decorative tool on the international level." She referred to the reforms as "artificial and marginal" and accused the government of "hinder[ing] non-governmental women societies".<ref name="GJ 18.12.2006" />

In 2006, [[Lateefa Al Gaood]] became the first female MP after winning by default.<ref>Toumi, Habib (27 November 2006). [http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/women-fail-to-add-to-the-seat-won-unopposed-1.267190 "Women fail to add to the seat won unopposed"]. ''Gulf News''. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref> The number rose to four after the 2011 by-elections.<ref>Toumi, Habib (8 October 2011). [http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-women-mps-set-to-make-a-difference-as-parliament-reconvenes-1.887965 "Bahrain women MPs set to make a difference as parliament reconvenes"]. ''Gulf News''. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref> In 2008, [[Houda Nonoo]] was appointed ambassador to the United States making her the first Jewish ambassador of any Arab country.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7426806.stm "Bahrain names Jewish ambassador"]. BBC News. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref> In 2011, [[Alees Samaan|Alice Samaan]], a Christian woman, was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom.<ref>Toumi, Habib (27 May 2012). [http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-urges-greater-global-religious-tolerance-1.1028303 "Bahrain urges greater global religious tolerance"]. ''Gulf News''. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

=== Media ===
The predominant forms of media in Bahrain consists of weekly and daily newspapers, television, and radio.

Newspapers are widely available in multiple languages such as Arabic, English, Malayalam, etc. to support the varied population. ''[[Akhbar Al Khaleej]]'' ({{lang|ar|أخبار الخليج}}) and ''[[Al Ayam (Bahrain)|Al Ayam]]'' ({{lang|ar|الأيام}}) are examples of major Arabic newspapers published daily. ''[[Gulf Daily News]]'' and ''[[Daily Tribune (Bahrain)|Daily Tribune]]'' publish daily newspapers in English. ''[[Gulf Madhyamam]]'' is a newspaper published in Malayalam.

The country's television network operates five networks, all of which are by the [[Information Affairs Authority]]. Radio, much like the television network, is mostly state-run and usually in Arabic. ''Radio Bahrain'' is a long-running English language radio station, and ''Your FM'' is a radio station serving the large expatriate population from the Indian subcontinent living in the country.

By June 2012, Bahrain had 961,000 internet users.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|title=Bahrain profile – Media|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14541053|access-date=15 June 2014}}</ref> The platform "provides a welcome free space for journalists, although one that is increasingly monitored", according to [[Reporters Without Borders]]. Rigorous filtering targets political, human rights, religious material and content deemed obscene. Bloggers and other [[netizens]] were among those detained during protests in 2011.<ref name="ReferenceB" />

Bahraini journalists risk prosecution for offences that include "undermining" the government and religion. [[Self-censorship]] is widespread. Journalists were targeted by officials during anti-government protests in 2011. Three editors from the opposition daily [[Al-Wasat (Bahraini newspaper)|''Al-Wasat'']] were sacked and later fined for publishing "false" news. Several foreign correspondents were expelled.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14541053 | work=BBC News | title=Bahrain profile | date=29 January 2013}}</ref> An independent commission, set up to look into the unrest, found that state media coverage was at times inflammatory. It said opposition groups suffered from lack of access to mainstream media and recommended that the government "consider relaxing censorship". Assessments by [[Reporters Without Borders|Reporters sans frontières]] have consistently found Bahrain to be one of the most world's most restrictive regimes.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://rsf.org/en/country/bahrain | work=Reporters Without Borders | title=Bahrain | date=31 May 2023}}</ref>

=== Governorates ===
{{Main|Governorates of Bahrain}}
The first [[municipality]] in Bahrain was the eight-member [[Manama]] municipality which was established in July 1919.<ref name=MMAUP>{{cite web|title=History of Municipalities |url=http://websrv.municipality.gov.bh/mun/pages/History_en.jsp |publisher=Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning – Kingdom of Bahrain |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213042316/http://websrv.municipality.gov.bh/mun/pages/History_en.jsp |archive-date=13 December 2012 }}</ref> Members of the municipality were elected annually; the municipality was said to have been the first municipality to be established in the [[Arab world]].<ref name=MMAUP /> The municipality was in charge of cleaning roads and renting buildings to tenants and shops. By 1929, it undertook road expansions as well as opening markets and [[slaughterhouse]]s.<ref name=MMAUP /> In 1958, the municipality started [[water purification]] projects.<ref name=MMAUP /> In 1960, Bahrain comprised four municipalities: ''Manama'', ''Hidd'', ''Al Muharraq'', and ''Riffa''.<ref name=Statoids>{{cite web|title=Governorates of Bahrain|url=http://www.statoids.com/ubh.html|publisher=Statoids|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref> Over the next 30 years, the 4 municipalities were divided into 12 municipalities as settlements such as [[Hamad Town]] and [[Isa Town]] grew.<ref name=Statoids /> These municipalities were administered from [[Manama]] under a central municipal council whose members are appointed by the king.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain Government |url=http://www.un.int/bahrain/government.html |publisher=Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603152143/http://www.un.int/bahrain/government.html |archive-date=3 June 2012 }}</ref>

The first municipal elections to be held in Bahrain after independence in 1971, was in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|title=Three Polls, Three Different Approaches |url=http://www.theestimate.com/public/051702.html |publisher=The Estimate |access-date=5 July 2012 |date=17 May 2002 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000004/http://www.theestimate.com/public/051702.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The most recent was in 2010. The municipalities are listed below:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Map !! Former Municipality
|-
| rowspan="12" | [[File:Bahrain municipalities numbered.png|200px]] || '''1.''' [[Al Hidd]]
|-
| | '''2.''' [[Manama]]
|-
| | '''3.''' [[Western Region, Bahrain|Western Region]]
|-
| | '''4.''' [[Central Region, Bahrain|Central Region]]
|-
| | '''5.''' [[Northern Region, Bahrain|Northern Region]]
|-
| | '''6.''' [[Muharraq]]
|-
| | '''7.''' [[Riffa & Southern Region, Bahrain|Rifa and Southern Region]]
|-
| | '''8.''' [[Jidd Haffs]]
|-
| | '''9.''' [[Hamad Town]] (not shown)
|-
| | '''10.''' [[Isa Town]]
|-
| | '''11.''' [[Hawar Islands]]
|-
| | '''12.''' [[Sitra]]
|}
After 3 July 2002, Bahrain was split into five administrative [[governorates]], each of which has its own [[governor]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Decree No.17 for 2002 |url=http://www.capital.gov.bh/pages/pdf/govlawe.pdf |publisher=Capital Governorate |access-date=24 June 2012 |archive-date=8 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108030817/http://www.capital.gov.bh/pages/pdf/govlawe.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> These governorates are:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Map !! Former Governorates
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[File:Governorates of Bahrain.svg|256px]] || '''1.''' [[Capital Governorate, Bahrain|Capital Governorate]]
|-
| | '''2.''' [[Central Governorate, Bahrain|Central Governorate]]
|-
| | '''3.''' [[Muharraq Governorate]]
|-
| | '''4.''' [[Northern Governorate]]
|-
| | '''5.''' [[Southern Governorate]]
|}
{{clear}}

The Central Governorate was abolished in September 2014, its territory divided between the [[Northern Governorate]], [[Southern Governorate]], and [[Capital Governorate, Bahrain|Capital Governorate]]:<ref name="Central Governorate dissolved">{{cite web|url= http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=386389| work =Gulf Daily News | title = Central Governorate dissolved}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Map !! Current Governorates
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[File:New Governorates of Bahrain 2014.svg|256px]] || <span style="background:yellow"> 1</span> – '''[[Capital Governorate, Bahrain|Capital Governorate]]'''
|-
| | <span style="background:#F0DC82"> 2</span> – '''[[Muharraq Governorate]]'''
|-
| | <span style="background:#7bf;"> 3</span> – '''[[Northern Governorate]]'''
|-
| | <span style="background:pink"> 4</span> – '''[[Southern Governorate]]'''
|}

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Bahrain}}
{{Update|section|date=November 2020|reason=}}
[[File:GDP_per_capita_development_in_Bahrain.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|GDP per capita development in Bahrain]]
According to a January 2006 report by the [[United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia]], Bahrain has the fastest-growing economy in the Arab world.<ref name="Ref_2008">[http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7116 Bahrain expected to bustle] Arabian Business, 1 February 2007</ref> Bahrain also has the freest economy in the Middle East and is twelfth-freest overall in the world based on the 2011 ''[[Index of Economic Freedom]]'', published by [[The Heritage Foundation]] and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name="Ref_2011">[http://www.heritage.org/index/ Index of Economic Freedom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629215405/http://www.heritage.org/index/ |date=29 June 2013 }} Heritage Foundation</ref>

In 2008, Bahrain was named the world's fastest-growing financial centre by the City of London's [[Global Financial Centres Index]].<ref>[http://www.hedgefundsreview.com/public/showPage.html?page=744774 Hedge Funds Review] 18 March 2008</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=211833&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=30364 ''Gulf Daily News''] 18 March 2008</ref> Bahrain's banking and financial services sector, particularly [[Islamic banking]], have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil.<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/517455-bahrain-calling |title=Bahrain calling&nbsp;– Banking & Finance |publisher=ArabianBusiness.com |date=25 April 2008 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> Petroleum production and processing is Bahrain's most exported product, accounting for 60% of export receipts, 70% of government revenues, and 11% of [[Gross domestic product|GDP]].<ref name="CIA" /> [[Aluminium Bahrain|Aluminium production]] is the second-most exported product, followed by finance and construction materials.<ref name="CIA" />

[[File:Manama, Bahrain Decembre 2014.jpg|thumb|Manama skyline as viewed from [[Juffair]]]]
[[File:The Avenues - Grand Avenue section.jpg|thumb|upright|A view of the Grand Avenue section of the Avenues]]
[[File:The Avenues - Outside view.jpg|thumb|The view from outside one of the entrance gates at the Avenues]]
Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing price of oil since 1985, for example during and following the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf crisis of 1990–91]]. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to a number of multinational firms and construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude oil, which accounted for 51% of the country's imports in 2007.<ref name="TR">{{Cite book|title=The Report: Bahrain 2010|publisher=Oxford Business Group|isbn=978-1-907065-22-4|pages=12–25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jipEf3jnyIoC&pg=PA25|year=2010}}</ref> In October 2008, the Bahraini government introduced a long-term economic vision for Bahrain known as 'Vision 2030' which aims to transform Bahrain into a diversified and sustainable economy.

In recent years, the government has undertaken several economic reforms in order to improve its financial dependency and also to boost its image as an island tourist destination that is compact, has short travel times and provides a much more authentic Arab experience than the regional economic and tourism powerhouse of Dubai.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leigh-Hewitson |first=Nadia |date=2022-03-29 |title=New beaches and the largest exhibition center in the Middle East: Can Bahrain become a tourist hotspot? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/29/middleeast/bahrain-tourism-waterfront-development-spc-intl/index.html |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=CNN}}</ref> The Avenues is one such example of the recent developments. It is a waterfront facing shopping mall that was opened in October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Avenues |url=https://www.the-avenues.com/bahrain/en/about |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=www.the-avenues.com}}</ref> Bahrain depends heavily on food imports to feed its growing population; it relies heavily on meat imports from Australia and also imports 75% of its total fruit consumption needs.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bahrain fully stocked for Eid al-Adha: official|url=http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/main/2011/11/03/feature-03|access-date=3 October 2012|newspaper=Al Shorfa|date=3 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="DT" />

Since only 2.9% of the country's land is [[arable land|arable]], [[agriculture]] contributes to 0.5% of Bahrain's GDP.<ref name="DT">{{Cite news|title=Bahrain food import bill to zoom 128pc |url=http://www.dt.bh/newsdetails.php?newsid=081111221401&key=301110213629 |access-date=3 October 2012 |newspaper=Daily Tribune |date=9 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000029/http://www.dt.bh/newsdetails.php?newsid=081111221401&key=301110213629 |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref> In 2004, Bahrain signed the [[Bahrain–United States Free Trade Agreement|Bahrain–US Free Trade Agreement]], which will reduce certain trade barriers between the two nations.<ref name="autogenerated8">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14541322 |title=Bahrain profile: Timeline |date=3 October 2012 |work=BBC News |archive-date=2 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002044921/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14541322 |access-date=5 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, due to the combination of the [[global financial crisis]] and the [[Bahraini uprising (2011–present)|recent unrest]], its GDP growth rate decreased to 1.3%, which was the lowest growth rate since 1994.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahrain economy slows to 1.3 pct q/q growth in Q4|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/bahrain-gdp-idUSL6E8EL12B20120321|access-date=29 June 2012|work=Reuters|date=21 March 2012|first=Martin|last=Dokoupil}}</ref> The country's public debt in 2020 is $44.5 billion, or 130% of GDP. It is expected to rise to 155 per cent of GDP in 2026, according to IMF estimates. The [[military expenditure]] is the main reason for this increase in debt.<ref name="mondediplo1">{{cite web |date=1 November 2021 |title=حکومت پادشاهی ای که با مشت آهنین بر بحرین حکومت می کند, بوسيله‌ىنویسنده Marc PELLAS برگردان شروين احمدي (Le Monde diplomatique – لوموند ديپلوماتيك, نوامبر 2021 ) |url=https://ir.mondediplo.com/2021/11/article3894.html |access-date=22 February 2022 |publisher=Ir.mondediplo.com}}</ref>

Access to [[biocapacity]] in Bahrain is much lower than the world average. In 2016, Bahrain had 0.52 global hectares <ref name="footprintdata">{{cite web|url=http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=13&type=BCpc,EFCpc|title=Country Trends|publisher=Global Footprint Network|access-date= 24 June 2020}}</ref> of biocapacity per person within its territory, much less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=David|last2=Hanscom|first2=Laurel|last3=Murthy|first3=Adeline|last4=Galli|first4=Alessandro|last5=Evans|first5=Mikel|last6=Neill|first6=Evan|last7=Mancini|first7=MariaSerena|last8=Martindill|first8=Jon|last9=Medouar|first9=FatimeZahra|last10=Huang|first10=Shiyu|last11=Wackernagel
|first11=Mathis|date=2018|title=Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018|journal=Resources|language=en|volume=7|issue=3|page=58|doi=10.3390/resources7030058|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2016, Bahrain used 8.6 global hectares of biocapacity per person – their [[ecological footprint]] of consumption. This means they use 16.5 times as much biocapacity as Bahrain contains. As a result, Bahrain is running a biocapacity deficit.<ref name="footprintdata" />

Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. In 2008, the jobless figure was at 4%,<ref name="Ref_2008a">{{cite news |url=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=225349&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31137 |title=Local News » JOBLESS RATE 3.8PC |newspaper=Gulf Daily News |date=4 August 2008 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref> with women overrepresented at 85% of the total.<ref name="Ref_2008b">{{cite web |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/August/middleeast_August80.xml&section=middleeast&col= |title=Khaleej Times Online&nbsp;– 85pc unemployed in Bahrain are females |publisher=Khaleejtimes.com |date=4 August 2008 |access-date=27 June 2010 |archive-date=9 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109105447/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data%2Fmiddleeast%2F2008%2FAugust%2Fmiddleeast_August80.xml&section=middleeast&col= |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2007 Bahrain became the first Arab country to institute [[unemployment benefits]] as part of a series of labour reforms instigated under Minister of Labour, [[Majeed Al Alawi]].<ref>[http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/06/22/10134049.html Minister lashes out at parties opposed to unemployment benefit scheme] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218153535/http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/06/22/10134049.html |date=18 December 2007 }} ''Gulf News'', 22 June 2007</ref>

As of Q4 2022, total employment in Bahrain stood at 746,145 workers. This included both Bahraini and Non-Bahraini workers. These employment levels represented a full recovery of employment since the downturn caused by the COVID pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain Labour Market Indicators|url=https://blmi.lmra.gov.bh/2022/12/mi_dashboard.xml|publisher=Kingdom of Bahrain Labour Market Regulatory Authority|access-date=3 July 2023}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in Bahrain}}
[[File:Muharraq and Manama.jpg|thumb|left|The cities of [[Muharraq]] (''foreground'') and [[Manama]] (background)]]
[[File:Muharraq Blick nach Manama 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Muharraq]] [[Manama]]]]

As a tourist destination, Bahrain received over eleven million visitors in 2019.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=International tourism in ASEAN by number of arrivals, 2000–14 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933443717 |access-date=2022-12-24 |doi=10.1787/888933443717 }}</ref> Most of these are from the surrounding Arab states, although an increasing number hail from outside the region due to growing awareness of the kingdom's heritage and partly due to its higher profile as a result of the [[Bahrain Grand Prix]].

The kingdom combines modern Arab culture and the archaeological legacy of five thousand years of civilisation. The island is home to forts including [[Qalat Al Bahrain]] which has been listed by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]]. The [[Bahrain National Museum]] has artefacts from the country's history dating back to the island's first human inhabitants some 9000 years ago and the [[Beit Al Quran]] (Arabic: بيت القرآن, meaning: the House of Qur'an) is a museum that holds Islamic artefacts of the [[Qur'an]]. Some of the popular historical tourist attractions in the kingdom are the [[Al Khamis Mosque]], which is one of the oldest mosques in the region, the [[Arad fort]] in Muharraq, [[Barbar temple]], which is an ancient temple from the Dilmunite period of Bahrain, as well as the [[Dilmun Burial Mounds|A'ali Burial Mounds]] and the [[Sar, Bahrain|Saar]] temple.<ref>{{cite web|title=Popular Attractions|url=http://www.bahrainguide.org/BG2/popularattractions.html|publisher=Bahrain Guide|access-date=5 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923132143/http://www.bahrainguide.org/BG2/popularattractions.html|archive-date=23 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Tree of Life, Bahrain|Tree of Life]], a 400-year-old tree that grows in the [[Sakhir]] desert with no nearby water, is also a popular tourist attraction.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tree of Life, Bahrain |date=20 May 2012 |url=http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/Bahrain/Southern/TreeOfLife.htm |publisher=Wondermondo |access-date=25 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818220106/http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/Bahrain/Southern/TreeOfLife.htm |archive-date=18 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Tree_of_Life_Bahrain.jpg|thumb|The [[Tree of Life, Bahrain|Tree of Life]], a 9.75 meter high [[Prosopis cineraria]] tree that is over 400 years old]]

[[Bird watching]] (primarily in the [[Hawar Islands]]), [[scuba diving]], and [[horse riding]] are popular tourist activities in Bahrain. Many tourists from nearby Saudi Arabia and across the region visit Manama primarily for the [[shopping malls]] in the capital Manama, such as the [[Bahrain City Centre]] and [[Seef Mall]] in the [[Seef]] district of Manama. The [[Manama Souq]] and ''Gold Souq'' in the old district of [[Manama]] are also popular with tourists.<ref name=MoFA>{{cite web|title=Tourism|url=http://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=134|publisher=Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=25 June 2012}}</ref>

In January 2019 the state-run Bahrain News Agency announced the summer 2019 opening of an underwater theme park covering about 100,000 square meters with a sunken [[Boeing 747]] as the site's centrepiece. The project is a partnership between the Supreme Council for Environment, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), and private investors. Bahrain hopes scuba divers from around the world will visit the underwater park, which will also include artificial [[coral reef]]s, a copy of a Bahraini pearl merchant's house, and sculptures.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/boeing-jet-underwater-park-bahrain/index.html|title=Underwater theme park opening in Bahrain|first=Francesca |last=Street|date=23 January 2019|website=CNN Travel|language=en|access-date=23 January 2019}}</ref> The park is intended to become the world's largest eco-friendly underwater theme park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/worlds-largest-underwater-theme-park-coming|title=The World's Largest Underwater Theme Park Is Coming to Bahrain|website=Travel + Leisure|language=en|access-date=25 January 2019}}</ref>

Since 2005, Bahrain hosts an annual festival in March, titled ''Spring of Culture'', which features internationally renowned musicians and artists performing in concerts.<ref name=TA>{{cite web|title=Bahrain's 'Spring of Culture Festival' opens|url=http://www.tradearabia.com/news/ttn_213478.html|publisher=TradeArabia|access-date=25 June 2012}}</ref> Manama was named the [[Arab Capital of Culture]] for 2012 and ''Capital of Arab Tourism'' for 2013 by the Arab League and Asian Tourism for 2014 with the Gulf Capital of Tourism for 2016 by The Gulf Cooperation Council. The 2012 festival featured concerts starring [[Andrea Bocelli]], [[Julio Iglesias]] and other musicians.<ref name=TOB>{{cite web|title=Bahrain Spring of Culture 2012|url=http://www.timeoutbahrain.com/aroundtown/features/30520-bahrain-spring-of-culture-2012|publisher=TimeOutBahrain|access-date=25 June 2012}}</ref>

=== Value Added Tax (VAT) ===
The Kingdom of Bahrain introduced the Value Added Tax with effect from 1 January 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatcalc.com/bahrain/bahrain-introduces-5-vat-regime-jan-2019/ |title=Bahrain introduces 5% VAT regime Jan 2019 |website=VAT Calc |last=Asquith |first=Richard |date=24 January 2019 |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref> This is a multipoint tax on the sale of goods and services in Kingdom of Bahrain. This has been managed by the government through the national bureau of revenue. The ultimate burden of this tax is passed on the consumer. To start with the maximum rate of VAT was 5% which is increased to 10% with effect from 1 January 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatcalc.com/bahrain/bahrain-vat-rises-to-10-from-5-2022-implementation-guidance/ |title=Bahrain VAT rises to 10% from 5% 2022 – implementation guidance |website=VAT Calc |last=Asquith |first=Richard |date=1 January 2022 |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref> The government of Bahrain is assuring compliance through high penalties on defaults and tighter audits. This first of its kind VAT has invited qualified chartered accounting firms mainly from India to advise on VAT matters. Firms like KPMG, KeyPoint, Assure Consulting and APMH have set up offices looking at the need for consulting in this domain of VAT.

== Infrastructure ==
{{Main|Transport in Bahrain}}
[[File:Bahrain International Airport (New Terminal).jpg|thumb|The new terminal of the Bahrain International Airport]]
Bahrain has one main [[international airport]], the [[Bahrain International Airport]] (BAH) which is located on the island of [[Muharraq Island|Muharraq]], in the north-east. The airport handled almost 100,000 flights and more than 9.5 million passengers in 2019.<ref name="Stats 2019">{{cite web |title=2019 Airport Statistics |url=https://mtt.gov.bh/sites/default/files/infograph-attachments/dec_2019.pdf |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority |access-date=15 March 2020}}</ref> On January 28, 2021, Bahrain opened its new airport terminal as part of its economic vision 2030.<ref name="english.alarabiya.net">{{Cite web |date=2021-01-10 |title=Bahrain airport's new passenger terminal to open January 28 |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/business/economy/2021/01/10/Bahrain-airport-s-new-passenger-terminal-to-open-January-28 |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en}}</ref> The new airport terminal is capable of handling 14 million passengers and is a big boost to the country's aviation sector.<ref name="english.alarabiya.net"/> Bahrain's national carrier, [[Gulf Air]] operates and bases itself in the BIA.
[[File:King Fahd causeway satellite.png|thumb|The [[King Fahd Causeway]] as seen from space]]
Bahrain has a well-developed [[Road transport in Bahrain|road network]], particularly in Manama. The discovery of oil in the early 1930s accelerated the creation of multiple roads and [[highways]] in Bahrain, connecting several isolated villages, such as [[Budaiya]], to Manama.<ref name=Yasser>{{Cite book |last=Elsheshtawy |first=Yasser |year=2008 |title=The evolving Arab city: tradition, modernity and urban development |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8Zz-2AtuIwC|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-12821-1 |page=198}}</ref>

To the east, a bridge connected [[Manama]] to [[Muharraq Island|Muharraq]] since 1929, a new causeway was built in 1941 which replaced the old wooden bridge.<ref name=Yasser /> Currently there are three modern bridges connecting the two locations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=326003 |title=Seaview blow for Manama |author=Al A'Ali, Mohammed |date=18 March 2012 |work=Gulf Daily News |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000032/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=326003 |access-date=3 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Transits between the two islands peaked after the construction of the Bahrain International Airport in 1932.<ref name=Yasser /> [[Ring roads]] and highways were later built to connect Manama to the villages of the [[Northern Governorate]] and towards towns in central and southern Bahrain.

The four main islands and all the towns and villages are linked by well-constructed roads. There were {{convert|3164|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of roadways in 2002, of which {{convert|2433|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} were paved. A [[causeway]] stretching over {{convert|2.8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, connect Manama with [[Muharraq Island]], and another bridge joins [[Sitra]] to the main island. The [[King Fahd Causeway]], measuring {{convert|24|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, links Bahrain with the Saudi Arabian mainland via the island of [[Umm an-Nasan]]. It was completed in December 1986, and financed by [[Saudi Arabia]]. In 2008, there were 17,743,495 passengers transiting through the causeway.<ref>{{cite web|title=Passenger Statistics|url=http://www.kfca.com.sa/en/pages.aspx?pageid=288|publisher=King Fahd Causeway Authority|access-date=25 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117001527/http://www.kfca.com.sa/en/pages.aspx?pageid=288|archive-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> A second causeway, which will have both road and rail connection, between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia called 'King Hamad Causeway' is currently being discussed and is in the planning phase.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-06-14 |title=Saudi and Bahrain planning new road and rail causeway |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-bahrain-causeway-idINKBN1951HZ |access-date=2023-06-07}}</ref>

Bahrain's port of [[Mina Salman]] is the main [[seaport]] of the country and consists of 15 [[berth (moorings)|berths]].<ref name=autogenerated9>{{cite web|title=Logistics and Infrastructure |url=http://www.bahrainedb.com/logistics-infrastructure.aspx |publisher=Bahrain Economic Development Board |access-date=4 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624222702/http://www.bahrainedb.com/logistics-infrastructure.aspx |archive-date=24 June 2012 }}</ref> In 2001, Bahrain had a merchant fleet of eight ships of 1,000 [[Gross Tonnage|GT]] or over, totaling 270,784 GT.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain – Transportation |url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Bahrain-TRANSPORTATION.html |publisher=Encyclopedia of the Nations |access-date=5 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622231954/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Bahrain-TRANSPORTATION.html |url-status=live |archive-date=22 June 2006 }}</ref> Private vehicles and taxis are the primary means of transportation in the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Getting around Bahrain|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bahrain/manama/transport/getting-around|publisher=Lonely Planet|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref> A [[Bahrain Metro|nationwide metro system]] is currently under construction and is due to be operational by 2025.

=== Telecommunications ===
{{Main|Telecommunications in Bahrain|Internet in Bahrain}}
The [[telecommunications]] sector in Bahrain officially started in 1981 with the establishment of Bahrain's first telecommunications company, [[Batelco]] and until 2004, it [[monopoly|monopolised]] the sector. In 1981, there were more than 45,000 telephones in use in the country. By 1999, Batelco had more than 100,000 mobile contracts.<ref name=RE>{{Cite book|title=Report: Bahrain 2008|year=2008|page=153|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHmo2jjjb2AC&pg=PA153|isbn=978-1-902339-97-9|publisher=Oxford Business }}</ref> In 2002, under pressure from international bodies, Bahrain implemented its telecommunications law which included the establishment of an independent ''[[Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain|Telecommunications Regulatory Authority]]'' (TRA).<ref name=RE /> In 2004, [[Zain Group|Zain]] (a rebranded version of [[MTC Vodafone]]) started operations in Bahrain and in 2010 [[VIVA Bahrain|VIVA]] (owned by [[Saudi Telecom Company|STC]] Group) became the third company to provide mobile services.<ref>{{Cite news|title=VIVA subscribers surge|url=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=273916|work=Gulf Daily News|access-date=4 July 2012}}</ref>

Bahrain has been connected to the internet since 1995 with the country's [[domain suffix]] is '[[.bh]]'. The country's connectivity score (a statistic which measures both Internet access and fixed and mobile telephone lines) is 210.4 per cent per person, while the regional average in [[Arab States of the Persian Gulf]] is 135.37 per cent.<ref>{{cite web|title=Arab Advisors Group reveals Bahrain's communications connectivity leading the region (press release) |url=http://www.ameinfo.com/165459.html |publisher=[[AMEinfo]] |access-date=12 September 2011 |date=5 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607063909/http://www.ameinfo.com/165459.html |archive-date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> The number of Bahraini [[internet users]] has risen from 40,000 in 2000<ref>{{cite web|title=ITU Internet Indicators 2000|url=http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportName=%2FWTI%2FInformationTechnologyPublic&ReportFormat=HTML4.0&RP_intYear=2000&RP_intLanguageID=1&RP_bitLiveData=False|publisher=[[International Telecommunication Union]]|access-date=12 September 2011|archive-date=7 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607230605/http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportName=%2FWTI%2FInformationTechnologyPublic&ReportFormat=HTML4.0&RP_intYear=2000&RP_intLanguageID=1&RP_bitLiveData=False|url-status=dead}}</ref> to 250,000 in 2008,<ref>{{cite web|title=ITU Internet Indicators 2008|url=http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportName=/WTI/InformationTechnologyPublic&ReportFormat=HTML4.0&RP_intYear=2008&RP_intLanguageID=1&RP_bitLiveData=False|publisher=[[International Telecommunication Union]]|access-date=12 September 2011|archive-date=4 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104214021/http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportName=/WTI/InformationTechnologyPublic&ReportFormat=HTML4.0&RP_intYear=2008&RP_intLanguageID=1&RP_bitLiveData=False|url-status=dead}}</ref> or from 5.95 to 33 per cent of the population. {{as of|2013|August|}}, the TRA has licensed 22 [[Internet Service Providers]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Market Information – No. of Licenses Issued |url=http://www.tra.org.bh/en/marketLicenses.aspx |access-date=29 August 2013 |publisher=Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Kingdom of Bahrain) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515151105/http://www.tra.org.bh/EN/marketLicenses.aspx |archive-date=15 May 2013 }}</ref>

== Science and technology ==

=== Policy framework ===
The ''Bahraini Economic Vision 2030'' published in 2008 does not indicate how the stated goal of shifting from an economy built on oil wealth to a productive, globally competitive economy will be attained. Bahrain has already diversified its exports to some extent, out of necessity. It has the smallest hydrocarbon reserves of any Persian Gulf state, producing 48,000 barrels per day from its one onshore field.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Salacanin|first=S.|date=February 2015|title=Oil and gas reserves: how long will they last?|journal=Bq Magazine}}</ref> The bulk of the country's revenue comes from its share in the offshore field administered by Saudi Arabia. The gas reserve in Bahrain is expected to last for less than 27 years, leaving the country with few sources of capital to pursue the development of new industries. Investment in research and development remained very low in 2013.<ref name=":0" />

Apart from the Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Council, the two main hives of activity in science, technology, and innovation are the University of Bahrain (established in 1986) and the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International, and Energy Studies. The latter was founded in 2009 to undertake research with a focus on strategic security and energy issues to encourage new thinking and influence policymaking.<ref name=":0" />

=== New infrastructure for science and education ===
Bahrain hopes to build a science culture within the kingdom and to encourage technological innovation, among other goals. In 2013, the Bahrain Science Centre was launched as an interactive educational facility targeting 6- to 18-year-olds. The topics covered by current exhibitions include junior engineering, human health, the five senses, Earth sciences and biodiversity.<ref name=":0" />

In April 2014, Bahrain launched its National Space Science Agency. The agency has been working to ratify international space-related agreements such as the [[Outer Space Treaty]], the Rescue Agreement, the [[Space Liability Convention]], the Registration Convention and the Moon Agreement. The agency plans to establish infrastructure for the observation of both outer space and the Earth.<ref name=":0" />

In November 2008, an agreement was signed to establish a Regional Centre for Information and Communication Technology in Manama under the auspices of UNESCO. The aim is to establish a knowledge hub for the six-member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In March 2012, the centre hosted two high-level workshops on ICTs and education. In 2013, Bahrain topped the Arab world for internet penetration (90% of the population), trailed by the United Arab Emirates (86%) and Qatar (85%). Just half of Bahrainis and Qataris (53%) and two-thirds of those in the United Arab Emirates (64%) had access in 2009.<ref name=":0" />

=== Investment in education and research ===
In 2012, the government devoted 2.6% of GDP to education, one of the lowest ratios in the Arab world. This ratio was on a par with investment in education in Lebanon and higher only than that in Qatar (2.4% in 2008) and Sudan (2.2% in 2009).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf|title=UNESCO Science Report|publisher=UNESCO|year=2015|isbn=978-92-3-100129-1|location=Paris}}</ref> Bahrain was ranked 67th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=www.wipo.int |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |language=en}}</ref>

Bahrain invests little in research and development. In 2009 and 2013, this investment reportedly amounted to 0.04% of GDP, although the data were incomplete, covering only the higher education sector. The lack of comprehensive data on research and development poses a challenge for policymakers, as data inform evidence-based policymaking.<ref name=":0" />

The available data for researchers in 2013 cover only the higher education sector. Here, the number of researchers is equivalent to 50 per million inhabitants, compared to a global average for all employment sectors of 1,083 per million.<ref name=":0" />

The [[University of Bahrain]] had over 20,000 students in 2014, 65% of whom are women, and around 900 faculty members, 40% of whom are women. From 1986 to 2014, university staff published 5,500 papers and books. The university spent about US$11 million per year on research in 2014, which was conducted by a contingent of 172 men and 128 women. Women thus made up 43% of researchers at the [[University of Bahrain]] in 2014.<ref name=":0" />

Bahrain was one of 11 Arab states which counted a majority of female university graduates in science and engineering in 2014. Women accounted for 66% of graduates in natural sciences, 28% of those in engineering and 77% of those in health and welfare. It is harder to judge the contribution of women to research, as the data for 2013 only cover the higher education sector.<ref name=":0" />

=== Trends in research output ===
In 2014, Bahraini scientists published 155 articles in internationally catalogued journals, according to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded). This corresponds to 15 articles per million inhabitants, compared to a global average of 176 per million inhabitants in 2013. Scientific output has risen slowly from 93 articles in 2005 and remains modest. By 2014, only Mauritania and Palestine had a smaller output in this database among Arab states.<ref>{{cite web|title=United Arab Emirates Mobile Number Database|url=https://numberdatabase.jimdofree.com/united-arab-emirates-mobile-number-database/|access-date=9 December 2020|website=numberdatabase|language=en-US|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813034108/https://numberdatabase.jimdofree.com/united-arab-emirates-mobile-number-database/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Between 2008 and 2014, Bahraini scientists collaborated most with their peers from Saudi Arabia (137 articles), followed by Egypt (101), the United Kingdom (93), the United States (89) and Tunisia (75).<ref name=":0" />

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Bahrain}}
[[File:Joining in prayer - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|Bahrainis observing public prayers in Manama]]
[[File:Manama Souq (Traditional marketplace).jpg|thumb|Manama Souq on Bahrain National Day ]]
In 2010, Bahrain's population grew to 1.2 million, of which 568,399 were Bahraini and 666,172 were non-nationals.<ref name="2010-census">{{cite web|title=General Tables|url=http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320104234/http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php|archive-date=20 March 2012|access-date=3 March 2012|publisher=Bahraini 2020}}</ref> It had risen from 1.05 million (517,368 non-nationals) in 2007, the year when Bahrain's population crossed the one million mark.<ref name="Ref_2008c">{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-s-population-crossed-1m-in-december-1.86848|title=Bahrain's population crossed 1&nbsp;m in December|publisher=Gulfnews.com|date=28 February 2008|access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> Though a majority of the population is Middle Eastern, a sizeable number of people from South Asia live in the country. In 2008, approximately 290,000 [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian nationals]] lived in Bahrain, making them the single largest expatriate community in the country, the majority of which hail from the south Indian state of [[Kerala]].<ref name="Ref_2008d">{{cite web|url=http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=222148 |title=290,000 Indians in Bahrain |publisher=Gulf-daily-news.com |date=5 July 2008 |access-date=27 June 2010}}</ref><ref name="IndEmb">{{cite web |url=http://www.indianembassybahrain.com/indian_community.html |title=Indian Community |publisher=Indian Embassy |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307050746/http://www.indianembassybahrain.com/indian_community.html |archive-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bahrain is the fourth [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density|most densely populated sovereign state in the world]] with a population density of 1,646 people per km<sup>2</sup> in 2010.<ref name="2010-census" /> The only sovereign states with larger population densities are [[city states]]. Much of this population is concentrated in the north of the country with the [[Southern Governorate]] being the least densely populated part.<ref name="2010-census" /> The north of the country is so urbanized that it is considered by some to be one large [[metropolitan area]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-33&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130209131324/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-33&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 February 2013 |title= Bahrain: metropolitan areas |publisher=World Gazetteer}}</ref>

=== Ethnic groups ===
{{Main|Bahrani people|Ethnic, cultural and religious groups of Bahrain}}
Bahraini people are ethnically diverse. Shia Bahrainis are divided into two main ethnic groups: [[Baharna]] and [[Ajam of Bahrain|Ajam]]. The Shia Bahrainis are [[Baharna]] (Arab), and the [[Ajam of Bahrain|Ajam]] are [[Persians|Persian]] Shias. Shia Persians form large communities in Manama and Muharraq. A small minority of Shia Bahrainis are ethnic Hasawis from [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Al-Hasa]].

Sunni Bahrainis are mainly divided into two main ethnic groups: Arabs (al Arab) and [[Huwala]]. Sunni Arabs are the most influential ethnic group in Bahrain. They hold most government positions and the [[Al Khalifa|Bahraini monarchy]] are Sunni Arabs. Sunni Arabs have traditionally lived in areas such as Zallaq, Muharraq, Riffa and Hawar islands. The Huwala are descendants of Sunni Iranians; some of them are Sunni Persians,<ref name=mig>{{cite web |url=https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |title=Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait |work=[[Newcastle University]] |year=2010 |page=11 |access-date=20 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019130212/https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bJLjAKH7-rIC&pg=PA135 Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary]. Clive Holes. 2001. Page 135. {{ISBN|90-04-10763-0}}</ref> while others Sunni Arabs.<ref>Rentz, "al- Baḥrayn.":</ref><ref>Rentz, G. "al- Kawāsim." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. 15 March 2008 [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-4036]{{dead link|date=December 2021|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> There are also Sunnis of [[Baloch people|Baloch]] origin. Most African Bahrainis come from [[East Africa]] and have traditionally lived in Muharraq Island and Riffa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoteltravel.com/bahrain/manama/bahrains-rainbow-nation.htm|title=Bahrain's Rainbow Nation in Manama|publisher=HotelTravel.com|access-date=20 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227153823/http://www.hoteltravel.com/bahrain/manama/bahrains-rainbow-nation.htm|archive-date=27 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Freedom of religion in Bahrain}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Bahrain (2020) by Pew Research<ref name="pew">[http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/bahrain/religious_demography Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Bahrain]. [[Pew Research Center]]. 2020.</ref>
|label1 = [[Islam in Bahrain|Islam]]
|value1 = 69.7
|color1 = Green
|label2 = [[Christianity in Bahrain|Christianity]]
|value2 = 14.1
|color2 = Blue
|label3 = [[Hinduism in Arab states|Hinduism]]
|value3 = 10.2
|color3 = Orange
|label4 = [[Buddhism in the Middle East|Buddhism]]
|value4 = 3.1
|color4 = Yellow
|label5 = [[History of the Jews in Bahrain|Jewish]]
|value5 = 0.002
|color5 = Pink
|label6 = [[Demographics of Bahrain#Religion|Other]]
|value6 = 0.9
|color6 = Grey
|label7 = Unaffiliated
|value7 = 2
|color7 = Black
}}

The state religion of Bahrain is [[Islam in Bahrain|Islam]] and most Bahrainis are Muslim. The majority of Bahraini Muslims are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] according to official data as of 2021.<ref>[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]: [http://www.aljazeera.net/news/reportsandinterviews/2011/7/4/%d9%88%d8%ab%d9%8a%d9%82%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d9%8a%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%a3%d9%82%d9%84-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d8%b5%d9%81 ''وثيقة بحرينية: الشيعة أقل من النصف''], 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021</ref> It used to be one of three countries in the [[Middle East]] in which Shiites were the majority, the other two nations being [[Iraq]] and [[Iran]].<ref name="BBCShia">{{cite news|series=Mapping the Global Muslim Population |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25434060|title=Sunnis and Shia in the Middle East|date=19 December 2013|work=BBC News}}</ref> Public surveys are rare in Bahrain, but the [[United States Department of State|US department of state]]'s report on religious freedom in Bahrain estimated that Shias constituted approximately 55% of Bahrain's citizen population in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/bahrain/|access-date=23 April 2021|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> The royal family and most Bahrani elites are Sunni.<ref name="Pollock">{{cite web|author=David Pollock|date=20 November 2017|title=Sunnis and Shia in Bahrain: New Survey Shows Both Conflict and Consensus|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/sunnis-and-shia-in-bahrain-new-survey-shows-both-conflict-and-consensus|work=Fikra Forum|publisher=[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]}}</ref> The country's two Muslim communities are united on some issues, but disagree sharply on others.<ref name="Pollock" /> Shia have often complained of being politically repressed and economically marginalized in Bahrain; as a result, most of the protestors in the [[Bahraini uprising of 2011]] were Shia.<ref>{{cite web|newspaper=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/51472a00-9b26-11e8-88de-49c908b1f264|title=Shia complain of exclusion from Bahrain's political process|date=3 October 2018|author=Andrew England}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|newspaper=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/f9691dac-bb64-11e8-94b2-17176fbf93f5|title=Bahrain's Shia loath to give Sunni rulers election credibility|date=1 October 2018|author=Andrew England & Simeon Kerr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/11/24/an-unfair-election-in-bahrain-will-not-satisfy-the-shia-majority|title=An unfair election in Bahrain will not satisfy the Shia majority|newspaper=Economist|date=22 November 2018}}</ref>
[[File:National Evangelical Church Manama.jpg|left|thumb|National Evangelical Church, Manama]]
[[File:Shrinathji Temple.jpg|left|thumb|The Shrinathji temple in Manama]]
[[Christianity in Bahrain|Christians in Bahrain]] make up about 14.5% of the population.<ref name="2010-census" /> There is a native [[Christianity in Bahrain|Christian community in Bahrain]]. Non-Muslim Bahraini residents numbered 367,683 per the 2010 census, most of whom are Christians.<ref name="2010Census">{{cite web|url=http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php|title=2010 Census Results|access-date=15 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320104234/http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php|archive-date=20 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Expatriate Christians make up the majority of Christians in Bahrain, while native Christian Bahrainis (who hold Bahraini citizenship) make up a smaller community. Native Christians who hold Bahraini citizenship number approximately 1,000 persons.<ref name="2010Census" /> [[Alees Samaan]], a former Bahraini ambassador to the United Kingdom is a native Christian. Bahrain also has a native [[History of the Jews in Bahrain|Jewish community]] numbering thirty-seven Bahraini citizens.<ref name="Yaar">{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140873 |title=King of Bahrain Appoints Jewish Woman to Parliament |author=Chana Ya'ar |publisher=Arutz Sheva |date=28 November 2010 |access-date=28 November 2010}}</ref> Various sources cite Bahrain's native Jewish community as being from 36 to 50 people.<ref>{{cite news |title= Bahrain defends contacts with US Jewish body |author=Habib Toumi |url=http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10115853.html |newspaper=gulfnews.com |date=4 April 2007 }}</ref> According to Bahraini writer Nancy Khedouri, the Jewish community of Bahrain is one of the youngest in the world, having its origins in the migration of a few families to the island from then-Iraq and then-Iran in the late 1880s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khedouri, Nancy Elly.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/164870788|title=From our beginning to present day--|date=2007|publisher=Al Manar Press|isbn=978-99901-26-04-4|location=Bahrain|oclc=164870788}}</ref> There is also a Hindu community on the island. They constitute the third largest religious group. The [[Shrinathji Temple, Bahrain|Shrinathji temple]] located in old Manama is the oldest Hindu temple in the GCC and the Arab world. It is over 200 years old and was built by the Thattai Hindu community in 1817<ref>{{Cite web |last=chaitanyesh.dr |title=Bahrain: PM Modi visits 200-year-old Shreenathji Temple in Manama; launches project worth $ 4.2 million |url=https://www.mynation.com/india-news/bahrain-pm-modi-visits-200-year-old-shreenathji-temple-in-manama-launches-project-worth-4-2-million-pwsgev |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd |language=en}}</ref>.

According to the 2001 census, 81.2% of Bahrain's population was Muslim, 10% were Christian, and 9.8% practised [[Hinduism in Arab states|Hinduism]] or [[Demographics of Bahrain#Religion|other religions]].<ref name="CIA" /> The 2010 census records that the Muslim proportion had fallen to 70.2% (the 2010 census did not differentiate between the non-Muslim religions).<ref name="2010-census" />

=== Languages{{anchor|Language}} ===
[[Arabic language|Arabic]] is the official language of Bahrain, though English is widely used.<ref name="BO">{{cite web|title=Bahrain: Languages|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/49072/Bahrain/256652/Languages|publisher=Britannica Online|access-date=28 June 2012}}</ref> [[Bahrani Arabic]] is the most widely spoken dialect of the Arabic language, though it differs widely from standard Arabic, like all Arabic dialects. Arabic plays an important role in political life, as, according to [[s:Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain (2002)|article 57 (c)]] of Bahrain's constitution, an MP must be fluent in Arabic to stand for parliament.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain 2002 (rev. 2012)|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Bahrain_2012?lang=en|website=Constitute|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> In addition, [[Balochi language|Balochi]] is the second largest and widely spoken language in Bahrain.The Baloch are fluent in Arabic and Balochi. Among the Bahraini and non-Bahraini population, many people speak [[Persian language|Persian]], the official language of Iran, or [[Urdu]], an official language in Pakistan and a regional language in India.<ref name="BO" /> [[Nepali language|Nepali]] is also widely spoken in the [[Gurkha|Nepalese workers and Gurkha Soldiers]] community. [[Malayalam]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Bangla language|Bangla]] and [[Hindi language|Hindi]] are spoken among significant Indian communities.<ref name="BO" /> All commercial institutions and road signs are [[bilingual sign|bilingual]], displaying both English and Arabic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Living in Bahrain|url=http://www.britishschoolbahrain.com/default.asp?action=category&id=132|publisher=BSB|access-date=28 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624205759/http://www.britishschoolbahrain.com/default.asp?action=category&id=132|archive-date=24 June 2012}}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Bahrain}}
{{See also|List of universities in Bahrain}}
[[File:University students Bahrain.jpg|right|thumb|Female students at the [[University of Bahrain]] dressed in traditional garb]]
Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain's Education System|url=http://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=7741|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=17 June 2012}}</ref> Education is free for Bahraini citizens in [[State school|public schools]], with the Bahraini [[Ministry of Education (Bahrain)|Ministry of Education]] providing free textbooks. [[Coeducation]] is not used in public schools, with boys and girls segregated into separate schools.<ref>{{cite web|title=Education in Bahrain|url=http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/education/general.aspx|publisher=Ministry of Education Bahrain|access-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117030721/http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/education/general.aspx|archive-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century, Qur'anic schools (''[[Kuttab]]'') were the only form of education in Bahrain.<ref name=MoE /> They were traditional schools aimed at teaching children and youth the reading of the [[Qur'an]]. After [[World War I]], Bahrain became open to western influences, and a demand for modern educational institutions appeared. 1919 marked the beginning of modern public school system in Bahrain when the Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia School for boys opened in [[Muharraq]].<ref name=MoE /> In 1926, the Education Committee opened the second public school for boys in [[Manama]], and in 1928 the first public school for girls was opened in Muharraq.<ref name=MoE>{{cite web|title=History of Education in Bahrain |url=http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/history/Index.aspx |publisher=Ministry of Education, Bahrain |access-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118203321/http://www.moe.gov.bh/en/history/Index.aspx |archive-date=18 January 2013 }}</ref> {{As of|2011}}, there are a total of 126,981 students studying in public schools.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statistics for the academic year 2011/2012|url=http://www.moe.gov.bh/archive/statistics/2011/st_class_gov.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Education, Bahrain|access-date=28 June 2012}}</ref>

In 2004, King [[Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa]] introduced the "King Hamad Schools of Future" project that uses Information Communication Technology to support [[K–12 education]] in Bahrain.<ref>{{cite web|title=King Hamad's Schools of Future project|url=http://www.moe.gov.bh/khsfp/khsfpdoc/future-eng.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Education, Bahrain|access-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916080753/http://www.moe.gov.bh/khsfp/khsfpdoc/future-eng.pdf|archive-date=16 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The project's objective is to connect all schools within the kingdom with the Internet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Education|url=http://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=132&language=en-US|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain|access-date=28 June 2012}}</ref> In addition to British intermediate schools, the island is served by the [[Bahrain School]] (BS). The BS is a [[United States Department of Defense]] school that provides a K-12 curriculum including [[International Baccalaureate]] offerings. There are also private schools that offer either the [[IB Diploma Programme]] or United Kingdom's [[A-Levels]].

Bahrain also encourages institutions of higher learning, drawing on expatriate talent and the increasing pool of Bahrain nationals returning from abroad with advanced degrees. The [[University of Bahrain]] was established for standard undergraduate and graduate study, and the [[King Abdulaziz University College of Health Sciences]], operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health, trains [[physician]]s, [[Nursing|nurses]], [[pharmacist]]s and [[paramedic]]s. The 2001 National Action Charter paved the way for the formation of private universities such as the [[Ahlia University]] in Manama and [[University College of Bahrain]] in [[Saar, Bahrain|Saar]]. The Royal University for Women (RUW), established in 2005, was the first private, purpose-built, international university in Bahrain dedicated solely to educating women. The [[University of London]] External has appointed MCG (Management Consultancy Group) as the regional representative office in Bahrain for distance learning programmes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Management Consultancy Group – Bahrain|url=http://www.infobahrain.com/Management_Consultancy_Group_2679_7.html|publisher=InfoBahrain|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000028/http://www.infobahrain.com/Management_Consultancy_Group_2679_7.html|archive-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> MCG is one of the oldest private institutes in the country. Institutes have also opened which educate South Asian students, such as the [[Pakistan Urdu School, Bahrain]] and the [[Indian School, Bahrain]]. A few prominent institutions are the [[American University of Bahrain]] established in 2019,<ref>{{cite web|date=18 March 2019|title=Startup MGZN – Bahrain has a new university in town – The American University of Bahrain|url=https://www.startupmgzn.com/english/news/bahrain-has-a-new-university-in-town-the-american-university-of-bahrain/|access-date=24 August 2020|website=Startup MGZN|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance]], the Ernst & Young Training Institute, and the [[Birla Institute of Technology International Centre]]. In 2004, the [[Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland]] (RCSI) set up a constituent [[RCSI-Bahrain|medical university]] in the country. In addition to the [[Arabian Gulf University]], [[AMA International University]] and the [[College of Health Sciences, Bahrain|College of Health Sciences]], these are the only medical schools in Bahrain.

=== Health ===
{{Main|Health in Bahrain|Healthcare in Bahrain}}
[[File:IHB Ambulance.jpg|thumb|Ambulance in [[International Hospital of Bahrain]]]]
Bahrain has a [[universal health care]] system, dating back to 1960.<ref>{{cite web|title=Health Care Financing and Expenditure |url=http://gis.emro.who.int/HealthSystemObservatory/PDF/Bahrain/Health%20care%20financing%20and%20expenditure.pdf |publisher=WHO |access-date=26 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000008/http://gis.emro.who.int/HealthSystemObservatory/PDF/Bahrain/Health%20care%20financing%20and%20expenditure.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref> Government-provided health care is free to Bahraini citizens and heavily subsidised for non-Bahrainis. Healthcare expenditure accounted for 4.5% of Bahrain's GDP, according to the [[World Health Organization]]. Bahraini physicians and nurses form a majority of the country's workforce in the health sector, unlike neighbouring Gulf states.<ref>{{cite web|title=Healthcare in the Kingdom of Bahrain |url=http://www.gepa2.de/files/Bahrain-Health-Care1.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Health, Bahrain |access-date=26 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227003619/http://www.gepa2.de/files/Bahrain-Health-Care1.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2012 }}</ref> The first [[hospital]] in Bahrain was the [[American Mission Hospital]], which opened in 1893 as a dispensary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bahrain Society |url=http://www.bahrainsociety.org/ |publisher=American Bahraini Friendship Society |access-date=26 June 2012 |archive-date=6 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906084242/http://www.bahrainsociety.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first public hospital, and also [[Tertiary referral hospital|tertiary hospital]], to open in Bahrain was the [[Salmaniya Medical Complex]], in the [[Salmaniya]] district of Manama, in 1957.<ref>{{cite web|title=SMC admissions|url=http://www.moh.gov.bh/PDF/SMC/SMC_admission.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011052811/http://www.moh.gov.bh/PDF/SMC/SMC_admission.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 October 2010|publisher=Ministry of Health, Bahrain|access-date=26 June 2012}}</ref> Private hospitals are also present throughout the country, such as the [[International Hospital of Bahrain]].

The [[life expectancy]] in Bahrain is 73 for males and 76 for females. Compared to many countries in the region, the prevalence of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] and [[HIV]] is relatively low.<ref name=UNDP /> [[Malaria]] and [[tuberculosis]] (TB) do not constitute major problems in Bahrain as neither disease is indigenous to the country. As a result, cases of malaria and TB have declined in recent decades with cases of contractions amongst Bahraini nationals becoming rare.<ref name=UNDP /> The Ministry of Health sponsors regular vaccination campaigns against TB and other diseases such as [[hepatitis B]].<ref name=UNDP>{{cite web|title=Combatting HIV/AIDS and other diseases in Bahrain |url=http://www.undp.org.bh/Files/MDG03/Goal6.pdf |publisher=United Nations Development Program |access-date=26 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000029/http://www.undp.org.bh/Files/MDG03/Goal6.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Immunization Profile – Bahrain|url=http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/en/globalsummary/countryprofileresult.cfm?C=bhr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523210145/http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/en/globalsummary/countryprofileresult.cfm?C=bhr|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 May 2011|publisher=World Health Organisation|access-date=26 June 2012}}<!--dead link?--></ref>

Currently, Bahrain has an [[obesity]] epidemic as 28.9% of all males and 38.2% of all females are classified as obese.<ref>{{cite web|title=Country Profile- Bahrain|url=https://www.who.int/gho/countries/bhr.pdf|publisher=WHO|access-date=26 June 2012}}</ref> Bahrain also has one of the highest prevalence of [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]] in the world (5th place). More than 15% of the Bahraini population are affected by the disease, and they account for 5% of deaths in the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Diabetes in Bahrain|url=http://www.timeoutbahrain.com/bodyandmind/features/18066-diabetes-in-bahrain|publisher=TimeOut Bahrain|access-date=26 June 2012}}</ref> [[Cardiovascular disease]]s account for 32% of all deaths in Bahrain, being the number one cause of death in the country (the second being [[cancer]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Noncommunicable diseases in Bahrain|url=https://www.who.int/nmh/countries/bhr_en.pdf|publisher=World Health Organisation|access-date=26 June 2012}}</ref> [[Sickle-cell disease|Sickle-cell anaemia]] and [[thalassaemia]] are prevalent in the country, with a study concluding that 18% of Bahrainis are carriers of sickle-cell anaemia while 24% are carriers of thalassaemia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Features of sickle-cell disease in Bahrain|url=http://www.ggc-inh.com/Bahrain/main/Medical_Paper/?for=VDFSalBRPT0%253D|publisher=Gulf Genetic Centre|access-date=26 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913005111/http://www.ggc-inh.com/Bahrain/main/Medical_Paper/?for=VDFSalBRPT0%253D|archive-date=13 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Bahrain}}
[[File:Isa Bin Ali House.jpg|thumb|The [[Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa]] house is an example of traditional architecture in Bahrain.]]

Islam is the main religion, and Bahrainis are known for their tolerance towards the practice of other faiths.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ambassador Nonoo highlights religious freedom in Bahrain |url=http://www.diplonews.com/feeds/free/22_May_2012_233.php |publisher=Diplonews |access-date=17 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000006/http://www.diplonews.com/feeds/free/22_May_2012_233.php |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref> Intermarriages between Bahrainis and expatriates are not uncommon—there are many Filipino Bahrainis like Filipino child actress [[Mona Louise Rey|Mona Marbella Al-Alawi]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.showbiz-portal.com/2011/05/meet-new-gma-child-wonder.html| title = Meet the new GMA child wonder {{!}} Showbiz Portal| website = www.showbiz-portal.com| access-date = 28 February 2016}}</ref>

Rules regarding female attire are generally relaxed compared to regional neighbours; the traditional attire of women usually include the [[hijab]] or the [[abaya]].<ref name=Britannica /> Although the traditional male attire is the [[Thawb|thobe]] which also includes traditional headdresses such as the [[keffiyeh]], [[Keffiyeh|ghutra]] and [[Agal (accessory)|agal]], Western clothing is common in the country.<ref name=Britannica />

Although Bahrain legalized [[homosexuality]] in 1976, many homosexuals have since been arrested, often for violating broadly written laws against public immorality and public indecency.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2013.pdf |title=2013 State Sponsored Homophobia Report |work=[[International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association]] |page=20 |access-date=8 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627221135/http://old.ilga.org//Statehomophobia//ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2013.pdf |archive-date=27 June 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/two-bahraini-men-jailed-for-dressing-in-drag-542549.html|title=Two Bahraini men jailed for dressing in drag|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref><ref>Toumi, Habib. (5 February 2011) [http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-arrests-scores-in-raid-on-gay-party-1.757328 Bahrain arrests scores in raid on gay party]. GulfNews.com. Retrieved on 7 November 2016.</ref>

=== Art ===
{{Main|Bahraini art}}
[[File:Bahrain Pottery Creator.jpg|thumb|An artisan making pottery using the traditional mud and water mixture on a revolving wheel.]]

The modern art movement in the country officially emerged in the 1950s, culminating in the establishment of an art society. [[Expressionism]] and [[surrealism]], as well as [[calligraphy|calligraphic art]] are the popular forms of art in the country. [[Abstract expressionism]] has gained popularity in recent decades.<ref name=TGE>{{Cite book|last=Bloom|first=Jonathan M.|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, Volume 2|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|page=253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA253}}</ref> [[Pottery]]-making and [[textile]]-weaving are also popular products that were widely made in Bahraini villages.<ref name=TGE /> Arabic calligraphy grew in popularity as the [[Bahraini government]] was an active patron in [[Islamic art]], culminating in the establishment of an Islamic museum, [[Beit Al Quran]].<ref name=TGE /> The [[Bahrain National Museum|Bahrain national museum]] houses a permanent [[contemporary art]] exhibition.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fattouh|first=Mayssa|title=Bahrain's Art and Culture Scenes|url=http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2009/bahrain_art_scene/|publisher=Nafas|access-date=22 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810000109/http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2009/bahrain_art_scene|archive-date=10 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The annual Spring of Culture <ref>{{cite web|title=Events|url=https://springofculture.org/|access-date=17 June 2020|website=Spring of Culture|language=en-US}}</ref> festival run by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities – Kingdom of Bahrain {{!}} Home|url=http://culture.gov.bh/en/|access-date=17 June 2020|website=culture.gov.bh}}</ref> has become a popular event promoting performance arts in the Kingdom. The [[architecture]] of Bahrain is similar to that of its neighbours in the Persian Gulf. The [[Windcatcher|wind tower]], which generates natural ventilation in a house, is a common sight on old buildings, particularly in the old districts of Manama and [[Muharraq]].<ref name=Ali>{{Cite book|last=Aldosari|first=Ali|title=Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa|year=2006|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j894miuOqc4C&pg=PA39|isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2}}</ref>

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Literature of Bahrain}}
[[File:National Library at ICC.jpg|thumb|[[National Library of Bahrain at Isa Cultural Centre]]]]
Literature retains a strong tradition in the country; most traditional writers and poets write in the [[classical Arabic]] style. In recent years, the number of younger poets influenced by [[western literature]] are rising, most writing in [[free verse]] and often including political or personal content.<ref name=EC>{{cite web|title=Bahrain – The Arts and the Humanities|url=http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bahrain.html|publisher=EveryCulture.com|access-date=21 August 2012}}</ref> [[Ali Al Shargawi]], a decorated longtime poet, was described in 2011 by ''Al Shorfa'' as the literary icon of Bahrain.<ref name=AS>{{Cite news|last=al-Jayousi |first=Mohammed |title=Bahraini poet Ali al-Sharqawi looks to explore 'cosmic spirit' in his works |url=http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/entertainment/2011/02/07/feature-03 |access-date=21 August 2012 |newspaper=Al Shorfa |date=7 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223184618/http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/entertainment/2011/02/07/feature-03 |archive-date=23 February 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In literature, Bahrain was the site of the ancient land of [[Dilmun]] mentioned in the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]]. Legend also states that it was the location of the [[Garden of Eden]].<ref name=NYT>{{Cite news|last=Lewis |first=Paul |title=Eden on the isle of Bahrain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/18/travel/eden-on-the-isle-of-bahrain.html |access-date=21 August 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 November 1984 |archive-date=29 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429234220/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/18/travel/eden-on-the-isle-of-bahrain.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=LAT>{{Cite news|last=Meixler |first=Louis |title=An Ancient Garden of Eden Is Unearthed in Persian Gulf's Bahrain |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/sep/20/news/mn-24573 |access-date=21 August 2012 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=20 September 1998 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208094103/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/sep/20/news/mn-24573 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Music ===
{{Main|Music of Bahrain}}
The music style in Bahrain is similar to that of its neighbours. The [[Khaliji (music)|Khaliji]] style of music, which is [[folk music]], is popular in the country. The [[Sawt (music)|sawt]] style of music, which involves a complex form of urban music, performed by an [[Oud]] (plucked lute), a [[violin]] and [[mirwas]] (a drum), is also popular in Bahrain.<ref name=AUC>{{Cite book|first=Michael |last=Frishkopf|title=Music and Media in the Arab World|year=2010|publisher=American University in Cairo|isbn=978-977-416-293-0|pages=114–116|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KANOAYzkhA8C&pg=PA116}}</ref> [[Ali Bahar]] was one of the most famous singers in Bahrain. He performed his music with his Band ''Al-Ekhwa'' (''The Brothers''). Bahrain was also the site of the first [[recording studio]] amongst the Persian Gulf states.<ref name=AUC />

=== Entertainment ===
{{Category see also|Entertainment in Bahrain}}
With regards to cultural and tourism activities, the Ministry of Culture<ref>{{cite web|title=Tourism {{!}} UPR Bahrain|url=http://www.upr.bh/index.php/about-bahrain-2/tourism/|access-date=2 December 2020|language=en-US}}</ref> organizes a number of annual festivals. such as the Spring of Culture in March and April, the [[Bahrain Summer Festival]] and Ta'a Al-Shabab from August to September, and the Bahrain International Music Festival in October which features musical and theatrical performances, lectures, and much more.

As for cultural sites, residents, visitors, and tourists can re-live history through Bahrain's many historical sites.

=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sport in Bahrain}}

[[File:Mixed Martial Arts event in Bahrain.jpg|thumb|[[Mixed Martial Arts]] hosted by BRAVE Combat Federation event in Bahrain]]Bahrain is the first nation other than [[United States]] of America to host [[International Mixed Martial Arts Federation]] World Championships of Amateur MMA in partnership with [[Brave Combat Federation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mymmanews.com/immaf-2017-brave-international-combat-week/ |title=IMMAF confirms officials from 11 different countries for 2017 Brave International Combat Week |publisher=Mymmanews.com |date=11 September 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> Bahrain have recorded an influx in global athletes visiting the nation for Mixed Martial Arts training during 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/251519/Bahrain-top-venue-for-MMA-training- |title=Other Sports: Bahrain top venue for MMA training |publisher=Gdnonline.com |date=27 August 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> [[Brave Combat Federation]] is a Bahrain-based Mixed Martial Arts promotion that has hosted events in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and India. Bahrain MMA Federation (BMMAF) has been set up under the patronage of Sheikh [[Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa]] and the jurisdiction of the Sports Minister, Sheikh [[Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Duane Finley |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2552348-the-fighting-life-the-rise-of-mma-in-bahrain |title=The Fighting Life: The Rise of MMA in Bahrain |website=Bleacher Report |date=20 August 2015 |access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref> The development of MMA in the nation is convened through KHK MMA, which owns [[Brave Combat Federation]] which is the largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabsmma.com/brave-host-9-events-middle-east-2017-uae-edition-march/ |title=Brave To Host 9 Events in Middle East in 2017; UAE to Have An Edition in March |publisher=ArabsMMA |date=20 June 2014 |access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref> Bahrain will be hosting Amateur World Championships 2017 in association with [[International Mixed Martial Arts Federation]]. Bahrain will be the first Asian and Arab country to host the amateur MMA championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/768250 |title=Bahrain News Agency &#124; Bahrain to host IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA |publisher=Bna.bh |date=31 January 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>

In 2018, Cricket was introduced in Bahrain under the initiative of KHK Sports and Exelon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/297031/KHK-Sports-to-launch-Bahrain-Premier-League |title=Cricket: KHK Sports to launch Bahrain Premier League |publisher=Gdnonline.com |date=6 December 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> Bahrain Premier League 2018 comprised six franchise squads of 13 resident cricketers competing in the T20 format. The teams were SRam MRam Falcons, Kalaam Knight-Riders, Intex Lions, Bahrain Super Giants, Four Square Challengers and Awan Warriors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsofbahrain.com/viewNews.php?ppId=40142&pid=21&MNU= |title=KHK Sports set to launch Bahrain Premier League for T20 Cricket &#124; THE DAILY TRIBUNE &#124; KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN |publisher=Newsofbahrain.com |date=6 December 2017 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>

[[File:SocceroosvsBahrain.jpg|thumb|The Bahrain national football team playing [[Australia national association football team|Australia]] on June 10, 2009, in a World Cup qualifier]]
Football is also a popular sport in Bahrain.<ref name=autogenerated6>{{cite web|title=Bahrain – Sports and Recreation|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/49072/Bahrain/256665/Housing|publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|access-date=3 October 2012}}</ref> [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain's national football team]] has competed multiple times at the [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]], [[Arab Nations Cup]] and played in the [[FIFA World Cup]] qualifiers, though it has never qualified for the World Cup.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain Football Association|language=ar|url=http://www.bahrainfootball.org/index.php|publisher=Bahrainfootball.org|access-date=27 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717081747/http://www.bahrainfootball.org/index.php|archive-date=17 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bahrain's national football team won the [[West Asian Football Federation]] cup and the [[Arabian Gulf Cup]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abdullah |first=Amal |date=2019-08-18 |title=Bahrain, The Champions of WAFF Championship 2019 |url=https://www.bahrainthisweek.com/bahrain-the-champions-of-waff-championship-2019/ |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=Bahrain This Week |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Blog {{!}} Bahrain Wins the Gulf Cup for the 1st Time in 50 years |url=https://binfaqeeh.com/blog/details/bahrain-wins-the-gulf-cup-for-the-1st-time-in-50-years- |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=binfaqeeh.com}}</ref> Both the cups came under the helm of Helio Sousa who is the manager of the nation's national football team. Bahrain has its own [[Ranking|top-tier]] domestic professional [[Geography of association football|football league]], the [[Bahraini Premier League]]. On 3 August 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain bought a minority stake in the [[Paris FC|Paris F.C.]], a team that plays in France's second tier. Bahrain's entry into the soccer club spurred criticism that the country is trying to whitewash its [[human rights]] record and this is another way of buying influence in Europe.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/sports/soccer/paris-fc-bahrain.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729213804/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/sports/soccer/paris-fc-bahrain.html |archive-date=2020-07-29 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Bahrain Buys Into Paris F.C., With Plans to Use It as a Billboard|access-date=4 August 2020|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 July 2020|last1=Panja|first1=Tariq}}</ref>

[[Sport in Bahrain#Basketball|Basketball]], [[Sport in Bahrain#Rugby|rugby]] and [[horse racing]] are also widely popular in the country.<ref name=autogenerated6 /> The government of Bahrain also sponsors a [[UCI WorldTeam]] cycling team, [[Bahrain–Merida Pro Cycling Team|Bahrain Victorius]], which participated in the [[2017 Tour de France]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/who-is-really-behind-the-bahrain-merida-team-285143|title=Who is really behind the Bahrain-Merida team? – Cycling Weekly|date=19 September 2016|work=Cycling Weekly|access-date=10 August 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2017/us/teams/tbm.html|title=BAHRAIN – MERIDA – Teams|website=Tour de France 2017|access-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810172953/http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2017/us/teams/tbm.html|archive-date=10 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:2007 Bahrain GP podium.jpg|thumb|The podium ceremony at the [[2007 Bahrain Grand Prix]]]]
Bahrain has a [[Bahrain International Circuit|Formula One race track]], which hosted the inaugural [[Gulf Air]] [[Bahrain Grand Prix]] on 4 April 2004, the first in an Arab country. This was followed by the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2005. Bahrain hosted the opening Grand Prix of the 2006 season on 12 March of that year. Both the above races were won by [[Fernando Alonso]] of [[Renault]]. The race has since been hosted annually, except for [[2011 Bahrain Grand Prix|2011]] when it was cancelled due to [[Bahraini uprising of 2011|ongoing anti-government protests]].<ref name="autosport89525">{{cite magazine | title = Bahrain GP2 Asia race cancelled |url = http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89525 | author = Noble, Jonatha | magazine = Autosport | date = 17 February 2011 | access-date = 25 March 2012}}</ref> The [[2012 Bahrain Grand Prix|2012]] race occurred despite concerns of the safety of the teams and the ongoing [[2012 Bahrain Grand Prix protests|protests]] in the country.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bahrain circuit boss: Race not a big risk|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/18/sport/motorsport/motorsport-bahrain-f1race/index.html|first=Frederik|last=Pleitgen|publisher=CNN|date=18 April 2012|access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref> The decision to hold the race despite ongoing protests and violence<ref name="race on">{{cite web|title=Press Release: FIA Formula One World Championship – Bahrain Grang Prix |url=http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/f1releases/2012/Pages/f1-bahrain.aspx |work=FIA.com |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile]] |date=13 April 2012 |access-date=13 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414173322/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/f1releases/2012/Pages/f1-bahrain.aspx |archive-date=14 April 2012 }}</ref> has been described as "controversial" by [[Al Jazeera English]],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Clashes in Bahrain ahead of F1 race|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/04/201242073436819990.html|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] |date=20 April 2012|access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref> [[CNN]],<ref>{{Cite news|author=Pleitgen, Frederik|title=Bahrain circuit boss: Race not a big risk|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/18/sport/motorsport/motorsport-bahrain-f1race/index.html|work=CNN|date=18 April 2012|access-date=30 June 2012|author-link=Frederik Pleitgen}}</ref> [[Agence France-Presse|AFP]]<ref>{{Cite news|author=News Wires|title=Bahrain security, protesters clash ahead of Grand Prix|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20120420-bahrain-formula-one-protests-arab-spring|agency=[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]]|work=[[France 24]]|date=21 April 2012|access-date=30 June 2012}}</ref> and [[Sky News]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Protests As Anger Over Bahrain F1 Race Grows |url=http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16212342 |work=[[Sky News]] Online |date=20 April 2012 |access-date=21 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423030803/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16212342 |archive-date=23 April 2012 }}</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' named it "one of the most controversial in the history of the sport".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Rage against the Formula One machine|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/rage-against-the-formula-one-machine-7665991.html|first1=Jerome|last1=Taylor|first2=David|last2=Tremayne|work=[[The Independent]]|date=21 April 2012|access-date=21 April 2012|location=London}}</ref>

In 2006, Bahrain also hosted its inaugural Australian [[Supercars Championship|V8 Supercar]] event dubbed the "''Desert 400''". The V8s returned every November to the [[Sakhir]] circuit until 2010, in which it was the second event of the series. The series has not returned since. The [[Bahrain International Circuit]] also features a full-length [[dragstrip]] where the Bahrain Drag Racing Club has organised invitational events featuring some of Europe's top drag racing teams to try to raise the profile of the sport in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|title=BIC: Drag Racing|url=http://www.bahraingp.com/TicketsEvents/DragRacing/Pages/default.aspx|access-date=17 June 2012|publisher=bahraingp.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117000115/http://www.bahraingp.com/TicketsEvents/DragRacing/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Bahrain}}
 <!-- [[Bibliography of Bahrain]] -->
* [[Outline of Bahrain]]
* [[State of Bahrain]]
* [[Ajam of Bahrain]]

== References ==
=== Explanatory notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== General and cited sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite EB9 |mode = cs2 |wstitle = Bahrein |volume = 3 |ref = {{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |page = 240 }}
* {{cite journal |last = Cole |first = Juan R. I. |title = Rival Empires of Trade and Imami Shiism in Eastern Arabia, 1300–1800 |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|volume = 19 |issue=2 |year=1987 |pages=177–203 |jstor=163353 |ref=Cole |doi = 10.1017/s0020743800031834 |s2cid = 162702326 }}
* {{cite EB1911 |mode=cs2 |last=Holdich |first=Thomas Hungerford |author-link=Thomas Hungerford Holdich |wstitle=Bahrein Islands |volume = 3 |ref = {{harvid|''EB''|1911}} |page = 212 }}
* {{cite book | last = Larsen | first = Curtis | title = Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands: The Geoarcheology of an Ancient Society | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 1983 | isbn = 978-0-226-46906-5 | url = https://archive.org/details/lifelanduseon00curt }}
* {{cite book
|last=Mojtahed-Zadeh
|first=Pirouz
|year=1999
|title = Security and Territoriality in the Persian Gulf: A Maritime Political Geography
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P4g6iRcZIKIC
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn = 978-0-7007-1098-0
}}
* {{Free-content attribution
| title = UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030
| author = UNESCO
| publisher = UNESCO Publishing
| page numbers = ??
| source =
| documentURL = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf
| license statement URL =
| license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikibooks|Wikijunior:Countries A-Z|Bahrain}}
{{Sister project links|voy=Bahrain}}
* {{Official website|www.bahrain.bh|Official government portal}}
* [http://www.mofa.gov.bh/ Kingdom of Bahrain, Ministry of Foreign Affairs website]
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bahrain/ "Bahrain"]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* {{GovPubs|bahrain}}
* {{Curlie|Regional/Middle_East/Bahrain}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14540571 Bahrain profile] from the [[BBC News]]
* {{Wikiatlas|Bahrain}}
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=BH Key Development Forecasts for Bahrain] from [[International Futures]]

{{Bahrain topics}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Related articles
|list  =
{{Countries and territories of the Middle East}}
{{Countries of Asia}}
{{Countries bordering the Persian Gulf}}
{{Countries and territories bordering the Indian Ocean}}
{{Gulf Cooperation Council}}
{{Shanghai Cooperation Organization}}
{{Arab League}}
{{Arabian Plate}}
{{Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)|state=collapsed}}
}}
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{{Coord|26|4|N|50|30|E|type:country|display=title}}

[[Category:Bahrain| ]]
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