]! ^! Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir, installed in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of the amir's political liberalization program. In February 2002, Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa proclaimed himself king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature, the National Assembly. 
]" ^" Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia ^# 26 00 N, 50 33 E ^$ Middle East ^% `! 665 sq km `" 665 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 161 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `J extending to boundaries to be determined ^* arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers ^+ mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment ^, `% Persian Gulf 0 m `& Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m ^- oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls ^. `' 2.82% `( 5.63% `) 91.55% (2001) ^/ 50 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 periodic droughts; dust storms ^1 desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean 
]# ^3 688,345 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 27.8% (male 96,807/female 94,863) `+ 68.7% (male 275,792/female 197,424) `, 3.4% (male 12,078/female 11,381) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 29.19 years `- 32.16 years `. 25.54 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.51% (2005 est.) ^7 18.1 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 4.08 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.02 male(s)/female `+ 1.4 male(s)/female `, 1.06 male(s)/female `1 1.27 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 17.27 deaths/1,000 live births `- 20.17 deaths/1,000 live births `. 14.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 74.23 years `- 71.76 years `. 76.78 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.63 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.2% (2001 est.) ^? less than 600 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Bahraini(s) `3 Bahraini ^B Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census) ^C Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census) ^D Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 89.1% `- 91.9% `. 85% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Kingdom of Bahrain `5 Bahrain `V Mamlakat al Bahrayn `W Al Bahrayn `X Dilmun ^H constitutional hereditary monarchy ^I Manama ^J 12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah note: all municipalities administered from Manama ^K 15 August 1971 (from UK) ^L National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection ^M new constitution 14 February 2002 ^N based on Islamic law and English common law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969) `7 Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman al-Khalifa (since NA 1971) `8 Cabinet appointed by the monarch `9 none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch ^Q bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms) `9 House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006) `: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10 note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002 ^R High Civil Appeals Court ^S political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed ^T Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active ^U ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Nasir al-BALUSHI `O 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 342-1111 `Q [1] (202) 362-2192 `R New York ^W `N Ambassador William T. MONROE `Z Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama `[ American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama `P [973] 1724-2700 `Q [973] 1725-6242 (consular) ^X red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam 
]% ^Y In well-to-do Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. In September 2004 Bahrain signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States - the first such agreement undertaken by a Gulf state. Both countries must ratify the FTA before it is enforced. ^Z $13.01 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 5.6% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.) ^] `; 0.7% `< 41% `= 58.4% (2004 est.) ^^ 370,000 note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 est.) ^` 15% (1998 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 2.1% (2004 est.) _P 12.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $3.825 billion `A $3.262 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2004 est.) _Q 63.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish _% petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism _& 2% (2000 est.) _' 6.86 billion kWh (2002) _( 6.379 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 44,000 bbl/day (2003) _, 40,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) _- NA _. NA _R 126 million bbl (2004 est.) _S 32.7 billion cu m (2002 est.) _T 32.7 billion cu m (2002 est.) _U 0 cu m (2002 est.) _V 0 cu m (2002 est.) _W 46 billion cu m (2004) _X $586.1 million (2004 est.) _/ $8.205 billion (2004 est.) _0 petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles _1 Saudi Arabia 3%, US 2.9%, UAE 2.2% (2004) _2 $5.87 billion (2004 est.) _3 crude oil, machinery, chemicals _4 Saudi Arabia 32.4%, Japan 7.3%, Germany 6.1%, US 5.6%, UK 5.4%, France 4.8% (2004) _Y $2.141 billion (2004 est.) _5 $6.215 billion (2004 est.) _6 $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) _7 Bahraini dinar (BHD) _8 Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001), 0.376 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 185,800 (2003) _; 443,100 (2003) _< `B modern system `C modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones `D country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997) _= AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 4 (1997) _? .bh _@ 1,334 (2003) _A 195,700 (2003) 
]' _B `! 3,459 km `E 2,653 km `F 806 km (2002) _[ gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) _C Mina' Salman, Sitrah _K `! 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 `S 2 (Kuwait 2) (2005) _D 4 (2004 est.) _E `! 3 `] 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 1 `^ 1 (2004 est.) _\ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _] males age 18-49: 202,126 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 161,372 (2005 est.) _^ `` 6,013 (2005 est.) _N $628.9 million (2004) _O 6.3% (2004) 
]) _H none 