age and obligation:18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA
Transnational Issues Bahamas, The
Disputes - international:
have not been able to agree on the alignment of a maritime boundary
with the US; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees
fleeing economic privation and political instability
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and
Europe; offshore financial center
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
======================================================================
@Bahrain
Introduction Bahrain
Background:
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.
Geography Bahrain
Location:
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates:
26 00 N, 50 33 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
161 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
Climate:
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain:
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Natural resources:
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls
Land use: arable land: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2001)
Irrigated land:
50 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; dust storms
Environment - current issues:
desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable
land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation
(damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting
from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil
refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources,
groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic
location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's
petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
People Bahrain
Population: 688,345 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 27.8% (male 96,807/female 94,863)
15–64 years: 68.7% (male 275,792/female 197,424)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 12,078/female 11,381) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 29.19 years
male: 32.16 years
female: 25.54 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.51% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
18.1 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death
