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It is an consisting of a small centered around , situated between the peninsula and the north eastern coast of , to which it is connected by the 25-kilometre 16 mi. Bahrain's population is 1,234,571 c. Bahrain is the site of the ancient. It has been famed since antiquity for its , which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to , in 628 CE. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was occupied by the in 1521, who in turn were expelled in 1602 by of the under the. In 1783, the clan captured Bahrain from and it has since been ruled by the , with as Bahrain's first. In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the , Bahrain became a of the United Kingdom. Formerly an , Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002. In 2011, the country experienced inspired by the regional. Bahrain's ruling al-Khalifa royal family has been accused and criticized for , including imprisonment, torture and execution of dissents, political opposition figures and its. Bahrain had the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf. Since the late 20th century, Bahrain has invested in the and sectors. Many large financial institutions have a presence in , the country's capital. It has a high and was recognised by the as a. Bahrain is a member of the , , , and the. However, the name has been lexicalised as a feminine and does not follow the grammatical rules for duals; thus its form is always Bahrayn and never Bahrān, the expected form. The mediaeval grammarian commented on this saying that the more formally correct term Bahrī lit. The term appears five times in the , but does not refer to the modern island—originally known to the Arabs as Awal—but, rather, to all of Eastern Arabia most notably and. In addition to wells, there are areas of the sea north of Bahrain where fresh water bubbles up in the middle of the salt water as noted by visitors since antiquity. An alternate theory with regard to Bahrain's toponymy is offered by the al-Ahsa region, which suggests that the two seas were the the Persian Gulf and a peaceful lake on the Arabian mainland. The region stretched from in Iraq to the in. The island and kingdom were also commonly spelled Bahrein into the 1950s. The at its peak during the reign of 590—628. Bahrain was home to the , an important trade centre linking and the. Bahrain was later ruled by the and. From the 6th to 3rd century BC, Bahrain was part of the ruled by the dynasty. By about 250 BC, 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. During the , Bahrain was referred to by the as , the centre of pearl trading, when the Greek admiral serving under landed on Bahrain. The use of these is not confined to India, but extends to Arabia. Alexander had planned to settle Greek colonists on 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 was in everyday use , while was worshipped in the form of the Arabian sun-god Shams. Bahrain even became the site of Greek athletic contests. The Greek historian believed the originate from Bahrain. However, there is little evidence of any human settlement at all on Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place. The name Tylos is thought to be a Hellenisation of the Semitic Tilmun from. The term Tylos was commonly used for the islands until when the inhabitants are referred to as Thilouanoi. In the 3rd century, , the first ruler of the , marched on Oman and Bahrain, where he defeated Sanatruq the ruler of Bahrain. Bahrain was also the site of worship of an ox deity called. Worshipers built a large statue to Awal in , although it has now been lost. For many centuries after Tylos, Bahrain was known as. By the 5th century, Bahrain became a centre for , with the village 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. As a sect, the Nestorians were often persecuted as heretics by the , but Bahrain was outside the Empire's control, offering some safety. Bahrain's pre-Islamic population consisted of mostly , Persians , , and -speaking agriculturalists. The sedentary people of pre-Islamic Bahrain were and to some degree Persian speakers, while functioned as a. Time of Muhammad of a letter sent by to , governor of Bahrain in AD 628 's first interaction with the people of Bahrain was the. Muhammad ordered a surprise attack on the Banu Salim tribe for allegedly plotting to attack Medina. He had received news that some tribes were assembling an army on Bahrain and preparing to attack the mainland. But the tribesmen retreated when they learned Muhammad was leading an army to do battle with them. Traditional Islamic accounts state that was sent as an envoy during the to the by the prophet in AD 628 and that , the local ruler, responded to his mission and converted the entire area. Middle Ages In 899, the , a Muslim sect, seized Bahrain, seeking to create a society based on reason and redistribution of property among initiates. Thereafter, the Qarmatians demanded from the caliph in , and in 930 sacked and , bringing the sacred back to their base in , in medieval Bahrain, for ransom. According to historian , the stone was returned 22 years later in 951 under mysterious circumstances. Following their 976 defeat by the , the Qarmations were overthrown by the Arab of , who took over the entire Bahrain region in 1076. The Uyunids controlled Bahrain until 1235, when the archipelago was briefly occupied by the Persian ruler of. In 1253, the brought down the Uyunid dynasty, thereby gaining control over eastern , including the islands of Bahrain. In 1330, the archipelago became a tributary state of the rulers of , though locally the islands were controlled by the Shi'ite dynasty of. In the mid-15th century, the archipelago came under the rule of the , a Bedouin dynasty also based in Al-Ahsa that ruled most of eastern Arabia. Early modern era in ; constructed before the Portuguese assumed control. In 1521, the allied with Hormuz and seized Bahrain from the Jabrid ruler , who was killed during the takeover. Portuguese rule lasted for around 80 years, during which time they depended mainly on Persian governors. The Portuguese were expelled from the islands in 1602 by of the of , which gave impetus to. For the next two centuries, Persian rulers retained control of the archipelago, interrupted by the 1717 and 1738 invasions of the of Oman. During most of this period, they resorted to governing Bahrain indirectly, either through the city of or through 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 literally: those that have changed or moved. In 1753, the Huwala clan of invaded Bahrain on behalf of the Iranian leader and restored direct Iranian rule. In 1783, Al-Madhkur lost the islands of Bahrain following his defeat by the tribe at the 1782 Battle of. Bahrain was not new territory to the Bani Utbah; they had been a presence there since the 17th century. During that time, they started purchasing date palm gardens in Bahrain; a document shows that 81 years before arrival of the Al-Khalifa, one of the shaikhs of the tribe an offshoot of the Bani Utbah had bought a palm garden from Mariam bint Ahmed Al Sanadi in island. The Al Bin Ali were the dominant group controlling the town of Zubarah on the Qatar peninsula, originally the center 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 in Bahrain, Qatar, , 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. These families included the , Al-Ma'awdah, Al-Fadhil, Al-Mannai, Al-Noaimi, Al-Sulaiti, Al-Sadah, Al-Thawadi and other families and tribes. The Al Khalifa family moved from Qatar to Bahrain in 1799. Originally, their ancestors were expelled from in central Arabia by the due to their predatory habits of preying on caravans in and trading ships in waterway until Turks expelled them to Kuwait in 1716, where they remained until 1766. Around the 1760s, the and clans, both belonging to the Utub Federation, migrated to in modern-day , leaving Al Sabah as the sole proprietors of Kuwait. 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. In 1816, the British political resident in the 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. However, ten years later they were forced to pay yearly tributes to Egypt despite seeking Persian and British protection. Writing letters to the Persians and , Al Khalifas agreed to place Bahrain under the latter's protection in March due to offering better conditions. Eventually the overpowered Bahrain when the Persians refused to protect it. Colonel signed a new treaty with Al Khalifas placing Bahrain under British rule and protection. Following the in 1868, British representatives signed another agreement with the Al Khalifas. It specified that the ruler could not dispose of any of his territory except to the United Kingdom and could not enter into relationships with any foreign government without British consent. In return the British promised to protect Bahrain from all aggression by sea and to lend support in case of land attack. 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. 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. Sheikh Issa was the first of the Al Khalifa to rule without Persian relations. The uprising developed further with some protesters killed by British forces. Before the development of petroleum, the island was largely devoted to and, as late as the 19th century, was considered to be the finest in the world. In 1903, German explorer, , visited Bahrain and took many photographs of historical sites, including the old Qaṣr es-Sheikh, photos now stored at the. Prior to the , there were about 400 vessels hunting pearls and an annual export of more than £30,000. 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 and replaced Sheikh Issa bin Ali with his son. Some clerical opponents and families such as left or were exiled to Saudi Arabia and Iran. Three years later the British placed the country under the de facto rule of who operated as an adviser to the ruler until 1957. Belgrave brought a number of reforms such as establishment of the country's first modern school in 1919, the Persian Gulf's first girls' school in 1928 and the abolition of in 1937. At the same time, the pearl diving industry developed at a rapid pace. In 1927, , then , demanded sovereignty over Bahrain in a letter to the , a move that prompted Belgrave to undertake harsh measures including encouraging conflicts between and Sunni Muslims in order to bring down the uprisings and limit the Iranian influence. Britain's interest in Bahrain's development was motivated by concerns over Saudi and Iranian ambitions in the region. A photograph of the First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931 The Bapco , a subsidiary of the of California Socal , discovered oil in 1931 and production began the following year. This was to bring rapid modernisation to Bahrain. Relations with the United Kingdom became closer, as evidenced by the British moving its entire Middle Eastern command from in to Bahrain in 1935. In the early 1930s, Bahrain Airport was developed. Later in the same decade the Bahrain Maritime Airport was established, for flying-boats and seaplanes. Bahrain in the on the side, joining on 10 September 1939. On 19 October 1940, four Italian bombers alongside oilfields in Saudi Arabia, targeting Allied-operated oil refineries. 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. 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. In 1948, following , most members of Bahrain's Jewish community abandoned their properties and evacuated to , later settling in and the United Kingdom. As of 2008 , 37 Jews remained in the country. In the 1950s, the , 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 broke out after hundreds of workers at the Bahrain Petroleum Company were laid off. Independence in 1965 On 15 August 1971, though the was claiming historical sovereignty over Bahrain, he accepted 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 later in the year. 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 in the 1970s and 1980s, when Bahrain replaced as the Middle East's financial hub after Lebanon's large banking sector was driven out of the country by the war. Following the 1979 in , in 1981 Bahraini fundamentalists orchestrated a attempt under the auspices of a front organisation, the. The coup would have installed a Shia cleric exiled in Iran, , as supreme leader heading a. 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. A occurred between 1994 and 2000 in which leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces. The event resulted in approximately forty deaths and ended after became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999. He instituted elections for parliament, gave women the right to vote, and released all political prisoners. A referendum on 14—15 February 2001 massively supported the. 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. The country participated in against the in October 2001 by deploying a in the Arabian Sea for rescue and humanitarian operations. Bahrain opposed the and had offered asylum in the days prior to the invasion. Relations improved with neighbouring after the border dispute over the was resolved by the in in 2001. Following the political liberalisation of the country, Bahrain negotiated a with the United States in 2004. Bahraini protests 2011—13 Main articles: , , and Inspired by the regional , Bahrain's Shia majority large protests against its Sunni rulers in early 2011. Almost daily clashes between protesters and security forces led to. Protests, sometimes staged by opposition parties, were ongoing. More than 80 civilians and 13 policemen have been killed as of March 2014. According to , 34 of these deaths were related to government usage of originally manufactured by U. The lack of coverage by Arab media in the Persian Gulf, as compared to other uprisings, has sparked several controversies. Iran is alleged by and others to have a hand in the arming of Bahraini militants. A beach in Bahrain is a generally flat and arid in the Persian Gulf. It consists of a low desert plain rising gently to a low central escarpment with the highest point the 134 m 440 ft Jabal ad Dukhan. Bahrain had a total area of 665 km 2 257 sq mi but due to , the area increased to 765 km 2 295 sq mi , which is slightly larger than or the. Often described as an archipelago of 33 islands, extensive land reclamation projects have changed this; by August 2008 the number of islands and island groups had increased to 84. Bahrain does not share a land boundary with another country but does have a 161 km 100 mi coastline. The country also claims a further 22 km 12 nmi of and a 44 km 24 nmi. Bahrain's largest islands are , the , , , and. 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. About 92% of Bahrain is desert with periodic droughts and dust storms, the main natural hazards for Bahrainis. Environmental issues facing Bahrain include desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, coastal degradation damage to coastlines, , 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. The agricultural and domestic sectors' over-utilisation of the , the principal aquifer in Bahrain, has led to its 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 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. Climate Main article: The 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 wind, causing reduced visibility in the months of June and July. Summers are very hot. The seas around Bahrain are very shallow, heating up quickly in the summer to produce very high , especially at night. Summer temperatures may reach up to 50 °C 122 °F under the right conditions. Rainfall in Bahrain is minimal and irregular. Rainfalls mostly occur in winter, with a recorded maximum of 71. Climate data for Manama Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C °F 20. Millions of migratory birds pass through the Persian Gulf region in the winter and autumn months. One globally endangered species, , is a regular migrant in the autumn. The many islands and shallow seas of Bahrain are globally important for the breeding of the ; up to 100,000 pairs of these birds were recorded over the Hawar islands. Only 18 species of mammals are found in Bahrain, animals such as , desert rabbits and are common in the wild but the was hunted to on the island. Twenty-five species of and were recorded as well as 21 species of and 307 species of. The marine are diverse and include extensive beds and , patchy as well as offshore islands. Sea grass beds are important foraging grounds for some threatened species such as and the. In 2003, Bahrain banned the capture of , and within its territorial waters. The Hawar Islands Protected Area provides valuable feeding and breeding grounds for a variety of migratory seabirds, it is an internationally recognised site for. The breeding colony of on Hawar Islands is the largest in the world, and the dugongs foraging around the archipelago form the second-largest dugong aggregation after Australia. Bahrain has five designated , four of which are marine environments. Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain Bahrain under the Al-Khalifa is a headed by the ,. King Hamad enjoys wide executive powers which include appointing the and his , commanding the , chairing the , appointing the 's and dissolving its elected. In 2010, about half of the was composed of the. Bahrain has a National Assembly al-Jam'iyyah 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. 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. The period between 2002 and 2010 saw three parliamentary elections. The , held in 2002 was boycotted by the opposition, , which won a majority in the in 2006 and in 2010. The was held to replace 18 members of Al Wefaq who resigned in protest against government crackdown. The opening up of politics saw big gains for both Shīa and Sunnī in elections, which gave them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies. It gave a new prominence to clerics within the political system, with the most senior Shia religious leader, Sheikh , playing a vital role. They managed to organise a rally attended by 500 participants. 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. Some Islamist parties have been particularly critical of the government's readiness to sign international treaties such as the ' International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. 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. Human rights conditions started to decline by 2007 when began to be employed again. Due to this, Bahrain lost some of the high it had gained before. In 2011, Bahrain was criticised for its crackdown on the. In September, a government appointed confirmed of grave human rights violations including. However, reports by human rights organisations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued in April 2012 said the same violations were still happening. Bahraini protests against the ruling Al Khalifa family The documentary TV film which was produced by the Qatari channel , talks about the Bahraini protests during 2011. This TV film showed all the violations that have been taken against the rights of Bahraini citizens during the uprising. It also caused some problems between the Bahraini and the Qatari governments. Relations between Bahrain and Qatar improved following a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in November 2014 in which it was announced Bahrain diplomats would return to Qatar. In its latest report the accused both, US and the UK governments, of turning a blind eye to horrific abuses of human rights by the ruling Bahraini regime. On 31 Jan 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. Bahrain has been rated on the Index. Women's rights Main article: Women's political rights in Bahrain increased when women were granted the right to vote and stand in national elections for the first time in the 2002 election. However, no women were elected to office in that year's polls. 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. The quasi-governmental women's group, the , trained female candidates to take part in the 2006 general election. When Bahrain was elected to head the in 2006 it appointed lawyer and women's rights activist President of the United Nations General Assembly, only the third woman in history to head the world body. In 2006, became the first female MP after winning by default. The number rose to four after the 2011 by-elections. In 2008, was appointed ambassador to the United States making her the first Jewish ambassador of any Arab country. In 2011, , a Christian woman was appointed ambassador to the UK. Journalists were targeted by officials during anti-government protests in 2011. Several foreign correspondents were expelled. Most domestic broadcasters are state-run. An independent commission, set up to look into the unrest, found that state media coverage was at times inflammatory. Bahrain will host the Saudi-financed , expected to launch in December 2012. An opposition satellite station, Lualua TV, operates from London but has found its signals blocked. By June 2012, Bahrain had 961,000 internet users. Rigorous filtering targets political, human rights, religious material and content deemed obscene. Bloggers and other were among those detained during protests in 2011. Military of the taking part in a multilateral sea exercise The kingdom has a small but well equipped military called the Bahrain Defence Force BDF , numbering around 13,000 personnel. The supreme commander of the Bahraini military is King and the deputy supreme commander is the Crown Prince,. The BDF is primarily equipped with United States equipment, such as the , , , , and the ex-, an renamed the. The Government of Bahrain has with the , having signed a cooperative agreement with the and has provided the United States a base in since the early 1990s, although a US naval presence existed since 1948. Bahrain participates in the against the and forces loyal to former President , who was deposed in the 2011 uprising. Many civilians have died and large parts of the infrastructure in this region were destroyed. Foreign relations Bahrain is the headquarters of the 's responsible for naval forces in the. Bahrain established with 190 countries worldwide. As of 2012 , Bahrain maintains a network of 25 , 3 and 4 permanent missions to the Arab League, United Nations and respectively. Bahrain also hosts 36 embassies. Bahrain plays a modest, moderating role in regional politics and adheres to the views of the Arab League on Middle East peace and rights by supporting the. Bahrain is also one of the founding members of the. Relations with Iran tend to be tense as a result of a in 1981 which Bahrain blames Iran for and occasional claims of Iranian sovereignty over Bahrain by elements in the Iranian public. Governorates Main article: The first in Bahrain was the 8-member Manama municipality which was established in July 1919. Members of the municipality were elected annually; the municipality was said to have been the first municipality to be established in the. 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. In 1958, the municipality started projects. In 1960, Bahrain comprised four municipalities: Manama, Hidd, Al Muharraq, and Riffa. Over the next 30 years, the 4 municipalities were divided into 12 municipalities as settlements such as and grew. These municipalities were administered from Manama under a central municipal council whose members are appointed by the king. The first municipal elections to be held in Bahrain after independence in 1971, was in 2002. The most recent was in 2010. The municipalities are listed below: Map Former Municipality 1. After 3 July 2002, Bahrain was split into five administrative , each of which has its own. These governorates are: Map Former Governorates 1. The skyline of , Bahrain According to a January 2006 report by the , Bahrain has the fastest-growing economy in the Arab world. In 2008, Bahrain was named the world's fastest-growing financial center by the City of London's. Bahrain's banking and financial services sector, particularly , have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil. Petroleum production and processing is Bahrain's most exported product, accounting for 60% of export receipts, 70% of government revenues, and 11% of. Manama skyline as viewed from Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing price of oil since 1985, for example during and following the. 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 consist of petroleum products made from imported crude oil, which accounted for 51% of the country's imports in 2007. Bahrain depends heavily on food imports to feed its growing population; it relies heavily on meat imports from and also imports 75% of its total fruit consumption needs. In 2004, Bahrain signed the , which will reduce certain trade barriers between the two nations. In 2011, due to the combination of the and the , the gdp growth rate decreased to 1. 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%, with women over represented at 85% of the total. In 2007 Bahrain became the first Arab country to institute as part of a series of labour reforms instigated under Minister of Labour, Dr. Tourism The cities of foreground and background As a tourist destination, Bahrain received over eight million visitors in 2008, though the exact number varies yearly. 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 its higher profile as a result of the. The kingdom combines modern Arab culture and the archaeological legacy of five thousand years of civilisation. The island is home to forts including which has been listed by as a. The has artefacts from the country's history dating back to the island's first human inhabitants some 9000 years ago and the Arabic: بيت القرآن, meaning: the House of Qur'an is a museum that holds Islamic artefacts of the. Some of the popular historical tourist attractions in the kingdom are the , which is one of the oldest mosques in the region, the in Muharraq, , which is an ancient temple from the Dilmunite period of Bahrain, as well as the and the temple. The , a 400-year-old tree that grows in the desert with no nearby water, is also a popular tourist attraction. Many tourists from nearby Saudi Arabia and across the region visit Manama primarily for the in the capital Manama, such as the and in the district of Manama. The and Gold Souq in the old district of Manama are also popular with tourists. Since 2005, Bahrain hosts an annual festival in March, titled , which features internationally renowned musicians and artists performing in concerts. Manama was named the for 2012 and Capital of Arab Tourism for 2013 by the Arab League. The 2012 festival featured concerts starring , and other musicians. The King Fahd Causeway as seen from space Bahrain has a well-developed , particularly in Manama. The discovery of oil in the early 1930s accelerated the creation of multiple roads and in Bahrain, connecting several isolated villages, such as , to Manama. To the east, a bridge connected Manama to Muharraq since 1929, a new causeway was built in 1941 which replaced the old wooden bridge. Currently there are three modern bridges connecting the two locations. Transits between the two islands peaked after the construction of the Bahrain International Airport in 1932. The four main islands and all the towns and villages are linked by well-constructed roads. There were 3,164 km 1,966 mi of roadways in 2002, of which 2,433 km 1,512 mi were paved. A stretching over 2. The , measuring 24 km 15 mi , links Bahrain with the Saudi Arabian mainland via the island of. It was completed in December 1986, and financed by. In 2008, there were 17,743,495 passengers transiting through the causeway. Bahrain's port of is the main of the country and consists of 15. In 2001, Bahrain had a merchant fleet of eight ships of 1,000 or over, totaling 270,784. Private vehicles and taxis are the primary means of transportation in the city. Telecommunications Main articles: and The sector in Bahrain officially started in 1981 with the establishment of Bahrain's first telecommunications company, and until 2004, it 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. In 2002, under pressure from international bodies, Bahrain implemented its telecommunications law which included the establishment of an independent TRA. In 2004, a rebranded version of started operations in Bahrain and in 2010 owned by Group became the third company to provide mobile services. Bahrain has been connected to the internet since 1995 with the country's is ''. The country's connectivity score a statistic which measures both Internet access and fixed and mobile telephone lines is 210. The number of Bahraini has risen from 40,000 in 2000 to 250,000 in 2008, or from 5. As of August 2013, the TRA has licensed 22. 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 Gulf state, producing 48,000 barrels per day from its one onshore field. 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. 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 policy-making. 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—18-year olds. The topics covered by current exhibitions include junior engineering, human health, the five senses, Earth sciences and biodiversity. 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. 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. Investment in education and research In 2012, the government devoted 2. This ratio was on a par with investment in education in Lebanon and higher only than that in Qatar 2. Bahrain invests little in research and development. In 2009 and 2013, this investment reportedly amounted to 0. The lack of comprehensive data on research and development poses a challenge for policy-makers, as data inform evidence-based policy-making. The available data for researchers in 2013 only cover 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. 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. Women thus made up 43% of researchers at the University of Bahrain in 2014. 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. Trends in research output In 2014, Bahraini scientists published 155 articles in internationally cataloged 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. 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. Bahrainis observing public prayers in Manama In 2010, Bahrain's population grew to 1. It had risen from 1. 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 lived in Bahrain, making them the single largest expatriate community in the country. Bahrain is the fourth with a population density of 1,646 people per km 2 in 2010. The only sovereign states with larger population densities are. Much of this population is concentrated in the north of the country with the being the least densely populated part. The north of the country is so urbanised that it is considered by some to be one large. Ethnic groups Main articles: and Bahraini people are ethnically diverse. Shia Bahrainis are divided into two main ethnic groups: and. The Shia Bahrainis are Arab , and the are Shias. Shia Persians form large communities in Manama and Muharraq. A small minority of Shia Bahrainis are ethnic Hasawis from. Sunni Bahrainis are mainly divided into two main ethnic groups: Arabs al Arab and. Sunni Arabs are the most influential ethnic group in Bahrain, they hold most government positions and the 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, while others Sunni Arabs. There are also Sunnis of origin. Most Bahrainis of African origin come from east Africa and have traditionally lived in Muharraq Island and Riffa. The majority of Muslims are Shiites, although there are no official figures for the proportion of and among the Muslims of Bahrain. The Muslim population is numbered 866,888 according to the 2010 census. There is a native. Non-Muslim Bahraini residents numbered 367,683 per the 2010 census, most of whom are Christians. Expatriate Christians make up the majority of Christians in Bahrain, while native Christian Bahrainis who hold Bahraini citizenship make up a smaller community. Bahrain also has a native numbering thirty-seven Bahraini citizens. Various sources cite Bahrain's native Jewish community as being from 36 to 50 people. According to the 2001 census, 81. The 2010 census records that the Muslim proportion had fallen to 70. Bahrain government officials rejected reports from that the administration was trying to alter the country's demographics by naturalizing Sunni Syrians. Baha'is constitute approximately 1% of Bahrain's total population. Languages is the official language of Bahrain, though English is widely used. Arabic plays an important role in political life, as, according to of Bahrain's constitution, an MP must be fluent in Arabic to stand for parliament. Among the Bahraini and non-Bahraini population, many people speak , the official language of Iran, or , an official language in Pakistan and a regional language in India. All commercial institutions and road signs are , displaying both English and Arabic. Education Female students at the dressed in traditional garb Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14. Education is free for Bahraini citizens in , with the Bahraini providing free textbooks. At the beginning of the 20th century, Qur'anic schools Kuttab were the only form of education in Bahrain. They were traditional schools aimed at teaching children and youth the reading of the. After , Bahrain became open to western influences, and a demand for modern educational institutions appeared. In 1926, the Education Committee opened the second public school for boys in , and in 1928 the first public school for girls was opened in Muharraq. As of 2011 , there are a total of 126,981 students studying in public schools. The project's objective is to connect all schools within the kingdom with the Internet. In addition to British intermediate schools, the island is served by the BS. The BS is a school that provides a K-12 curriculum including offerings. There are also private schools that offer either the or United Kingdom's. 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 was established for standard undergraduate and graduate study, and the , operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health, trains , , and. The 2001 National Action Charter paved the way for the formation of private universities such as the in Manama and in. 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 External has appointed MCG Management Consultancy Group as the regional representative office in Bahrain for distance learning programmes. MCG is one of the oldest private institutes in the country. Institutes have also opened which educate South Asian students, such as the and the. In 2004, the RCSI set up a constituent in the country. In addition to the , and the , these are the only medical schools in Bahrain. Health IHB Ambulance Bahrain has a system, dating back to 1960. Government-provided health care is free to Bahraini citizens and heavily subsidised for non-Bahrainis. Healthcare expenditure accounted for 4. Bahraini physicians and nurses form a majority of the country's workforce in the health sector, unlike neighbouring Gulf states. The first in Bahrain was the , which opened in 1893 as a dispensary. The first public hospital, and also , to open in Bahrain was the , in the district of Manama, in 1957. Private hospitals are also present throughout the country, such as the. The in Bahrain is 73 for males and 76 for females. Compared to many countries in the region, the prevalence of and is relatively low. As a result, cases of malaria and TB have declined in recent decades with cases of contractions amongst Bahraini nationals becoming rare. The Ministry of Health sponsors regular vaccination campaigns against TB and other diseases such as. Bahrain is currently suffering from an epidemic as 28. Bahrain also has one of the highest prevalence of in the world 5th place , with more than 15% of the Bahraini population suffering from the disease, and accounting for 5% of deaths in the country. Shia Muslims in Bahrain strike their chests during in remembrance of Islam is the main religion, and Bahrainis are known for their tolerance towards the practice of other faiths. Intermarriages between Bahrainis and expatriates are not uncommon—there are many Filipino-Bahrainis like Filipino child actress. Rules regarding female attire are generally relaxed compared to regional neighbours; the traditional attire of women usually include the or the. Although the traditional male attire is the which also includes traditional headdresses such as the , and , Western clothing is common in the country. Although Bahrain legalized in 1976, many homosexuals have since been arrested. Art A in Bahrain. The modern art movement in the country officially emerged in the 1950s, culminating in the establishment of an art society. Arabic calligraphy grew in popularity as the was an active patron in , culminating in the establishment of an Islamic museum,. The houses a permanent exhibition. The of Bahrain is similar to that of its neighbours in the Persian Gulf. The , which generates natural ventilation in a house, is a common sight on old buildings, particularly in the old districts of Manama and. Literature Main article: Literature retains a strong tradition in the country; most traditional writers and poets write in the style. In recent years, the number of younger poets influenced by are rising, most writing in and often including political or personal content. In literature, Bahrain was the site of the ancient land of mentioned in the. Legend also states that it was the location of the. Music Main article: The music style in Bahrain is similar to that of its neighbors. The style of music, which is , is popular in the country. The style of music, which involves a complex form of urban music, performed by an plucked lute , a and a drum , is also popular in Bahrain. He performed his music with his Band Al-Ekhwa The Brothers. Bahrain was also the site of the first amongst the Persian Gulf states. Sports Main article: Bahrain is the first nation other than to host World Championships of Amateur MMA. Bahrain have recorded an influx in global athletes visiting the nation for Mixed Martial Arts training during 2017. In 2018, Cricket was introduced in Bahrain under initiative of KHK Sports and Exelon. 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. Bahrain has its own domestic professional , the. The government of Bahrain also sponsors a cycling team, , which participated in the. Bahrain MMA Federation BMMAF has been set up under the patronage of Sheikh and the jurisdiction of the Sports Minister, Sheikh. The development of MMA in the nation is convened through KHK MMA, which owns which is the largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the Middle East. Bahrain will be hosting Amateur World Championships 2017 in association with. Bahrain will be the first Asian and Arab country to host the amateur MMA championship. The podium ceremony at the Bahrain has a , which hosted the inaugural 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 of. The race has since been hosted annually, except for when it was cancelled due to. The race occurred despite concerns of the safety of the teams and the ongoing in the country. The V8s returned every November to the circuit until 2010, in which it was the second event of the series. The series has not returned since. The also features a full-length where the 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. Holidays On 1 September 2006, Bahrain changed its weekend from being Thursdays and Fridays to Fridays and Saturdays, in order to have a day of the weekend shared with the rest of the world. Notable holidays in the country are listed below: Date English name Local name Description 1 January رأس السنة الميلادية The New Year's Day. Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa 1st رأس السنة الهجرية New Year also known as: Hijri New Year. Coincided with the memory of the martyrdom of. Also known as the Big Feast celebrated from the 10th to 13th. Retrieved 25 January 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2012. Retrieved on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2012. Bahrain Economic Development Board. Archived from on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2012. 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