Bahrain Map

Description: This map shows islands, governorates, airport, and major cities and towns in Bahrain.

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago of about 50 natural islands and around 33 artificial islands. The largest is Bahrain Island, which makes up roughly 83 percent of the country's land area. Bahrain lies between the Qatar peninsula and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The King Fahd Causeway, which opened in 1986, links it to Saudi Arabia. The capital and largest city is Manama.

The name comes from the Arabic word for "two seas."

The islands were the centre of the ancient Dilmun civilisation, an important trading hub that connected Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley. Later, the Parthian and Sasanian empires ruled the area. Its people were among the first to accept Islam, in 628 CE. The Portuguese controlled Bahrain from 1521 to 1602, after which Safavid Persia took control. In 1783 the Al Khalifa family captured the islands, and it has ruled them ever since. During the 19th century Bahrain signed a series of treaties with the United Kingdom and became a British protectorate. It became independent on 15 August 1971.

Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became Emir in 1999 and took the title of King in 2002, after the National Action Charter was approved in a 2001 referendum. The Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, has been Prime Minister since November 2020. The National Assembly has two chambers: the elected Council of Representatives and the appointed Shura Council, each with 40 members. The country is divided into four governorates: Capital, Muharraq, Northern and Southern. In 2011, during the Arab Spring, Bahrain saw large protests, and Gulf Cooperation Council forces entered the country at the government's request.

In 1932 Bahrain became the first place on the Arab side of the Persian Gulf where oil was discovered. Since then, the economy has expanded into banking, finance, tourism and aluminium production. Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) runs one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world. The currency is the Bahraini dinar, which is pegged to the United States dollar. Bahrain and the United States have had a free trade agreement since 2006.

The population is about 1.65 million, and more than half of residents are not Bahraini citizens. Arabic is the official language, and English is widely used. Islam is the state religion. Most citizens are Shia Muslims, while the ruling family is Sunni.

Bahrain belongs to the United Nations, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which it helped found in 1981. The United States Navy's Fifth Fleet is based in Manama. In 2020 Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

The country has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Qal'at al-Bahrain, the Pearling Path and the Dilmun Burial Mounds. Since 2004 the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir has hosted the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first Formula One race held in the Middle East.