Bahrain – officially the Kingdom of Bahrain – is a country in the Middle East. It is one of the smallest in the region and is made up of five islands, of which the largest is the island of Bahrain, with 33 smaller islands. It is located in the Persian Gulf, sharing maritime borders with Qatar to the south and east; and with Saudi Arabia to the West and Northwest. According to Countryaah, Bahrain has 1.5 million residents.
The Arabic word bahrain translated means ‘the kingdom of the two seas’, because Bahrain is formed of two waters: one from the sea and the other by many freshwater streams that flow from under the sea, which have a lot of value within the region.
Geography
Topography
Bahrain is generally flat and arid archipelago, composed of a low desert plain and gradually rising to a central low escarpment, in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia. The highest point is the 122 m (400 ft) Jabal ad Dukhan. Bahrain has a total area of 665 km² (257 square miles), is slightly larger than the Isle of Man, although it is smaller than the nearby King Fahd International Airport, near Dammam, Saudi Arabia (780 km² (301 square miles) As an archipelago of thirty-three islands, Bahrain does not share a land border with another country, but has 161 km of coastline and claims for another 22 km of territorial sea and 24 km of contiguous area.
The largest islands in Bahrain are: the island of Bahrain itself, the island of Al Muharraq, Umm un Nasan, and Sitrah.
Natural hazards
Desert makes up 92% of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and periodic droughts and dust storms are the main natural hazards for the citizens of Bahrain.
Climate
The arid climate with little rainfall, moderate winters and hot, humid summers.
- Summer, from June to October, is hot and humid, temperatures can reach up to 42 ° C.
- Winter, from December to April, is mild, with temperatures between 10 to 20 ° C. Although from December to March it can be the case of having temperatures up to 8 ° C.
The rains are scarce and usually occur in the winter.
Political-administrative organization
Bahrain is divided into five governorates and eleven municipalities. Its governorates are:
- Capital
- Central
- Muharraq
- North
- South
Main cities
Bahrain’s top ten cities
- Manama
- Al-Muharraq
- Riffa
- Madinat Hamad
- A’ali
- Madinat’Isa
- Sitrah
- Al-Budayyi
- Jidd haffs
- Al-Malikiyah
Economy
Bahrain’s economy is primarily oil-based. In 1932, the first oil well in the region began to be exploited, although it is modest in size, the annual production has fallen below 3 Mt. This has allowed the modernization of the state. There are important reserves of natural gas (180,000 million m³) and other types of industrial activities, such as: a 12 Mt capacity oil refinery that processes oil from Sudan ; aluminum smelting (120,000 t / year) that imports bauxite ore from overseas, and cementfactories.
Regarding other types of activities in the service sector, it can be said that these are increasingly having a greater impact on the island’s economy, due to the role of Bahrain as a highly active international financial center. It is home to numerous banks, has a free zone and has developed an important port infrastructure and road communications. Despite all this, the median income is the lowest of all the small oil states in the Persian Gulf. In the service sector and financial services industries, businesses have been expanding dramatically in recent years.
