Bahrain (2004) | Swaziland (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 |
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.4% (male 97,179; female 95,043)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 271,015; female 192,342) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 11,426; female 10,881) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 4 (2003 est.) | 18 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. |
Birth rate | 18.54 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.981 billion
expenditures: $3.019 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 ) |
Capital | Manama | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 161 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14 February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary) | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | Bahraini dinar (BHD) | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.682 billion (2003) | $336 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE
embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 FAX: [973] 1725-6242 (consular) |
chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador KHALIFA bin ALI bin Rashid Al Khalifa
chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
Disputes - international | none | Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) | $104 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | 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. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil granted as aid. 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 this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.819 billion kWh (2001) | 900.66 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 6.257 billion kWh (2001) | 362 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 56%
hydro: 44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
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 | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001), 0.376 (2000), 0.376 (1999) | emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni |
Executive branch | chief of state: 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)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | $702 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | US 3.5%, India 3.3%, South Korea 2.2% (2003) | South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.29 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 42.1% services: 57.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 43% services: 47% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2003 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 00 N, 50 33 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
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 | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 3,261 km
paved: 2,531 km unpaved: 730 km (2000) |
total: 3,800 km
paved: 1,064 km unpaved: 2,736 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $850 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, chemicals | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 30.7%, US 11.4%, Japan 7.8%, UK 5.7%, Germany 5.4% (2003) | South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000) |
Independence | 15 August 1971 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.2% (2003 est.) | 7.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (1998 est.) | 690 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Civil Appeals Court | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 350,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2003 est.) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 est.) | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2001) |
arable land: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 89.53% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and English common law | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006) election results: 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.98 years
male: 71.52 years female: 76.51 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 37 years
male: 36.35 years female: 37.66 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.3% male: 78% female: 78.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
by type: bulk 3, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Hong Kong 1, Kuwait 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $618.1 million (2003) | $20 million (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.5% (2003) | 4.75% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 221,661 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 121,484 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,396 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | 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 | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; dust storms | drought |
Natural resources | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | 1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed | political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
Population | 677,886
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
1,123,605
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.56% (2004 est.) | 1.63% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | - | 170,000 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 297 km
narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001) |
Religions | Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.41 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: 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) |
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 185,800 (2003) | 38,500 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 443,100 (2003) | 45,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1998 est.) | 34% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |