Bahrain (2004) | Swaziland (2008) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 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 (2007) |
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 (2007) |
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 (2007) |
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 in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006, but political parties remain banned. The African United Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to register as an official political party in mid 2006. Talks over the constitution broke down between the government and progressive groups in 2007. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. |
Birth rate | 18.54 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.981 billion
expenditures: $3.019 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $1.216 billion
expenditures: $1.15 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Manama | name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (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) | signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006 |
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 local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Currency | Bahraini dinar (BHD) | - |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.682 billion (2003) | $538.6 million (31 December 2007 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 Maurice S. PARKER
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla 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 Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
Disputes - international | none | in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
Economic aid - recipient | $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) | $46.03 million (2005) |
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 approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. In 2007, the sugar industry increased efficiency and diversification efforts, in response to a 17% decline in EU sugar prices. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public enterprises. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.819 billion kWh (2001) | 1.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2007) |
Electricity - production | 6.257 billion kWh (2001) | 460 million kWh (2005) |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: 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) | lilangeni per US dollar - 7.4 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003) |
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 Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among the elected members of the House of Assembly |
Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
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 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006) |
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.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 42.1% services: 57.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 11.8%
industry: 45.8% services: 42.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,900 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2003 est.) | 1.6% (2007 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) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) |
Imports | NA (2001) | 3,530 bbl/day (2004) |
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 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006) |
Independence | 15 August 1971 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism | 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.) |
total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.2% (2003 est.) | 6% (2007 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, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (1998 est.) | 500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Civil Appeals Court | High Court; Supreme Court; 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.) |
300,000 (2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 est.) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 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: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008) 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: 32.23 years
male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 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: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 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 (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $618.1 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.5% (2003) | 4.7% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 221,661 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 121,484 (2004 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 (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed | the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, 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.) |
1,133,066
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 69% (2006) |
Population growth rate | 1.56% (2004 est.) | -0.337% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 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: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 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: mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity about 25 telephones per 100 persons; telephone system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 185,800 (2003) | 44,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 443,100 (2003) | 250,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
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.) | 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1998 est.) | 40% (2006 est.) |