Bahrain (2005) | Montenegro (2007) | |
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 |
21 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Andrijevica, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.8% (male 96,807/female 94,863)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 275,792/female 197,424) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 12,078/female 11,381) (2005 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible |
Airports | 4 (2004 est.) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries Montenegro was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929; at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right under the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro to hold a referendum on independence from the state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. |
Birth rate | 18.1 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 11.18 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.825 billion
expenditures: $3.262 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Manama | name: Podgorica (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Cetinje (capital city) |
Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland |
Coastline | 161 km | 293.5 km |
Constitution | new constitution 14 February 2002 | 12 October 1992 (was approved by the Assembly); note - Montenegro is currently writing a new constitution set to be presented to Parliament in spring 2007 |
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: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
Death rate | 4.08 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.215 billion (2004 est.) | $NA |
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 Roderick W. MOORE
embassy: Ljubljanska bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [382] 81 225 417 FAX: [382] 81 241 358 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Nasir al-BALUSHI
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 Miodrag VLAHOVIC
chancery: 1610 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-6108 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6109 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) | $NA |
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. 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 September 2004 Bahrain signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States - the first such agreement undertaken by a Gulf state. Both countries must ratify the FTA before it is enforced. | The republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and maintained its own central bank, used the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collected customs tariffs, and managed its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. On 18 January 2007, Montenegro joined the World Bank and IMF. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.379 billion kWh (2002) | 18.6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | 6.86 billion kWh (2002) | 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 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 | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor |
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: Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution |
Ethnic groups | Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census) | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma (Gypsy)) 12% |
Exchange rates | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001), 0.376 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) |
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: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko STURANOVIC (since 13 November 2006) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
Exports | NA | $171.3 million (2003) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles | - |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 3%, US 2.9%, UAE 2.2% (2004) | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 41% services: 58.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,200 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 26 00 N, 50 33 E | 42 30 N, 19 18 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 | strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 3,459 km
paved: 2,653 km unpaved: 806 km (2002) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Imports | NA | $601.7 million (2003) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, chemicals | - |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 32.4%, Japan 7.3%, Germany 6.1%, US 5.6%, UK 5.4%, France 4.8% (2004) | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2006) |
Independence | 15 August 1971 (from UK) | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism | steelmaking, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 17.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (2004 est.) | 3.4% (2004) |
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 | CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICCt, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | High Civil Appeals Court | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) |
Labor force | 370,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2004 est.) |
259,100 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2001) |
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
Languages | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu | Serbian (official; Ijekavian dialect), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and English common law | based on civil law system; 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 |
unicameral Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats in 2006)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 40.6%, Serbian List 15.3%, Coalition SNP-NS-DSS 14.8%, PZP 13.9%, Liberals and Bosniaks 3.8%, other (including Albanian minority parties) 11.6%; seats by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 39, Serbian List 12, Coalition SNP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Albanian minority parties 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.23 years
male: 71.76 years female: 76.78 years (2005 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.) |
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Location | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: defined by treaty |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Kuwait 2) (2005) |
total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 3 (Bahamas 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces |
Military branches | Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $628.9 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6.3% (2004) | - |
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 | National Day, 13 July (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; dust storms | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls | bauxite, hydroelectricity |
Net migration rate | 1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed | Albanian Alternative or AA [Vesel SINISHTAJ]; Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]; Coalition for European Montenegro or DPS-SDP (bloc) [Milo DUKANOVIC] (includes DPS and SDP); Coalition SNP-NS-DSS (bloc) (includes SNP, NS, and DSS); Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity or SPP [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Ranko KADIC]; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; Liberals and the Bosniak Party (bloc) [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC] (includes LP and BS); Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; Party of Serb Radicals or SSR [Dusko SEKULIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC]; People's Socialist Party or NSS [Emilo LABUDOVIC]; Serbian List (bloc) [Andrija MANDIC] (includes SSR, NSS, and SNS); Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Socialist People's Party or SNP [Srdjan MILIC] |
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 | - |
Population | 688,345
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
684,736 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 12.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 1.51% (2005 est.) | -1% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mina' Salman, Sitrah | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | 31 (station types NA) (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2006) |
Religions | Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census) | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.4 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through 2 providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382 (the old code of 381 used by Serbia and Montenegro will also remain in use until Feb 2007); 2 international switches connect the national system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 185,800 (2003) | 353,300 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 443,100 (2003) | 821,800 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 13 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 2.63 children born/woman (2005 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1998 est.) | 27.7% (2005) |