Compare Bahrain (2008) - Bahamas, The (2007)

Compare Bahrain (2008) z Bahamas, The (2007)

	Bahrain (2008)	Bahamas, The (2007)

Administrative divisions	5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor	21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.9% (male 96,217/female 94,275) 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 284,662/female 207,555) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 13,451/female 12,413) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports	3 (2007)	62 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)
Area	total: 665 sq km land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative	3.5 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background	In 1783, the al-Khalifa family captured Bahrain from the Persians. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. 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. King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa, after coming to power in 1999, pushed economic and political reforms to improve relations with the Shi'a community and Shi'a political societies participated in 2006 parliamentary and municipal elections. Al Wifaq, the largest Shi'a political society, won the largest number of seats in the elected chamber of the legislature. However, Shi'a discontent has resurfaced in recent years with street demonstrations and occasional low-level violence.	Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Birth rate	17.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $6.048 billion expenditures: $5.082 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)
Capital	name: Manama geographic coordinates: 26 14 N, 50 34 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Nassau geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Climate	arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline	161 km	3,542 km
Constitution	adopted 14 February 2002	10 July 1973
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: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Death rate	4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$7.692 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador J. Adam ERELI embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: PSC 451, Box 660, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 FAX: [973] 1727-0547	chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Nasir bin Muhammad 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: vacant chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Disputes - international	none	disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters
Economic aid - recipient	$103.9 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from the UAE and Kuwait (2004)	$4.78 million (2004)
Economy - overview	With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Petroleum production and refining account for over 60% of Bahrain's export receipts, over 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP (exclusive of allied industries), underpinning Bahrain's strong economic growth in recent years. Aluminum is Bahrain's second major export after oil. Other major segments of Bahrain's economy are the financial and construction sectors. Bahrain is focused on Islamic banking and is competing on an international scale with Malaysia as a worldwide banking center. Bahrain is actively pursuing the diversification and privatization of its economy to reduce the country's dependence on oil. As part of this effort, in August 2006 Bahrain and the US implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. Continued strong growth hinges on Bahrain's ability to acquire new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are long-term economic problems.	The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. The current government has presided over a period of economic recovery and an upturn in large-scale private sector investments in tourism. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors.
Electricity - consumption	7.614 billion kWh (2005)	1.762 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	8.187 billion kWh (2005)	1.894 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 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	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates	Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2007), 0.376 (2006), 0.376 (2005), 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003)	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (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 1971); Deputy Prime Ministers ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, Jawad al-ARAIDH cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Exports	235,500 bbl/day (2004)	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners	Saudi Arabia 3.2%, US 3%, Japan 2.3% (2006)	Spain 23.8%, US 21.1%, Poland 14.4%, Germany 7.3%, UK 6.1%, Guatemala 5.2% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
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 equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.3% industry: 43.6% services: 56% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.6% (2007 est.)	4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	26 00 N, 50 33 E	24 15 N, 76 00 W
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 adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports	1 (2007)	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports	216,300 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	crude oil, machinery, chemicals	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners	Saudi Arabia 37.2%, Japan 6.8%, US 6.2%, UK 6.1%, Germany 6%, UAE 4.2% (2006)	US 24.5%, Brazil 15.6%, Japan 13%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 7.1% (2006)
Independence	15 August 1971 (from UK)	10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)	NA%
Industries	petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing, tourism	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate	total: 16.18 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.5% (2007 est.)	1.2% (2004)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	40 sq km (2003)	10 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Civil Appeals Court	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts
Labor force	363,000 note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2007 est.)	176,300 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 1% industry: 79% services: 20% (1997 est.)	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2005)	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)
Languages	Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system	based on Islamic law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English common law
Legislative branch	bicameral legislature consists of the Consultative Council (40 members appointed by the King) and the Council of Representatives or Chamber of Deputies (40 seats; members directly elected to serve four-year terms) elections: Council of Representatives - last held November-December 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - al Wifaq (Shia) 17, al Asala (Sunni Salafi) 5, al Minbar (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) 7, independents 11; note - seats by party as of February 2007 - al Wifaq 17, al Asala 8, al Minbar 7, al Mustaqbal (Moderate Sunni pro-government) 4, unassociated independents (all Sunni) 3, independent affiliated with al Wifaq (Sunni oppositionist) 1	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 74.68 years male: 72.18 years female: 77.25 years (2007 est.)	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 88.6% female: 83.6% (2001 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references	Middle East	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 220,264 GRT/314,289 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 3) (2007)	total: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007)
Military branches	Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Naval Force, Air Force, National Guard	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.5% (2006)	0.5% (2006)
National holiday	National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 was the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 was the date of independence from British protection	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality	noun: Bahraini(s) adjective: Bahraini	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts; dust storms	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources	oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 20 km; oil 52 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	political parties prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have recently engaged in protests with occasional low-level violence; protests related to a host of issues, including the 2002 constitution, elections, unemployment, and release of detainees; Sunni Islamist legislators support a greater role for Shari'a in daily life; several small leftist and other groups are active	NA
Population	708,573 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)	305,655 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%	9.3% (2004)
Population growth rate	1.392% (2007 est.)	0.602% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census)	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.021 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.372 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.084 male(s)/female total population: 1.255 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	20 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; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 1 (2007)	general assessment: modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	193,300 (2006)	133,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	898,900 (2006)	227,800 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	4 (1997)	2 (2006)
Terrain	mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate	2.57 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	15% (2005 est.)	10.2% (2005 est.)

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