Bahrain (2008) | Haiti (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat
note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor |
9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
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:
40.31% (male 1,421,945; female 1,385,580) 15-64 years: 55.52% (male 1,869,323; female 1,997,246) 65 years and over: 4.17% (male 140,556; female 149,899) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 13 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
27,750 sq km land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early the following year. |
Birth rate | 17.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 31.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $6.048 billion
expenditures: $5.082 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$317 million expenditures: $362 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Manama
geographic coordinates: 26 14 N, 50 34 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Port-au-Prince |
Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 161 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | adopted 14 February 2002 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 |
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 Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
Currency | - | gourde (HTG) |
Death rate | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.692 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $1 billion (1998 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 Brian Dean CURRAN embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 223-4776 FAX: [509] 23-1641 |
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:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $103.9 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from the UAE and Kuwait (2004) | $730.6 million (1995) |
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. | About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. This destabilized the Haitian currency, the gourde, and, combined with a 40% fuel price hike in September, caused widespread price increases. Prices appear to have leveled off in January 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.614 billion kWh (2005) | 625 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.187 billion kWh (2005) | 672 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
52.83% hydro: 47.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 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 | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water |
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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census) | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2007), 0.376 (2006), 0.376 (2005), 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003) | gourdes per US dollar - 23.761 (January 2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (1996) |
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:
President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Marie CHERESTAL (since 9 February 2001) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the Congress election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
Exports | 235,500 bbl/day (2004) | $186 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles | manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 3.2%, US 3%, Japan 2.3% (2006) | US 89%, EU 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.3%
industry: 43.6% services: 56% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
32% industry: 20% services: 48% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.6% (2007 est.) | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 00 N, 50 33 E | 19 00 N, 72 25 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 | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total:
4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | 216,300 bbl/day (2004) | $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, chemicals | food, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 37.2%, Japan 6.8%, US 6.2%, UK 6.1%, Germany 6%, UAE 4.2% (2006) | US 60%, EU 13% (1999) |
Independence | 15 August 1971 (from UK) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.5% (2007 est.) | 0.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing, tourism | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
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.) |
95.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2007 est.) | 19% (2000 est.) |
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 | ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | 750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Civil Appeals Court | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 363,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2007 est.) |
3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 79% services: 20% (1997 est.) |
agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
275 km border countries: Dominican Republic 275 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.82%
permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2005) |
arable land:
20% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 5% other: 44% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu | French (official), Creole (official) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; about eight seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next election NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, OPL 1, other minor parties and independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.68 years
male: 72.18 years female: 77.25 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
49.38 years male: 47.67 years female: 51.17 years (2001 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: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic |
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 |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Naval Force, Air Force, National Guard | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA; note - mainly for police and security activities |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.5% (2006) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,635,253 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
888,305 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
87,049 (2001 est.) |
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, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
noun:
Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; dust storms | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 | Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] |
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 | Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 708,573
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
6,964,549
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.392% (2007 est.) | 1.4% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Radios | - | 415,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990s narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge |
Religions | Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly one-half of the population also practices Voodoo |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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:
domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 193,300 (2006) | 60,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 898,900 (2006) | 0 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 2.57 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.4 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2005 est.) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (1999) |
Waterways | - | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable |