Compare British Virgin Islands (2007) - Bahrain (2006)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2007) z Bahrain (2006)

	British Virgin Islands (2007)	Bahrain (2006)

Administrative divisions	none (overseas territory of the UK)	5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337) 15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 27.4% (male 96,567/female 94,650) 15-64 years: 69.1% (male 280,272/female 202,451) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 12,753/female 11,892) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish	fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish
Airports	3 (2007)	3 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	-
Area	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke	total: 665 sq km land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC	3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.	In 1782, 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. Sheikh HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa, who came to power in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shia community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of Sheikh HAMAD's political liberalization program. In February 2002, Sheikh HAMAD pronounced Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and changed his status from amir to king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature, the National Assembly.
Birth rate	14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)	revenues: $4.662 billion expenditures: $3.447 billion; including capital expenditures of $700 million (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Road Town geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Manama geographic coordinates: 26 13 N, 50 35 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds	arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Coastline	80 km	161 km
Constitution	13 June 2007	new constitution 14 February 2002
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI	conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun
Death rate	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.14 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$36.1 million (1997)	$6.814 billion (2005 est.)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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] 1727-0547
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	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
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from the UAE and Kuwait (2002)
Economy - overview	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.	Petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of Bahrain's 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 consists 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 2005 Bahrain and the US ratified a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state.
Electricity - consumption	41.85 million kWh (2005)	6.83 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	45 million kWh (2005)	7.345 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 m	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)	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
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
Ethnic groups	black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed)	Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used	Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2005), 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006) head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor	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
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand	petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles
Exports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	Saudi Arabia 3.3%, US 2.6%, UAE 2.3% (2005)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)	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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 0.5% industry: 38.7% services: 60.8% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2002 est.)	5.9% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	18 30 N, 64 30 W	26 00 N, 50 33 E
Geography - note	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico	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
Heliports	-	1 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery	crude oil, machinery, chemicals
Imports - partners	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)	Saudi Arabia 36.4%, Japan 6.6%, Germany 6.4%, US 5.4%, UK 5%, UAE 4.1% (2005)
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	15 August 1971 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	2% (2000 est.)
Industries	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center	petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, ship repairing, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2% (2005)	2.7% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	40 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction	High Civil Appeals Court
Labor force	12,770 (2004)	380,000 note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)	agriculture: 1% industry: 79% services: 20% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005)	arable land: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2005)
Languages	English (official)	Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
Legal system	English law	based on Islamic law and English common law
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1	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 in September 2006) election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Sunni Islamists 12, Shia grouping 7, other groupings and independents 21 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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 76.86 years male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)	total population: 74.45 years male: 71.97 years female: 77 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico	Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
Merchant marine	-	total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 235,449 GRT/339,728 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 3) (2006)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, National Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$627.7 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	4.9% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Territory Day, 1 July (1956)	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
Nationality	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander	noun: Bahraini(s) adjective: Bahraini
Natural hazards	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)	periodic droughts; dust storms
Natural resources	NEGL	oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls
Net migration rate	8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 20 km; oil 52 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]	political parties prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have recently engaged in protests and marches, demanding that more power be vested in the elected Council of Representatives and that the government do more to decrease unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active
Population	23,552 (July 2007 est.)	698,585 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	1.923% (2007 est.)	1.45% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991)	Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.38 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female total population: 1.26 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)	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 - 1 (1997)
Telephones - main lines in use	11,700 (2002)	196,500 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,000 (2002)	748,700 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997)	4 (1997)
Terrain	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly	mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Total fertility rate	1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.6 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.6% (1997)	15% (2005 est.)

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