Part 16
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Yashar ALIYEV chancery: 2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 337-3500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-5911 Consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Anne E. DERSE embassy: 83 Azadliyg Prospecti, Baku AZ1007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, US Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: [994] (12) 4980-335 through 337 FAX: [994] (12) 4656-671
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band
Economy Azerbaijan
Economy - overview: Azerbaijan's number one export is oil. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997, but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to long-term oilfield development, should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997. A consortium of Western oil companies is scheduled to begin pumping 1 million barrels a day from a large offshore field in early 2006, through a $4 billion pipeline it built from Baku to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Economists estimate that by 2010 revenues from this project will double the country's current GDP. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan's economic progress: the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector, the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and the pervasive corruption. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects will depend on world oil prices, the location of new pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan's ability to manage its oil wealth.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $42.99 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $10.4 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 26.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $5,400 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.1% industry: 45.7% services: 40.2% (2002 est.)
Labor force: 5.45 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 41% industry: 7% services: 52% (2001)
Unemployment rate: 1.1% official rate (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: 49% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 27.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 36.5 (2001)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 54.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $3.18 billion expenditures: $2.986 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 11.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats
Industries: petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore; cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles
Industrial production growth rate: 40% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production: 20 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 89.7% hydro: 10.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 20.25 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: 700 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: 2.35 billion kWh (2003)
Oil - production: 477,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: 123,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves: 589 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 5.13 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 9.2 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 849.5 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $167.3 million (2005 est.)
Exports: $6.117 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: Italy 30.3%, France 9.4%, Russia 6.6%, Turkey 6.3%, Turkmenistan 6.3%, Georgia 4.8%, Israel 4.5%, Croatia 4.1% (2005)
Imports: $4.656 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals
Imports - partners: Russia 17%, UK 9.1%, Singapore 9.1%, Turkey 7.4%, Germany 6.1%, Turkmenistan 5.8%, Ukraine 5.4%, China 4.1% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.192 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $1.873 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $140 million (2000 est.)
Currency (code): Azerbaijani manat (AZM)
Currency code: AZM
Exchange rates: Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,727.1 (2005), 4,913.48 (2004), 4,910.73 (2003), 4,860.82 (2002), 4,656.58 (2001) note: on 1 January 2006 Azerbaijan revalued its currency, with 5,000 old manats equal to 1 new manat
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Azerbaijan
Telephones - main lines in use: 1,091,400 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.242 million (2005)
Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 14 main lines per 100 persons is low (2002) domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still without public telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan international: country code - 994; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations - 2 (2005)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 175,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)
Televisions: 170,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .az
Internet hosts: 880 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
Internet users: 678,800 (2005)
Transportation Azerbaijan
Airports: 36 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 27 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2006)
Heliports: 1 (2006)
Pipelines: gas 3,190 km; oil 2,436 km (2006)
Railways: total: 2,957 km broad gauge: 2,957 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2005)
Roadways: total: 27,016 km paved: 12,698 km (including 128 km of expressways) unpaved: 14,318 km (2003)
Merchant marine: total: 84 ships (1000 GRT or over) 405,395 GRT/436,666 DWT by type: cargo 26, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 43, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 3 registered in other countries: 4 (Georgia 2, Malta 2) (2006)
Ports and terminals: Baku (Baki)
Military Azerbaijan
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces
Military service age and obligation: men between 18 and 35 are liable for military service; 18 years of age for voluntary military service; length of military service is 18 months and 12 months for university graduates (2006)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 1,961,973 females age 18-49: 2,033,186 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,314,955 females age 18-49: 1,676,408 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 82,358 females age 18-49: 78,067 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $121 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.6% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Azerbaijan
Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan; over 800,000 mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about 230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan into Armenia; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armenia to connect to Naxcivan exclave; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratify Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on an even one-fifth allocation and challenges Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters; bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 8,367 (Russia) IDPs: 528,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2005)
Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; small government eradication program; transit point for Southwest Asian opiates bound for Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Bahamas, The
Introduction Bahamas, The
Background: 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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Geography Bahamas, The
Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Geographic coordinates: 24 15 N, 76 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 3,542 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Land use: arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Environment - current issues: coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international 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
Geography - note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
People Bahamas, The
Population: 303,770 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 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 41,799/female 41,733) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 98,847/female 102,074) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 7,891/female 11,426) (2006 est.)
Median age: total: 27.8 years male: 27.1 years female: 28.6 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.64% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: 17.57 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 24.68 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.6 years male: 62.24 years female: 69.03 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,600 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Ethnic groups: black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Religions: 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)
Languages: English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Government Bahamas, The
Country name: conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Government type: constitutional parliamentary democracy
Capital: 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 first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Constitution: 10 July 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: 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 Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) 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
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 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 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4
Judicial branch: Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts
Political parties and leaders: Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: 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
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD 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, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
Economy Bahamas, The
Economy - overview: 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $6.105 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $5.783 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.7% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $20,200 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 176,300 (2004)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10.2% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: 9.3% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.2% ( 2004)
Budget: revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion; including capital expenditures of $130 million (FY04/05)
Agriculture - products: citrus, vegetables; poultry
Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 1.81 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: 1.683 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - consumption: 23,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Exports: $469.3 million (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners: US 31%, Spain 29.7%, Poland 9.3%, Germany 5.6%, Guatemala 4.1% (2005)
Imports: $1.82 billion (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners: US 22.5%, South Korea 20.2%, Spain 7.8%, Brazil 7.1%, Italy 6.5%, Germany 5.4% (2005)
Debt - external: $342.6 million (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $5 million (2004)
Currency (code): Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Currency code: BSD
Exchange rates: Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications Bahamas, The
Telephones - main lines in use: 139,900 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 186,000 (2004)
Telephone system: general assessment: modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 2 (2005)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Radios: 215,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (2006)
Televisions: 67,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .bs
Internet hosts: 591 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 19 (2000)
Internet users: 93,000 (2005)
Transportation Bahamas, The
Airports: 64 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 29 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Heliports: 1 (2006)
Roadways: total: 2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999)
Merchant marine: total: 1,177 ships (1000 GRT or over) 37,743,270 GRT/50,918,747 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 253, cargo 250, chemical tanker 64, container 79, liquefied gas 35, livestock carrier 2, passenger 115, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 175, refrigerated cargo 114, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 30 foreign-owned: 1,093 (Angola 5, Australia 2, Belgium 13, Canada 18, China 3, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 59, Estonia 1, Finland 8, France 37, Germany 22, Greece 232, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 1, India 1, Indonesia 4, Ireland 2, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 51, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 17, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 259, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 12, Singapore 12, Slovenia 1, Spain 12, Sweden 6, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, Turkey 8, UAE 16, UK 69, Uruguay 2, US 121, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 4 (Barbados 1, Liberia 1, Panama 2) (2006)
Ports and terminals: Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
Military Bahamas, The
Military branches: Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 73,121 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 44,309 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males age 18-49: 2,804 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA
Transnational Issues Bahamas, The
Disputes - international: disagrees with the US on the alignment of the maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Bahrain
Introduction Bahrain
Background: 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.
Geography Bahrain
Location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 665 sq km land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls
Land use: arable land: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2005)
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
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
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
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
People Bahrain
Population: 698,585 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 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.)
Median age: total: 29.4 years male: 32.4 years female: 25.8 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.45% (2006 est.)