1 GeoFroggy

BAHRAIN

Continent: Middle East

Geography

People &
Society

Government

Economy

Energy

Communications

Military &
Security

Transportation

Terrorism

Transnational Issues
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Background

The Sunni-led government has long struggled to manage relations with its large Shia-majority population. In early 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government confronted similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces to Bahrain. Political talks throughout 2014 between the government and opposition and loyalist political groups failed to reach an agreement, prompting opposition political societies to boycott parliamentary and municipal council elections in late 2014. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

Location

Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia

Area Comparative

3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

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

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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
Year

Map Reference

  • Middle East

Irrigated Land 2003

  • 40.15 sq km

Area 2015

  • Total
    760 sq km
  • Land
    760 sq km
  • Water
    0 sq km

Coastline

  • 161 km

Geographical Coordinates

  • 26 00 N, 50 33 E

Land use 2015

  • Agricultural Land
    11.3%;
  • Forest
    0.7%
  • Other
    88%

Terrain

  • Mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Land Boundaries

    0 km

Natural Resources

  • Oil
  • Associated and nonassociated natural gas
  • Fish
  • Pearls
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