State on the eponymous archipelago of the Persian Gulf.
Territory - 598.3 sq. km.
Population - 320 thousand (1978); predominantly Arabs, as well as immigrants from Iran, India, Pakistan, etc.
The capital is Manama (over 200 thousand).
The state language is Arabic.
Religion - Sunni and Shiite Islam.
Bahrain became an independent state on 14th VIII 1971, before that it was a protectorate of England (from the second half of the 19th century).
Bahrain is a member of the Arab League. He provided financial assistance to countries affected by Israeli aggression ($ 8.1 million in 1977), strengthens relations with other Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. Bahrain condemned the Egyptian-Israeli separate "peace" treaty, supported the decisions of the Baghdad conferences of Arab countries on the application of sanctions against the Sadat regime, and severed diplomatic relations with Egypt.
Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is Emir Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa. In accordance with the 1973 constitution, the legislative power belongs to the emir and the unicameral National Assembly, the executive power belongs to the State Council, headed by the Prime Minister (Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa). In August 1975, the National Assembly was dissolved.
The activities of political parties are prohibited. Illegal political organizations operate in the country - the Bahrain National Liberation Front, the Bahrain People's Front, and others.
The economy is based on oil production (in 1978, 2.7 million tons were produced). Oil revenues account for about 60% of all government revenues. Due to the limited proven oil reserves (according to experts' forecasts, they will last no more than 20-25 years), oil production is declining annually. Natural gas is extracted (reserves - 240 billion cubic meters). The Bahraini government has been in full control of oil and gas production since 1979 (before that, the American company Bahrain Petroleum was operating oil and gas fields).
There is an oil refinery (with a capacity of 14 million tons of oil per year), which is owned by the American company Bahrain Petroleum and processes mainly oil (10 million tons) coming from Saudi Arabia. There is a modern aluminum complex (capacity - 122 thousand tons of aluminum per year), there are a number of plants: for the production of aluminum powder, for the production of hot stamping of aluminum, anti-corrosion varnishes and paints, for the production of oxygen, plastic pipes, etc. a dry dock was put into operation for the repair of supertankers with a displacement of up to 500 thousand tons. The construction of a complex for the collection and processing of associated gas is nearing completion.
Agriculture is underdeveloped and does not meet the country's needs for food.
Only 10% of the entire territory is processed. Dates, pistachios, grapes, citrus fruits, oilseeds, vegetables are grown in the oases. Experimental livestock and poultry farms have been created. Fishing for shrimp and fish is carried out. Extraction of pearls and sponges plays an important role.
The length of highways is about 200 km, unpaved roads - about 500 km. Auto communication between the islands is carried out on bulk dams. The main ports are Manama, Salman and Sitra. The airport on the island of Muharraq is the largest in the Persian Gulf region.
The monetary unit is the Bahraini dinar. 0.7 dinars = 1 lb. Art.
Bahrain is a major transit center for goods in the Persian Gulf. More than 40% of imported goods are re-exported.
The main export items are oil, petroleum products, aluminum and aluminum steam, shrimp, pearl products.
Industrial and agricultural equipment, building materials, food, etc. are imported.
Main trading partners: USA, England, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, China, Australia.
