Map of Bahrain
Bahrain is a country in Asia with its capital at Manama, home to about 1.60 million people across 787 km². The interactive map below plots 1 cities and towns, 1 mountain summits and 3 ports recorded for Bahrain in YearMaps.
- Population
- 1.60 million
- Area
- 787 km²
- Capital
- Manama
- Continent
- Asia
Interactive Map of Bahrain
Centred on Manama at 26.2361° N, 50.5831° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in the eastern part of Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. Situated near the western shore of the Persian Gulf, the country comprises a small archipelago of 33 natural islands and an additional 50 artificial islands, centred on Bahrain Island, which makes up around 80 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population is 1,588,670 as of 2024, of whom 739,736 (46.6% of the population) are Bahraini nationals, and 848,934 are expatriates (53.4% of the population). Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.
The area that straddles the present-day territory of Bahrain was once the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Iran. In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur. It has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.
In the late 19th century, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a semi-constitutional monarchy in 2002, and Article 2 of the constitution made sharia a principal source for legislation. In 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring. The ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family has been criticised for violating the human rights of groups including dissidents, political opposition figures, and its Shia Muslim population.
Bahrain is known as one of the first post-oil economies in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors. Many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in Manama, but oil revenues still constitute a significant part of its government budget. It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Bahrain (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Bahrain
In 1783, the Sunni AL-KHALIFA family took power in Bahrain. 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. A steady decline in oil production and reserves since 1970 prompted Bahrain to take steps to diversify its economy, in the process developing petroleum processing and refining, aluminum production, and hospitality and retail sectors. It has also endeavored to become a leading regional banking center, especially with respect to Islamic finance. Bahrain's small size, central location among Gulf countries, economic dependence on Saudi Arabia, and proximity to Iran require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Its foreign policy activities usually fall in line with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In 2022, the United States designated Bahrain as a major non-NATO ally. The Sunni royal family has long struggled to manage relations with its Shia-majority population. In 2011, amid Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region, the Bahraini Government responded to similar pro-democracy and reform protests at home with police and military action, including deploying Gulf Cooperation Council security forces. Ongoing dissatisfaction with the political status quo continues to factor into sporadic clashes between demonstrators and security forces. In 2020, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed the US-brokered Abraham Accords with Israel. In 2023, Bahrain and the United States signed the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement to enhance cooperation across a wide range of areas, from defense and security to emerging technology, trade, and investment.
- Location
- Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia.
- Climate
- Arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers.
- Terrain
- Mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment.
- Highest point
- Jabal ad Dukhan 135 m.
- Lowest point
- Persian Gulf 0 m.
- Coastline
- 161 km.
- Land borders
- Total: 0 km.
- Natural resources
- Oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 10.1% (2023 est.); arable land: 2.6% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 2.5% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 5% (2023 est.); forest: 4.3% (2023 est.); other: 84.2% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Periodic droughts; dust storms.
- Geographic 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.
- Languages
- Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu.
- Religions
- Muslim 74.2%, other 25.9% (2020 est)
- Ethnic groups
- Bahraini 47.4%, Asian 43.4%, other Arab 4.9%, African 1.4%, North American 1.1%, Gulf Co-operative countries 0.9%, European 0.8%, other 0.1% (2020 est.)
- Economy
- High-income, growing Middle Eastern island economy; oil and aluminum exporter with diversification led by services, construction and manufacturing; regional finance and tourism hub; high public debt linked to oil revenue dependence and limited tax base; vulnerable to water reservoir depletion.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Bahrain in Numbers
- Population
- 1.60 million
- GDP
- US$49.0 billion
- GDP per person
- US$30,597
- Life expectancy
- 81.4 years
- Population growth
- 0.73% a year
- Population density
- 1,986 per km²
- Urban population
- 100.0%
- Surface area
- 800 km²
- Forest cover
- 4.9%
- Arable land
- 2.6%
- Access to electricity
- 100.0%
- Internet users
- 100.0%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Bahrain in Depth
History
Bahrain was home to Dilmun, an important Bronze Age trade centre linking Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Bahrain was later ruled by the Sumerians and Babylonians. From the 6th to 3rd century BC, Bahrain was part of the Achaemenid Empire. By about 250 BC, Parthia brought the Persian Gulf under its control and extended its influence as far as Oman. The Parthians established garrisons along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf to control trade routes.
During the classical era, Bahrain was referred to by the ancient Greeks as Tylos, the centre of pearl trading, when the Greek admiral Nearchus serving under Alexander landed on Bahrain.
Geography
Bahrain is a generally flat and arid archipelago in the Persian Gulf. It consists of a low desert plain rising gently to a low central escarpment with the highest point the 134 m (440 ft) Mountain of Smoke (Jabal ad Dukhan). Bahrain had a total area of 665 km2 (257 sq mi) but due to land reclamation, the area increased to 780 km2 (300 sq mi).
Often described as an archipelago of 33 islands, extensive land reclamation projects have changed this; by August 2008 the number of islands and island groups had increased to 84. Bahrain does not share a land boundary with another country but does have a 161 km (100 mi) coastline. The country also claims a further 22 km (12 nmi) of territorial sea and a 44 km (24 nmi) contiguous zone.
Economy
According to a January 2006 report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Bahrain has the fastest-growing economy in the Arab world. Bahrain's economy is ranked the 55th freest in the 2025 Index of Economic Freedom and 4th out of 14 countries in the Middle East/North Africa region.
In 2008, Bahrain was named the world's fastest-growing financial centre by the City of London's Global Financial Centres Index. Bahrain's banking and financial services sector, particularly Muslim banking, have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil. Petroleum production and processing is Bahrain's most exported product, accounting for 60% of export receipts, 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP.
Demographics
In 2010, Bahrain's population was 1.2 million, of which 568,399 were Bahraini and 666,172 were non-nationals. It had risen from 1.05 million (517,368 non-nationals) in 2007, the year when Bahrain's population crossed the one million mark. Though a majority of the population is Middle Eastern, a sizeable number of people from South Asia live in the country. In 2008, approximately 290,000 Indian nationals lived in Bahrain, making them the single largest expatriate community in the country, the majority from the south Indian state of Kerala.
Bahrain is the fourth most densely populated sovereign state in the world with a population density of 1,646 people per km2 in 2010.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Bahrain (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Bahrain: Key Facts
| Currency | Bahraini dinar |
|---|---|
| Official language | Arabic |
| Head of state | Hamad II of Bahrain |
| Head of government | Salman bin Hamad, Crown Prince of Bahrain |
| Form of government | constitutional monarchy |
| Calling code | +973 |
| Internet domain | .bh |
| Highest point | Mountain of Smoke |
| Lowest point | Persian Gulf |
| Established | 14 August 1971 |
Facts from Wikidata Q398 (CC0).
History of Bahrain: Empires and States
The atlas records 22 polities whose mapped territory included part of Bahrain, from Parthian Empire in 126 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| Parthian Empire | 126 BCE – 237 CE | Nearly all |
| The Sasanian Empire | 238–629 CE | Nearly all |
| Rashidun Caliphate | 633–665 CE | Nearly all |
| The Umayyad Caliphate | 666–750 CE | Nearly all |
| The Abbasid Caliphate | 751–898 CE | Nearly all |
| Qarmatians | 899–1071 CE | Nearly all |
| Uyunid Emirate | 1072–1235 CE | Nearly all |
| Hamdanid Emirates | 1236–1259 CE | Nearly all |
| Bahrani Dynasty | 1260–1520 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Portugal | 1521–1581 CE | Nearly all |
| The Portuguese Empire | 1521–1581 CE | Nearly all |
| The Ottoman Empire | 1556–1563 CE | Nearly all |
| Iberian Union | 1582–1608 CE | Nearly all |
| The Spanish Empire | 1582–1608 CE | Nearly all |
| Safavid Dynasty | 1609–1717 CE | Nearly all |
| Yarubid dynasty | 1718–1740 CE | Nearly all |
| Afsharid Iran | 1738–1756 CE | Nearly all |
| Bahrain | 1757–1782 CE | Nearly all |
| House of Khalifa | 1783–1894 CE | Nearly all |
| The British Empire | 1895–1997 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Great Britain | 1895–2023 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Bahrain | 1973–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Bahrain
Bahrain on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Bahrain
The Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: البحرين , al-Baḥrayn) is a Middle Eastern archipelago in the Persian Gulf, tucked into a pocket of the sea flanked by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The kingdom combines modern Arab culture and the archaeological legacy of 5,000 years of civilisation.
The island is home to forts including Qalat Al Bahrain, which has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Bahrain National Museum has artefacts from the country's history dating back to the island's first human inhabitants some 9,000 years ago and the Beit Al Quran is a museum that holds Islamic artefacts of the Qur'an. Some of the popular historical tourist attractions in the kingdom are Al Khamis Mosque, which is one of the oldest mosques in the region, the Arad Fort in Muharraq, Barbar Temple, which is an ancient temple from the Dilmunite period of Bahrain, and the A'ali Burial Mounds and the Saar Temple. The Tree of Life, a 400-year-old tree that grows in the Sakhir desert with no nearby water, is also a popular tourist attraction.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Bahrain (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Bahrain
1 city recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manama | 563,920 | — | National capital |
Highest Mountains in Bahrain
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jabal ad Dukhan | 134 m | 440 ft | Asia |
Jabal ad Dukhan
Mountain · 134 m
Jabal ad Dukhan is a mountain rising to 134 metres (440 ft) in Bahrain, in the Asia region. From PeakBagger.com, with kind permission..
The Mountain of Smoke (Arabic: جبل الدخان, Jabal al Dukhan) is a hill in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain. At 134 m (440 ft) above mean sea level, it is the country's highest point. The Mountain of Smoke is named as such because of the haze which often surrounds it on humid days. A number of caves of indeterminate type are in the vicinity of this mountain. This limestone mountain offers panoramic views of Bahrain island, the main land mass of Bahrain.
Flint dating to the Stone Age has been found on and around the hill.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Mountain of Smoke (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Elevation
- 134 m (440 ft)
- Global rank
- #636 of 641 indexed
- Region
- Asia (#197)
- Country
- Bahrain
- Coordinates
- 26.0400°, 50.5500°
Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Jabal ad Dukhan ranks #636 by elevation, below Mont Agel (140 m) and above Town Hill (79 m).
- Ranges:
- Al Hajar Mountains (Asia), Hadhramaut (Asia)
- Neighbouring summits:
- Kuh-e Dinar (4,409 m), Jabal Yibir (1,527 m), Zard Kuh (4,548 m)
More about Jabal ad Dukhan
Jabal ad Dukhan: Key Facts
| Topographic prominence | 134 m |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q1032812 (CC0).
Ports in Bahrain
3 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | al Manamah | 53 m | Small | Persian Gulf & Gulf of Oman | large vessels |
| 2 | Sitrah | 27.4 m | Minor | Persian Gulf & Gulf of Oman | medium vessels |
| 3 | Khalifa Bin Salman | 27.4 m | Minor | Persian Gulf & Gulf of Oman | large vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Bahrain
2 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qal’at al Bahrain | 2005 | Cultural | (ii) (iii) (iv) |
| 2 | Dilmun Burial Mounds | 2019 | Cultural | (iii) (iv) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Bahrain
1 landform recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arabian Peninsula | 297,867 km² | Pen/cape | Asia |
Arabian Peninsula
Pen/cape · 297,867 km²
Arabian Peninsula is a pen/cape in Asia, covering an estimated 297,867 km². It extends across Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan.
The Arabian Peninsula, or simply Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia. It accounts for the majority of the land situated on the Arabian plate. With an area of 3,237,500 km2 (1.25 million mi2), it is the world's largest peninsula—roughly comparable in size to India. Nine countries are located on the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, as well as the southern halves of Iraq and Jordan.
Geographically, the Arabian Peninsula is bounded by Mesopotamia and the Levant to the north and northwest and surrounded by the Indian Ocean: the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman to the east and northeast; the Arabian Sea to the southeast; and the Gulf of Aden to the south, the Strait of Mandeb to the southwest, and the Red Sea to the west. Prior to the 7th century AD, Greco-Roman conceptions of "Arabia" were broader than the modern peninsula and extended into the Southern Levant, including the Sinai, the Negev, and regions of modern Jordan, as reflected in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, whose capital was Petra.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Arabian Peninsula (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Feature class
- Pen/cape
- Mapped extent
- 297,867 km²
- Size rank
- #33 of 231 landforms
- Region
- Asia
- Countries
- Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan
- Coordinates
- 15.0070°, 48.2200°
- Summits:
- Jabal ad Dukhan (134 m)
- Ranges:
- Hadhramaut (Asia), Ogo Mountains (Africa)
- Settlements:
- Manama (1,272 km)
More about Arabian Peninsula
Geography
The Arabian Peninsula is located in the continent of Asia and is bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf to the north-east, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to the east, the Arabian Sea to the south-east, the Gulf of Aden and the Guardafui Channel to the south, and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait to the south-west and the Red Sea to the south-west and west.
The northern portion of the peninsula transitions into the Syrian Desert with no clear borderline, although the northern boundary of the peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as well as the southern regions of Iraq and Jordan.
History
Prehistoric Arabia is the period of the Arabian Peninsula before any written records are known, going back to when humans first began to settle in the region, until around 1000 BC, when systematic written documentation begins to appear in the archaeological record. Stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era along with fossils of other animals discovered at Ti's al Ghadah, in north-western Saudi Arabia, might imply that hominins migrated through a "Green Arabia" between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago.
Two-hundred-thousand-year-old stone tools were discovered at Shuaib Al-Adgham in the eastern Al-Qassim Province, which would indicate that many prehistoric sites, located along a network of rivers, had once existed in the area.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Arabian Peninsula (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Arabian Peninsula: Key Facts
| Area | 3,200,000 km² |
|---|---|
| Highest point | Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb |
| On | Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea |
Facts from Wikidata Q31945 (CC0).
Countries Bordering Bahrain
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Asia
Bahrain: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Bahrain?
- The capital of Bahrain is Manama.
- What is the population of Bahrain?
- Bahrain has a population of about 1.60 million, the #153 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Bahrain?
- Bahrain covers 787 km², ranking #190 by area, with about 2,034 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Bahrain in?
- Bahrain is in Asia.
- Which countries border Bahrain?
- Bahrain shares a land or maritime border with Iran, Saudi Arabia.
- What is the largest city in Bahrain?
- Manama is the largest city in Bahrain, with a metropolitan population of about 563,920.
- What is the highest mountain in Bahrain?
- The highest summit recorded for Bahrain in YearMaps is Jabal ad Dukhan at 134 m (440 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.