Bahrain

OVERVIEW

The Kingdom of Bahrain is a Middle Eastern country in the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago east of Saudi Arabia and North of Qatar. The King Fahd Causeway is a highway that was built to link the west coast of Bahrain to the east coast of Saudi Arabia. The country is made up of the main island of Bahrain and two smaller islands, Al Muharraq and Sitrah.

Most of Bahrain’s 1.8 million inhabitants are concentrated in its capital city of Manama as well as Al Muharraq. Of this, 50% are Arab while the other half consists of expatriate residents (who make up 60% of the labor force). Bahrain is a member of the GCC and its economy is considered the 74th freest economy in the world, with its currency pegged to the US dollar (1 BD to USD
$2.65). Presently, Bahrain is rated to have the 4th fastest-growing economy in the MENA region.

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OVERVIEW

The Kingdom of Bahrain is a Middle Eastern country in the Persian Gulf covering an area of 760 km2. It is an archipelago of 33 islands, east of Saudi Arabia and north of Qatar. Bahrain has a Constitutional Hereditary Monarch, ruled by the House of Khalifa. Bahrain is a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state and is considered as one of the freest economies in the world, with the Bahraini Dinar being pegged to the US Dollar.

Bahrain is a member of the GCC with main trading partners including Australia, Japan, China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is a main trading partner, with the ease of trade through the King Fahd Causeway Bridge that connects the two. The GDP value of Bahrain represents 0.03 percent of the world economy, with a current Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 42 billion.

GCC member states and those who signed international trade commitments are exempt from import tariffs on most food or medical commodities under the GCC Unified Customs Union Agreement.

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