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, which much of Western world's petroleum
must transit to reach open ocean
People Bahrain
Population: 667,238 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 97,294; female 94,930)
15-64 years: 68% (male 266,351; female 187,473)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 10,807; female 10,383) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 28.7 years
male: 31.6 years
female: 25.1 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
1.61% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
19.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)