Bahrain

Bahrain is the dual form of the Arabic word Bahr (meaning "sea"), so al-Bahrayn originally means "the two seas". However, the name has been lexicalised as a feminine proper noun and does not follow the grammatical rules for duals; thus its form is always Bahrayn and never Bahrān, the expected nominative form. Endings are added to the word with no changes, as in the name of the national anthem Bahraynunā ("our Bahrain") or the demonym Bahraynī. The medieval grammarian al-Jawahari commented on this, saying that the more formally correct term Bahrī (lit. 'belonging to the sea') would have been misunderstood and so was unused. It remains disputed which "two seas" the name Bahrayn originally refers to. The term appears five times in the Quran but does not refer to the modern island—originally known to the Arabs as Awal. …

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. …

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. Bahrain's largest islands are Bahrain Island, the Hawar Islands, Muharraq Island, Umm an Nasan, and Sitra. Bahrain has mild winters and very hot, humid summers. …

Islam is the main religion, and Bahrainis are known for their tolerance towards the practice of other faiths. Intermarriages between Bahrainis and expatriates are not uncommon—there are many Filipino Bahrainis like Filipino child actress Mona Marbella Al-Alawi. Rules regarding female attire are generally relaxed compared to regional neighbours; the traditional attire of women usually include the hijab or the abaya. Although the traditional male attire is the thobe, which also includes traditional headdresses such as the keffiyeh, ghutra and agal, Western clothing is common in the country. Although Bahrain legalised homosexuality in 1976, many homosexuals have since been arrested, often for violating broadly written laws against public immorality and public indecency. …

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. Aluminium production is the second-most exported product, followed by finance and construction materials. …

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. The only sovereign states with larger population densities are city states. Much of this population is concentrated in the north of the country with the Southern Governorate being the least densely populated part. …