Political and Economic Snapshot

Kingdom of Bahrain (known in Arabic as Mamlakat Al Bahrain) comprises of 33 islands, the largest of which is the island of Bahrain.

Its neighbours are Saudi Arabia to The West, South West and South. Qatar is situated to the East of Bahrain whilst the Persian Gulf is situated to the north. Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy.

The Bahraini constitution consists of the following bodies:

House of representatives: all 40 members of this body are chosen through direct elections in the country.

The right to free elections is enshrined in National Action Charter drawn which is drawn up by the Bahraini government. Last elections were held in 2002 where majority of Bahrainis participated, except few members of the country's Shiite population who boycotted the elections.

Bahrain's enjoys good regional and international relations in areas of trade and foreign political relations. This is illustrated in the country's strong economic and strategic relations with Saudi Arabia, USA, Iran and Iraq. The economy of Bahrain has been growing rapidly during the last number of years. For the year 2004 the economy chalked up impressive gains owing to the rise in the price of oil and growth in other sectors of the Bahraini economy such as construction and tourism. Bahrain's recent free trade agreement with the US has contributed to the impressive growth in investments made in the country from local and international sources.  

By: Meir Javedanfar

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