Republic of Bahrain

Bahrain, officially the Republic of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it is comprised of a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands. It is positioned between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. With a population of around 1,501,635, it spans some 760 square kilometres, making Bahrain the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. Its capital and largest city is Manama.

Historically the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation, Bahrain was one of the earliest areas that received Islamic influence and therefore the religion itself. Following a period of native Arab rule, the island came under the administration of the Portuguese Empire which ruled the island throughout the 16th century prior to being expelled by Safavid forces. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan seized control of the island which it came to rule for the next few centuries.

In the late 1800s, a series of successive treaties saw Bahrain become a protectorate of the United Kingdom before later achieving its independence in 1971. Formerly an emirate, the country officially transitioned to a kingdom in 2002 and became an Islamic constitutional monarchy. In 2011, Arab Spring-inspired protests culminated in a revolution which overthrew the House of Khalifa and established a republic which has persisted to this day. Since then, the country has been governed as a presidential republic headed by a popularly-elected president and has been noted extensively for the high levels of freedom enjoyed by its population in stark contrast to its otherwise authoritarian and repressive neighbours, most of which still retain a powerful monarchy.

Recognised as a high-income country by the World Bank and possessing the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain is a member of various international organisations, namely the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, from which it was briefly suspended before being later readmitted as a full and official member.