Bahrein
General presentation
Official name: Kingdom of Bahrain
Type of government: constitutional monarchy
Area: 760 km² spread over 33 islands, some of which are uninhabited
Capital: Manama
Main cities: Muharraq, Riffa, Jidhafs, Hamad Town, Isa Town
Official language: Arabic
National holiday: December 16
Population: 1.569 million Density: 1851 inhabitants/km²
Population growth: 3.8
Literacy: No World Bank data beyond 2010 (93% (M) 90% (F))
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
The most diversified economy among the CCEAG[1] countries (89% of GDP comes from non-oil activities), Bahrain has not been less affected by the health crisis than its neighbors. Weakened by the successive crises it has experienced since 2008 (global crisis, uprising during the Arab Spring in 2011, fall in oil prices in 2014), its economy is facing a new contraction of 5.4% in 2020. The pandemic and the oil shock have accentuated the deterioration of its economic balance. Despite the diversification of the economy, the Bahraini economy is closely linked to variations in oil prices; in 2020 the sector will still account for 55% of budget revenues and 42.6% of exports. The 3.3% recovery in 2021 expected by the IMF will depend on higher oil prices, but also and above all on the non-oil sector.
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
Work in process
Indicators
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (in billions of USD) | 32.23 | 35.33 | 39.30 | 41.61 |
| GDP per capita (USD) | 222.637 | 24.326 | 26.532 | 27.926 |
| Growth rate | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | |
| Inflation rate | 2.8 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 4.8 |
| Public debt (% of GDP) | 81.350 | 88.504 | 88.417 | 91.693 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | -13.8 | -10.2 | ||
| Current account balance (% of GDP) | -4.6 | -4.5 | -2.5 | -2.3 |
Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale
Main customers
2018: UAE (19.6%), Saudi Arabia (11.7%), US (10.8%), China (6.5%)
Main suppliers
2018 :China (8.8%), UAE (7.2%), United States (7.1%), Australia (5.3%), Japan (4.8%)
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process