Capital: Manama
Total Land Area: 711 sq km (274 sq m)
Time Zone: GMT + 3 (Saudi and Kuwait +3; UAE +4)
Country dialing code: 973
Population: 742,561 (459,012 Bahraini; 283,549 ex-pat)
Labour Force: 380,000 (2005 est.)
Population Growth: 1.45% (2006 est)
GDP: US$ 12.14 billion
Real GDP growth: 7.1% (2006)
GDP per head: US$ 25,800 (2006)
Languages: The official language is Arabic. English is very widely spoken and is the principal language of commerce.
Currency: Bahraini Dinar, which is pegged to the US Dollar
Exchange Controls: None; there is no restriction on repatriation of capital, profit or dividends
Taxation:
No personal income tax (there is a one per cent contribution to unemployment insurance); no corporation taxes; no wealth or capital gains taxes; no death duties or inheritance tax; Indirect taxes: 12% on petrol; 3% levy on hotel bills; 10% municipal tax on rents
Head of State: King Hamad bin Essa Al-Khalifa
Head of Government: Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa
Crown Prince and Commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defense Force: Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa
Parliament: Bahrain has a bicameral legislature with a lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, elected by universal suffrage and the upper house, the Shura Council, appointed by the King. Both houses have forty members. The inaugural elections were held in 2002, with parliamentarians serving four year terms
Education: State (203) and private (56). There is a choice of Bahraini, British, American, and Lebanese curricula in private schools
Healthcare: 18 hospitals and 293 private clinics
Electricity: 240 volts (3 pin plugs)
Local Media: There are 8 daily newspapers, 2 of which are in English; Bahrain TV (Arabic) and Channel 55 (English)