Demographics of Bahrain
"Bahrainis" redirects here. For the indigenous inhabitants of Bahrain, see
Baharna .
This article's
factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2017 )
Demographics of Bahrain Population 1,472,380 (2022 est.) Growth rate 0.88% (2022 est.) Birth rate 12.4 births/1,000 population Death rate 2.82 deaths/1,000 population Life expectancy 79.9 years • male 77.63 years • female 82.24 years Fertility rate 1.67 Infant mortality rate 10.19 deaths/1,000 live births Net migration rate -0.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population 0–14 years 20.13% 15–64 years 76.71% 65 and over 3.16% Nationality Bahraini Major ethnic Bahraini - 46% Official Arabic Spoken Arabic
Demographics of Bahrain, Data of FAO , year 2005; Number of permanent inhabitants in thousands.
The demographics of the population of Bahrain includes population density , ethnicity , education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Most of the population of Bahrain is concentrated in the two principal cities, Manama and Al Muharraq .
Ethnic groups
Regarding the ethnicity of Bahrainis, a Financial Times article published on 31 May 1983 found that "Bahrain is a polyglot state, both religiously and racially. Discounting temporary immigrants of the past ten years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island ". These may be classified as:
Community
Description
Afro-Arabs
Descendants of Africans, primarily from East Africa and of mostly Sunni faith
Ajam of Bahrain
Persians of Shia faith, a minority are from the Baháʼí Faith .
Baharna
The indigenous inhabitants of Bahrain. The overwhelming majority are Shia.
Banyan (Bania )
Indians who traded with Bahrain and settled before the age of oil (formerly known as the Hunood or Banyan , Arabic : البونيان ), of mostly Hindu faith
Bahraini Jews
Jews have inhabited Bahrain for centuries. Most native Bahraini Jews are of Mesopotamian and Persian descent.
Hola
Sunni Arabs from Persia
Bahraini Sunni Arabs
Urbanized Sunni Bahrainis of Bedouin ancestry, such as the Utoob , Dawasir etc.
Non-nationals make up more than half of the population of Bahrain, with immigrants making up about 52.6% of the overall population.[2] Of those, the vast majority come from South and Southeast Asia: according to various media reports and government statistics dated between 2005 and 2012 roughly 350,000 Indians,[3] 150,000 Bangladeshis,[4] 110,000 Pakistanis,[5] 40,000 Filipinos,[6] and 8,000 Indonesians.[7] In 2023, about 4,000 people from the United Kingdom live in Bahrain,[8] although some estimates are double this number.[9]
[10]
Population
Percentage
Bahraini
712,362
Other Arabs
86,823
African
21,502
North American
16,415
Asian
650,996
European
11,750
Others
1,787
total
1,501,635
Population
Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1950 116,000 — 1960 162,000 +39.7% 1970 212,000 +30.9% 1980 358,000 +68.9% 1990 493,000 +37.7% 2000 638,000 +29.4% 2010 1,262,000 +97.8% 2020 1,501,635 +19.0% Source:[11]
Population census
Population of Bahrain according to nationality 1941-2010[12]
census year
Bahraini
non-Bahraini
total population
#
%
#
%
1941
74,040
15,930
89,970
1950
91,179
18,471
109,650
1959
118,734
24,401
143,135
1965
143,814
38,389
182,203
1971
178,193
37,885
216,078
1981
238,420
112,378
350,798
1991
323,305
184,732
508,037
2001
405,667
244,937
650,604
2010
568,399
666,172
1,234,571
2020
712,362
789,273
1,501,635
Population estimates on July 1
[13]
[14]
Bahraini
Non-Bahraini
Total
% Non-Bahraini
2001
409,619
251,698
661,317
2002
427,246
283,307
710,554
2003
445,634
318,888
764,519
2004
464,808
358,936
823,744
2005
484,810
404,013
888,824
2006
505,673
454,752
960,425
2007
527,433
511,864
1,039,297
2008
541,587
561,909
1,103,496
2009
558,011
620,404
1,178,415
2010
570,687
657,856
1,228,543
2011
584,688
610,332
1,195,020
2012
599,629
609,335
1,208,964
2013
614,830
638,361
1,253,191
2014
630,744
683,818
1,314,562
2015
647,835
722,487
1,370,322
2016
664,707
759,019
1,423,726
2017
677,506
823,610
1,501,116
2018
689,417
813,377
1,502,794
2019
701,827
781,929
1,483,756
2020
713,263
758,941
1,472,204
2021
719,333
785,032
1,504,365
Vital statistics
UN estimates
Period[15]
Live births per year
Deaths per year
Natural change per year
CBR*
CDR*
NC*
TFR*
IMR*
1950–1955
6,000
3,000
3,000
45.0
21.6
23.4
6.97
183
1955–1960
7,000
3,000
4,000
45.7
17.7
27.9
6.97
156
1960–1965
8,000
2,000
6,000
45.7
12.6
33.2
7.18
112
1965–1970
8,000
2,000
7,000
41.6
8.7
32.9
6.97
74
1970–1975
8,000
2,000
7,000
35.2
6.5
28.6
5.95
49
1975–1980
10,000
2,000
9,000
33.0
4.8
28.1
5.23
33
1980–1985
13,000
2,000
11,000
32.9
4.1
28.8
4.63
22
1985–1990
14,000
2,000
13,000
31.3
3.6
27.7
4.08
16
1990–1995
14,000
2,000
12,000
26.3
3.3
23.1
3.35
14
1995–2000
14,000
2,000
12,000
23.1
3.2
19.9
2.89
11
2000–2005
14,000
2,000
12,000
21.1
3.0
18.1
2.62
9
2005–2010
21,000
3,000
18,000
20.7
2.8
18.0
2.63
7
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)
Registered data
Birth registration of Bahrain is available from 1976, death registration started in 1990. Between 1976 and 2011 the number of baby births roughly doubled but the birth rate of babies decreased from 32 to 13 per 1,000. The death rate of Bahrain (1.9 per 1,000 human beings in 2011) is among the lowest in the world.
[16] [17] [18]
Average population
Live births
Deaths
Natural change
Crude birth rate (per 1000)
Crude death rate (per 1000)
Natural change (per 1000)
T otal F ertility R ate per woman
1965
5,150
1966
4,860
1967
5,179
1968
5,274
1971
6,404
1972
7,274
1973
7,679
1974
7,612
1975
7,767
1976
282,000
8,984
31.8
1977
302,000
9,058
872
8,186
30.0
2.9
27.1
1978
322,000
9,398
1,002
8,396
29.2
3.1
26.1
1979
341,000
9,664
1,037
8,627
28.3
3.0
25.3
1980
358,000
10,140
1,085
9,055
28.3
3.0
25.3
1981
372,000
10,300
1,065
9,235
27.7
2.9
24.8
1982
384,000
11,037
1,119
9,918
28.8
2.9
25.9
1983
394,000
11,431
1,064
10,367
29.0
2.7
26.3
1984
405,000
11,519
1,303
10,216
28.5
3.2
25.3
1985
417,000
12,314
1,212
11,102
29.5
2.9
26.6
1986
431,000
12,893
1,423
11,470
29.9
3.3
26.6
1987
446,000
12,699
1,584
11,115
28.5
3.6
24.9
1988
462,000
12,555
1,523
11,032
27.2
3.3
23.9
1989
478,000
13,611
1,551
12,060
28.5
3.2
25.3
1990
493,000
13,370
1,552
11,818
27.1
3.1
24.0
1991
503,052
13,229
1,744
11,485
26.1
3.4
22.7
1992
516,458
13,874
1,760
12,114
26.7
3.4
23.3
1993
530,225
14,191
1,714
12,477
26.7
3.2
23.5
1994
544,366
13,766
1,695
12,071
25.2
3.1
22.1
1995
558,879
13,481
1,910
11,571
24.1
3.4
20.7
1996
573,792
13,123
1,780
11,343
22.8
3.1
19.7
1997
589,115
13,382
1,822
11,560
22.6
3.1
19.5
1998
604,842
13,381
1,997
11,384
21.9
3.3
18.6
1999
620,989
14,280
1,920
12,360
22.8
3.1
19.7
2.900
2000
637,582
13,947
2,045
11,902
21.9
3.2
18.7
2.800
2001
661,317
13,468
1,979
11,489
21.0
3.1
17.9
2.600
2002
710,554
13,576
2,035
11,541
21.1
3.2
17.9
2.400
2003
764,519
14,560
2,114
12,446
22.5
3.3
19.2
2.400
2004
823,744
14,968
2,215
12,753
22.3
3.3
19.0
2.300
2005
888,824
15,198
2,222
12,976
21.0
3.1
17.9
2.100
2006
960,425
15,053
2,317
12,736
18.6
2.9
15.7
2.000
2007
1,039,297
16,062
2,270
13,792
17.4
2.5
14.9
1.964
2008
1,103,496
17,022
2,390
14,632
16.2
2.3
13.9
1.968
2009
1,178,415
17,841
2,387
15,454
15.1
2.0
13.1
1.951
2010
1,228,543
18,150
2,401
15,749
14.8
2.0
12.8
1.877
2011
1,195,020
17,573
2,528
15,045
14.7
2.1
12.6
1.967
2012
1,208,964
19,119
2,613
16,506
15.8
2.2
13.6
2.134
2013
1,253,191
19,995
2,588
17,407
16.0
2.1
13.9
2.157
2014
1,314,562
20,931
2,805
18,126
15.9
2.1
13.8
2.108
2015
1,370,322
20,983
2,787
18,196
15.3
2.1
13.2
2.093
2016
1,423,726
20,714
2,858
17,856
14.5
2.0
12.5
1.984
2017
1,501,116
20,581
2,902
17,679
13.7
1.9
11.8
1.945
2018
1,503,091
19,740
3,052
16,668
13.1
2.0
11.1
1.838
2019
1,483,756
18,611
3,010
15,601
12.5
2.0
10.5
1.744
2020
1,472,204
18,042
3,488
14,554
12.3
2.4
9.9
1.846
2021
1,504,365
2022
1,524,693
2023
1,577,059
Structure of the population
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 17.III.2020):[10] [19]
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
#
%
Total
942,895
558,740
1,501,635
0-4
52,591
51,012
103,603
5-9
53,578
51,416
104,994
10-14
47,812
45,864
93,676
15-19
41,062
38,276
79,338
20-24
60,706
40,725
101,431
25-29
101,401
54,679
156,080
30-34
154,215
57,757
211,972
35-39
134,083
51,794
185,877
40-44
95,104
44,385
139,489
45-49
70,467
33,509
103,976
50-54
49,621
27,786
77,407
55-59
34,498
23,095
57,593
60-64
22,418
16,353
38,771
65-69
12,499
9,200
16,877
70-74
6,184
5,177
11,361
75-79
3,216
3,363
6,579
80-84
2,002
2,452
4,454
85+
1,438
1,897
3,335
Age group
Male
Female
Total
0-14
153,981
148,292
302,273
15-64
763,575
388,359
1,151,934
65+
25,339
22,089
47,428
Life expectancy
Period
Life expectancy in Years
Period
Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955
43.0
1985–1990
71.8
1955–1960
48.5
1990–1995
72.9
1960–1965
55.3
1995–2000
73.9
1965–1970
61.1
2000–2005
74.9
1970–1975
65.4
2005–2010
75.7
1975–1980
68.3
2010–2015
76.4
1980–1985
70.5
Source: UN World Population Prospects [20]
Religion
[10]
Men
Women
Total
Bahraini
Non-Bahraini
Muslims
674,329
437,204
1,111,533
710,067
401,466
Others
268,566
121,536
390,102
2,295
387,807
Total
942,895
558,740
1,501,635
712,362
789,273
Muslim %
74.0%
99.7%
50.9%
Islam is the official religion forming 74% of the population.[10] Current census data does not differentiate between the other religions in Bahrain, but in 2022, the country was approximately 12%[21] Christian and had about 40[21] [22] Jewish citizens.
According to the website of Ministry of Information Affairs, 74% of the population are Muslim , with Christians being the second largest religious group, forming 10.2% of the population, Jews making up 0.21%. The percentage of local Bahraini Christians, Jews, Hindus and Baha’is is collectively 0.2%.[23] [10]
Bahraini citizens of Muslim faith belong to the Shi'a and Sunni branches of Islam. The last official census (1941) to include sectarian identification reported 52% (88,298 citizens) as Shia and 48% as Sunni of the Muslim population.[24] Unofficial sources, such as the Library of Congress Country Studies ,[25] and The New York Times ,[26] estimate sectarian identification to be approximately 45% Sunni and 55% Shia . An official Bahraini document revealed that 51% of the country's citizens are Sunnis, while the Shiite population has declined to 49% of the Muslim population.[27]
Foreigners, overwhelmingly from South Asia and other Arab countries , constituted 52.6% of the population in 2020.[10] Of these, 50.9% are Muslim and 49.1% are non-Muslim,[10] including Christians (primarily: Catholic , Protestant , Syriac Orthodox , and Mar Thoma from South India ), Hindus , Buddhists , Baháʼís , and Sikhs .
Languages
Arabic
English
Persian
Kurdish
Malayalam
Urdu
Balochi
Konkani
Hindi
Sinhalese
Tamil
Punjabi
Bengali
Armenian
Filipino
Italian
Spanish
See also
References
Notes
^ "Middle East: Bahrain" . CIA The World Factbook. 23 April 2022.
^ "Bahrain" . Central Intelligence Agency. September 27, 2021 – via CIA.gov.
^ "Information Wing: Indian Community" . eoi.gov.in . Retrieved 2021-10-27 .
^ "Relation" . Embassy of Bangladesh in Bahrain . Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27 .
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . www.mofa.gov.pk . Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2022 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
^ Hampton, Maricar (6 July 2012). "Filipinos etching credible mark in Bahrain" . FilAm Star. Retrieved 6 January 2013 . [permanent dead link ]
^ "Indonesians encouraged" , Gulf Daily News , 2007-08-07, archived from the original on 2011-06-08, retrieved 2009-05-12
^ UK Government website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
^ British Expat Guide website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
^ a b c d e f g "Kingdom of Bahrain Open Data Portal: Archived copy" . Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2021-05-02 .
^ "World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision" . Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2012-03-22 .
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . www.moh.gov.bh . Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
^ Sources: Bahrain Central Informatics Organization, population estimate July 1 of each year Archived 2008-10-30 at the Wayback Machine , and for 2008, 2009 Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Sources: Bahrain Information and eGovernment Authority, Bahrain Open Data Portal, population estimate July 1 of each year" . Archived from the original on 2023-07-03. Retrieved 2023-07-03 .
^ "World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision" . Archived from the original on 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2013-05-11 .
^ [1] Archived 2013-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Ministry of Health Statistics
^ "Live births, deaths, and infant deaths, latest available year (2002–2016)" (PDF) . United Nations Statistics Division . 2 January 2018.
^ United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
^ "UNSD - Demographic and Social Statistics" .
^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations" . Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2017-07-15 .
^ a b US State Dept 2022 report
^ "Low profile but welcome: a Jewish outpost in the Gulf" . Independent . 2 Nov 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2012 .
^ "Population and Demographics - Ministry of Information Affairs | Kingdom of Bahrain" . Archived from the original on 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-06 .
^ Qubain, Fahim Issa (1955) “Social Classes and Tensions in Bahrain.” The Middle East Journal 9, no. 3: 269–280, p. 270
^ Bahrain Country Study Library of Congress
^ 1981 Plot in Bahrain linked to Iranians New York Times, 25 July 1982, retrieved 20 June 2018
^ Al Jazeera : وثيقة بحرينية: الشيعة أقل من النصف , 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021
Sources
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA . (Archived 2006 edition.)
2003 U.S. Department of State website
Official language Semiofficial language Minority languages Sign languages