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capital:
manama administrative divisions: 12 municipalities (manatiq. singular - mintaqah); al hadd. al manamah. al mintaqah al gharbiyah. al mintaqah al wusta. al mintaqah ash shamaliyah. al muharraq. ar rifa' wa al mintaqah al janubiyah. jidd hafs. madinat hamad. madinat 'isa. juzur hawar. sitrah note: all municipalities administered from manama independence: 15 august 1971 (from uk) national holiday: national day. 16 december (1971); note - 15 august 1971 is the date of independence from the uk. 16 december 1971 is the date of independence from british protection constitution: new constitution 14 february 2002 legal system: based on islamic law and english common law suffrage: 18 years of age; universal executive branch: chief of state: king hamad bin isa al-khalifa (since 6 march 1999); heir apparent crown prince salman bin hamad (son of the monarch. born 21 october 1969) head of government: prime minister khalifa bin salman al-khalifa (since na 1971) cabinet: cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch legislative branch: bicameral parliament consists of shura council (40 members appointed by the king) and house of deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms) elections: house of deputies - last held 31 october 2002 (next election to be held in 2006) election results: house of deputies - percent of vote by party - na; seats by party - independents 21. sunni islamists 9. other 10 note: first elections since 7 december 1973; unicameral national assembly dissolved 26 august 1975; national action charter created bicameral legislature on 23 december 2000; approved by referendum 14 february 2001; first legislative session of parliament held on 25 december 2002 judicial branch: high civil appeals court political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed political pressure groups and leaders: shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have recently engaged in peaceful protests and marches. demanding the return of an elected national assembly and an end to unemployment; several small. clandestine leftist and islamic fundamentalist groups are active international organization participation: abeda. afesd. amf. fao. g-77. gcc. ibrd. icao. icc. icct (signatory). icftu. icrm. idb. ifc. ifrcs. iho. ilo. imf. imo. interpol. ioc. iso. itu. las. miga. nam. oapec. oic. opcw. un. unctad. unesco. unido. upu. wco. wftu. who. wipo. wmo. wtoo. wto diplomatic representation in the us: chief of mission: ambassador nasir al-balushi chancery: 3502 international drive nw. washington. dc 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111 fax: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: new york diplomatic representation from the us: chief of mission: ambassador william t. monroe embassy: building #979. road 3119 (next to al-ahli sports club). block 331. zinj district. manama mailing address: american embassy manama. psc 451. fpo ae 09834-5100; international mail: american embassy. box 26431. manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 fax: [973] 1727-0547 (consular) flag description: red. the traditional color for flags of persian gulf states. with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of islam economy - overview: petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of bahrain's export receipts. 60% of government revenues. and 30% of gdp. with its highly developed communication and transport facilities. bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the gulf. a large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. unemployment. especially among the young. and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. in september 2004 bahrain signed a free trade agreement (fta) with the united states - the first such agreement undertaken by a gulf state. both countries must ratify the fta before it is enforced. gdp (purchasing power parity): $14.08 billion (2005 est.) gdp (official exchange rate): $11.58 billion (2005 est.) gdp - real growth rate: 5.9% (2005 est.) gdp - per capita: purchasing power parity - $20.500 (2005 est.) gdp - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.6% industry: 42.5% services: 56.9% (2005 est.) labor force: 380.000 note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2005 est.) labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1%. industry. commerce. and services 79%. government 20% (1997 est.) unemployment rate: 15% (1998 est.) population below poverty line: na household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: na highest 10%: na inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (2005 est.) investment (gross fixed): 14.7% of gdp (2005 est.) budget: revenues: $4.662 billion expenditures: $3.447 billion. including capital expenditures of $700 million (2005 est.) public debt: 51.5% of gdp (2005 est.) agriculture - products: fruit. vegetables; poultry. dairy products; shrimp. fish industries: petroleum processing and refining. aluminum smelting. iron pelletization. fertilizers. offshore banking. ship repairing; tourism industrial production growth rate: 2% (2000 est.) electricity - production: 7.345 billion kwh (2003) electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) electricity - consumption: 6.83 billion kwh (2003) electricity - exports: 0 kwh (2003) electricity - imports: 0 kwh (2003) oil - production: 188.300 bbl/day (2005 est.) oil - consumption: 26.000 bbl/day (2003 est.) oil - exports: na (2001) oil - imports: na (2001) oil - proved reserves: 124 million bbl (2005 est.) natural gas - production: 32.7 billion cu m (2002 est.) natural gas - consumption: 32.7 billion cu m (2002 est.) natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2002 est.) natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2002 est.) natural gas - proved reserves: 46 billion cu m (2005) current account balance: $1.569 billion (2005 est.) exports: $11.17 billion (2005 est.) exports - partners: saudi arabia 3%. us 2.9%. uae 2.2% (2004) imports: $7.83 billion (2005 est.) imports - partners: saudi arabia 32.4%. japan 7.3%. germany 6.1%. us 5.6%. uk 5.4%. france 4.8% (2004) reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.433 billion (2005 est.) debt - external: $6.831 billion (2005 est.) economic aid - recipient: $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of saudi arabia. uae. and kuwait (2002) currency (code): bahraini dinar (bhd) currency code: bhd exchange rates: bahraini dinars per us dollar - 0.38 (2005). 0.376 (2004). 0.376 (2003). 0.376 (2002). 0.376 (2001) fiscal year: calendar year telephones - main lines in use: 185.800 (2003) telephones - mobile cellular: 443.100 (2003) telephone system: general assessment: modern system domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to qatar and uae; microwave radio relay to saudi arabia; submarine cable to qatar. uae. and saudi arabia; satellite earth stations - 1 (1997) radio broadcast stations: am 2. fm 3. shortwave 0 (1998) radios: 338.000 (1997) television broadcast stations: 4 (1997) televisions: 275.000 (1997) internet country code: .bh internet hosts: 1.334 (2003) internet service providers (isps): 1 (2000) internet users: 195.700 (2003) airports: 4 (2004 est.) airports - with paved runways: total: 3 over 3.047 m: 2 1.524 to 2.437 m: 1 (2005 est.) heliports: 1 (2005 est.) pipelines: gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004) roadways: total: 3.498 km paved: 2.768 km unpaved: 730 km (2003) merchant marine: total: 8 ships (1.000 grt or over) 219.083 grt/312.638 dwt by type: bulk carrier 3. cargo 2. container 2. petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (kuwait 2) (2005) ports and terminals: mina' salman. sitrah military branches: bahrain defense forces (bdf): ground force (includes air defense). navy. air force. national guard military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 202.126 (2005 est.) manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 161.372 (2005 est.) manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 6.013 (2005 est.) military expenditures - dollar figure: $628.9 million (2004) military expenditures - percent of gdp: 6.3% (2004) disputes - international: none
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