Our Heritage

The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of low lying islands located in the Arabian Gulf off the Eastern shore of Saudi Arabia.

Overview

Bahrain's name stems from the Arabic for “two seas”- reflecting its unique natural combination of freshwater springs amongst salty sea beds.

Perhaps most well-known for its history of civilizations that dates back more than 5,000 years, Bahrain has achieved an impressive status as a progressive powerhouse in the region in terms of economy, vision and lifestyle.

Strategically located in the centre of ancient trade routes between the East and the West, Bahrain has always been immersed in trade and commerce, and its people have grown accustomed to cultural diversification. In the early 1900s, Bahrain held a preeminent position as the hub for the international pearl trade, known as a hotbed for cultivating pearls of the highest quality. The precious pearl became the main driver for Bahrain’s economic growth for several decades, bringing merchants from far and wide to this small island. This exposure was a critical factor in enabling Bahrain’s progression, encouraging a culture of entrepreneurship, openness and learning. Innovation fostered vision, and today this vision has translated into an economy that is one of the most diverse in the region, a community that is one of the highest educated in the region, and a lifestyle renowned for its ease.

Bahrain is the region’s top performer in the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom and ranks No.18, the only country from the MENA region to feature in the Top 20.

The 2015 Index of Economic Freedom,published by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation evaluates countries in four broad policy areas that affect economic freedom: rule of law; limited government; regulatory efficiency; and open markets. There are 10 specific categories: property rights, freedom from corruption, fiscal freedom, government spending, business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom, and financial freedom. Scores in these categories are averaged to create an overall score.

Over the 21-year history of the Index, Bahrain has been consistently rated one of the “mostly free” economies achieving economic freedom scores above 70. Three of the country’s 10 economic freedoms—financial freedom, investment freedom, and labor freedom—have recorded score gains of 10 or more points since Index grading began.

Bahrain’s economic freedom score is 73.4, making its economy the 18th freest in the 2015 Index. Bahrain continues to be the freest economy in the MENA region and its economic freedom score is well above the world average.

The Kingdom’s overall score has decreased by 1.7 points due to declines in investment freedom, monetary freedom, and business freedom. Although of the slight drop, Bahrain has registered significant improvements since its inclusion in the index in 1995, specifically progress in the financial, investment, and labor freedoms have helped the Kingdom transform itself into a competitive trade and financial hub that leads the region in many areas.

More information on Bahrain’s international rankings, economic indicators and economic performance can be found through Bahrain’s Economic Development Board.

For a full suite of information about Bahrain’s business environment, lifestyle and culture, please contact:

Bahrain Economic Development Board


P.O. Box 11299


Manama


Kingdom of Bahrain

Tel:         +973 17 58 99 99


Fax:        +973 17 58 99 00


URL:    www.bahrainedb.com

Last Updated Date:24-03-2016

  • 48,575Total Aircraft Movement in FIR , Jan 2024
  • 837,627Total Passengers, Jan 2024
  • 28,618Total Cargo and Mail, Jan 2024
  • 33,655Average Daily Ridership, Feb 2024
  • 91,221,781Total Passengers (Feb 2015 – Feb 2024)
  • Ridership976,009Total Monthly Ridership (Feb 2024)
  • 65,470General Cargo, Feb 2024
  • 31,698Container Throughput, Feb 2024
  • 68Total Vessels, Feb 2024
  • 100Percentage of Population covered by 5G Network (2022)
  • 83Percent of households passed by fiber-optic broadband network (2022)
  • 100Percent of businesses passed by fiber-optic broadband network (2022)

 

 

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Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications Kingdom of Bahrain