Jump to content

Demographics of Bahrain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Bahrainis" redirects here. For the indigenous inhabitants of Bahrain, see Baharna.
Demographics of Bahrain
Population1,472,380 (2022 est.)
Growth rate0.88% (2022 est.)
Birth rate12.4 births/1,000 population
Death rate2.82 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy79.9 years
 • male77.63 years
 • female82.24 years
Fertility rate1.67
Infant mortality rate10.19 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Age structure
0–14 years20.13%
15–64 years76.71%
65 and over3.16%
Nationality
NationalityBahraini
Major ethnicBahraini - 46%
Language
OfficialArabic
SpokenArabic (Bahraini, Bahrani), Farsi, English, Urdu
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

[edit]
Ethnic groups in Bahrain (2020)[1]
Ethnic groups
Bahraini citizens
 
 47.4%
Asian (mostly South Asia)
 
 43.4%
other Arabs
 
 5.8%
African
 
 1.4%
European
 
 0.8%
North Americans
 
 1.1%
Others
 
 0.1%
See also: Ethnic, cultural and religious groups of Bahrain
Ethnic diversity of Bahrain

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".[2] Furthermore, sources claim that the government of Bahrain is said to have naturalised Sunnis from different countries to increase the Sunni population in comparison to the Indigenous Shias including people from India, Pakistan, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Egypt.[3][4] These may be classified as:

Community Description
Baharna/Bahranis The indigenous inhabitants of Bahrain. The overwhelming majority are Shia.[2]
Ajams (Iranic and Iranian roots) Iranic; Lurs (Shia), Achomis (Sunni, Shia) , Baluchs (Sunnis), Turkic; Azeris, Qashqai...
Bahraini Jews[2] Jews have inhabited Bahrain for centuries. Most native Bahraini Jews are of Mesopotamian and Persian descent.
Huwala Arabs Sunni Arabs who re-migrated back from the southern coasts of Iran
Tribal Arabs Urbanized Sunni Bahrainis of Bedouin ancestry, such as the Utoob, Dawasir etc.[2]
Najdis[2] Non-tribal urban Sunni Arabs from Najd in central Arabia.[2]
Afro-Arabs Descendants of Africans, primarily from East Africa and of mostly Sunni faith
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.[2]

Non-nationals make up more than half of the population of Bahrain, with immigrants making up about 52.6% of the overall population.[5] 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,[6] 150,000 Bangladeshis,[7] 110,000 Pakistanis,[8] 40,000 Filipinos,[9] and 8,000 Indonesians.[10] In 2023, about 4,000 people from the United Kingdom live in Bahrain,[11] although some estimates are double this number.[12]

[13] Population Percentage
Bahraini 712,362
47.4%
Other Arabs 86,823
5.8%
African 21,502
1.4%
North American 16,415
1.1%
Asian 650,996
43.4%
European 11,750
0.8%
Others 1,787
0.1%
total 1,501,635
100%

Population

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1950116,000—    
1960162,000+39.7%
1970212,000+30.9%
1980358,000+68.9%
1990493,000+37.7%
2000638,000+29.4%
20101,262,000+97.8%
20201,501,635+19.0%
Source:[14]

Population census

[edit]
Population of Bahrain according to nationality 1941-2010[15]
census year Bahraini non-Bahraini total population
# % # %
1941 74,040
82.3%
 15,930
17.7%
 89,970
1950 91,179
83.2%
 18,471
16.8%
 109,650
1959 118,734
83.0%
 24,401
17.0%
 143,135
1965 143,814
78.9%
 38,389
21.1%
 182,203
1971 178,193
82.5%
 37,885
17.5%
 216,078
1981 238,420
68.0%
 112,378
32.0%
 350,798
1991 323,305
63.6%
 184,732
36.4%
 508,037
2001 405,667
62.4%
 244,937
37.6%
 650,604
2010 568,399
46.0%
 666,172
54.0%
 1,234,571
2020 712,362
47.4%
 789,273
52.6%
 1,501,635

Population estimates on July 1

[edit]
[16]

[17]

Bahraini Non-Bahraini Total % Non-Bahraini
2001 409,619 251,698 661,317
38.1%
2002 427,246 283,307 710,554
39.9%
2003 445,634 318,888 764,519
41.7%
2004 464,808 358,936 823,744
43.6%
2005 484,810 404,013 888,824
45.5%
2006 505,673 454,752 960,425
47.3%
2007 527,433 511,864 1,039,297
49.3%
2008 541,587 561,909 1,103,496
50.9%
2009 558,011 620,404 1,178,415
52.6%
2010 570,687 657,856 1,228,543
53.5%
2011 584,688 610,332 1,195,020
51.1%
2012 599,629 609,335 1,208,964
50.4%
2013 614,830 638,361 1,253,191
50.9%
2014 630,744 683,818 1,314,562
52.0%
2015 647,835 722,487 1,370,322
52.7%
2016 664,707 759,019 1,423,726
53.3%
2017 677,506 823,610 1,501,116
54.9%
2018 689,417 813,377 1,502,794
54.1%
2019 701,827 781,929 1,483,756
52.7%
2020 713,263 758,941 1,472,204
51.6%
2021 719,333 785,032 1,504,365
52.2%

Vital statistics

[edit]

UN estimates

[edit]
Period[18] 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

[edit]

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.

[19][20][21] Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total Fertility Rate 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
2024 1,588,670

Structure of the population

[edit]

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 17.III.2020):[13][22]

Age Group Male Female Total
# %
Total 942,895 558,740 1,501,635
100%
0-4 52,591 51,012 103,603
6.90%
5-9 53,578 51,416 104,994
6.99%
10-14 47,812 45,864 93,676
6.24%
15-19 41,062 38,276 79,338
5.28%
20-24 60,706 40,725 101,431
6.75%
25-29 101,401 54,679 156,080
10.39%
30-34 154,215 57,757 211,972
14.12%
35-39 134,083 51,794 185,877
12.38%
40-44 95,104 44,385 139,489
9.29%
45-49 70,467 33,509 103,976
6.92%
50-54 49,621 27,786 77,407
5.15%
55-59 34,498 23,095 57,593
3.84%
60-64 22,418 16,353 38,771
2.58%
65-69 12,499 9,200 16,877
1.44%
70-74 6,184 5,177 11,361
0.76%
75-79 3,216 3,363 6,579
0.44%
80-84 2,002 2,452 4,454
0.30%
85+ 1,438 1,897 3,335
0.22%
Age group Male Female Total
0-14 153,981 148,292 302,273
20.13%
15-64 763,575 388,359 1,151,934
76.71%
65+ 25,339 22,089 47,428
3.16%

Life expectancy

[edit]
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[23]

Genetics

[edit]
See also: Genetic history of the Middle East, Demographics of Iran § Genetics, and Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup

Haplogroups

[edit]

Y-chromosome DNA

[edit]
Proportions of predicted Y-DNA haplogroups observed in the four governorates of Bahrain (Study of 2020)

Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) represents the male lineage. In 2020, a study was made on 562 unrelated Bahraini males.[24] Paternal population structure within Bahrain was investigated using the 27 Y-STRs (short tandem repeats) in the Yfiler Plus kit to generate haplotypes from 562 unrelated Bahraini males, sub-divided into four geographical regions—Northern, Capital, Southern and Muharraq.[24]

Haplogroup prediction indicated diverse origins of the population with a predominance of haplogroups J2 and J1, but also haplogroups such as B2 and E1b1a likely originating in Africa, and H, L and R2 likely indicative of migration from South Asia.[24] Haplogroup frequencies differed significantly between regions, with J2 significantly more common in the Northern region compared with the Southern, possibly due to differential settlement by Baharna, Ajams and Arabs.[24]

reach of Haplotype J2

Haplogroup prediction suggests that haplogroup J2 is the most common in the Bahraini population (It is thought that J-M172 may have originated in the Caucasus, Anatolia or Western Iran) encompassing 27.6% of the sample, followed by J1 (23.0%), E1b1b (8.9%), E1b1a (8.6%) and R1a (8.4%), with other predicted haplogroups (G, T, L, R1b, Q, R2, B2, E2, H and C) occurring at progressively lower frequencies.[24]

Spread of Haplotype J1

Haplogroup J1 is most frequent in the Southern Governorate (27%) where the highest proportion of Arabs live, and in the Muharraq Governorate (27%) where many migrant Huwala Arabs resettled, and it declines to its lowest frequency in the Northern and Capital Governorates (21% and 19%).[24]

By contrast, the Northern and Capital Governorates where the Baharna and Ajam are most represented show higher frequencies of haplogroup J2 (34% and 31%) than in Muharraq and the Southern Governorate (both 17%).[24]

Religion

[edit]
Main article: Religion in Bahrain
See also: Freedom of religion in Bahrain and Islam in Bahrain
[13] 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.[13] Current census data does not differentiate between the other religions in Bahrain, but in 2022, the country was approximately 12%[25] Christian and had about 40[25][26] 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%.[27][13]

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.[28][2] Unofficial sources, such as the Library of Congress Country Studies,[29] and The New York Times,[30] 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.[31]

Foreigners, overwhelmingly from South Asia and other Arab countries, constituted 52.6% of the population in 2020.[13] Of these, 50.9% are Muslim and 49.1% are non-Muslim,[13] including Christians (primarily: Catholic, Protestant, Syriac Orthodox, and Mar Thoma from South India), Hindus, Buddhists, Baháʼís, and Sikhs.

Languages

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Middle East: Bahrain". CIA The World Factbook. 23 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "BAHRAIN". www.solarnavigator.net. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  3. ^ "Bahrainis allege a plot to change country's sectarian balance". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  4. ^ "Shias accuse Bahrain of naturalising more Sunnis – GCC". Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  5. ^ "Bahrain". Central Intelligence Agency. September 27, 2021 – via CIA.gov.
  6. ^ "Information Wing: Indian Community". eoi.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  7. ^ "Relation". Embassy of Bangladesh in Bahrain. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  8. ^ "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)
  9. ^ Hampton, Maricar (6 July 2012). "Filipinos etching credible mark in Bahrain". FilAm Star. Retrieved 6 January 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Indonesians encouraged", Gulf Daily News, 2007-08-07, archived from the original on 2011-06-08, retrieved 2009-05-12
  11. ^ UK Government website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
  12. ^ British Expat Guide website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
  15. ^ "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)
  16. ^ 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
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Archived from the original on 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  19. ^ [1] Archived 2013-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Ministry of Health Statistics
  20. ^ "Live births, deaths, and infant deaths, latest available year (2002–2016)" (PDF). United Nations Statistics Division. 2 January 2018.
  21. ^ United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
  22. ^ "UNSD - Demographic and Social Statistics".
  23. ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Al-Snan, Noora R.; Messaoudi, Safia A.; Khubrani, Yahya M.; Wetton, Jon H.; Jobling, Mark A.; Bakhiet, Moiz (2020). "Geographical structuring and low diversity of paternal lineages in Bahrain shown by analysis of 27 Y-STRs". Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 295 (6): 1315–1324. doi:10.1007/s00438-020-01696-4. ISSN 1617-4615. PMC 7524810. PMID 32588126. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  25. ^ a b US State Dept 2022 report
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "Population and Demographics - Ministry of Information Affairs | Kingdom of Bahrain". Archived from the original on 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  28. ^ Qubain, Fahim Issa (1955) “Social Classes and Tensions in Bahrain.” The Middle East Journal 9, no. 3: 269–280, p. 270
  29. ^ Bahrain Country Study Library of Congress
  30. ^ 1981 Plot in Bahrain linked to Iranians New York Times, 25 July 1982, retrieved 20 June 2018
  31. ^ Al Jazeera: وثيقة بحرينية: الشيعة أقل من النصف, 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021

Sources

[edit]

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)

  • 2003 U.S. Department of State website
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_Bahrain&oldid=1263531854"