Bahrain. Ballpoint Pens, Rollerball Pens,Cartridges, Fountain Pens.

Pen Ink City A'ali Pen Ink City Adliya Pen Ink City Al-Malikiyah Pen Ink City Budaiya Pen Ink City Hamad Town Pen Ink City Isa Town Pen Ink City Jidhafs Pen Ink City Manama Pen Ink City Muharraq Pen Ink City Riffa Pen Ink City Sitra England Description Bahrain In 1783, the al-Khalifa family captured Bahrain from the Persians. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa, after coming to power in 1999, pushed economic and political reforms to improve relations with the Shia community. Shia political societies participated in 2006 parliamentary and municipal elections. Al Wifaq, the largest Shia political society, won the largest number of seats in the elected chamber of the legislature. However, Shia discontent has resurfaced in recent years with street demonstrations and occasional low-level violence. Location Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia   Geographic Coordinates 26 00 N, 50 33 E Area - comparative 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC Coast line 0 km Climate 161 km Terrain Bahrain arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers Natural Resources Bahrain mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment Irrigated land oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls Total Renewable Water Resources 40 sq km (2003) Natural Hazards 0.1 cu km (1997) Environment Currentissues periodic droughts; dust storms Geography Note desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources (groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs) Population Bahrain close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean Population growth rate 738,004 Birth Rate 1.243% (2010 est.) Death Rate 16.81 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Netmigration Rate 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Total Fertility Rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate 2.47 children born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 0.2% (2001 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths fewer than 200 (2003 est.) Religions Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census) Languages Muslim (Shia and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census) Education Expenditures Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu Government Type 3.9% of GDP (1991) Administrative Divisions constitutional monarchy Independence 5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat National Holiday 15 August 1971 (from the UK) Constitution National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 was the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 was the date of independence from British protection Legal System adopted 14 February 2002 Suffrage based on Islamic law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Legislative Branch 20 years of age; universal Political Partie Sand Leaders bicameral legislature consists of the Consultative Council (40 members appointed by the King) and the Council of Representatives or Chamber of Deputies (40 seats; members directly elected to serve four-year terms) Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders political parties prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law International Organization Participation Shia activists; Sunni Islamist legislators Flag Description ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy Overview 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 GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Bahrain is one of the most diversified economies in the Persian Gulf. Highly developed communication and transport facilities make Bahrain home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. As part of its diversification plans, Bahrain implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in August 2006, the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. Bahrain's economy, however, continues to depend heavily on oil. Petroleum production and refining account for more than 60% of Bahrain's export receipts, 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP (exclusive of allied industries). Other major economic activities are production of aluminum - Bahrain's second biggest export after oil - finance, and construction. Bahrain competes with Malaysia as a worldwide center for Islamic banking. Future economic growth hinges on Bahrain's ability to acquire new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. Unemployment, especially among the young, is a long-term economic problem Bahrain struggles to address. In 2009, to help reduce unemployment among Bahraini nationals, Bahrain reduced sponsorship for expatriate workers, increasing the costs of employing foreign labor. The global financial crisis caused funding for many non-oil projects to dry up and resulted in slower economic growth for Bahrain. Lower oil prices also caused Bahrain's budget to slip back into deficit for the first time since 2002, prompting Bahrain to issue an emergency budget supplement and finance its deficits with bonds. GDP (Official Exchange Rate) $27.99 billion (2009 est.) GDP Real Growth Rate $19.59 billion (2009 est.) GDP Per Capita (PPP) 2.9% (2009 est.) Labor Force $38,400 (2009 est.) Unemployment Rate 595,000 Population Below Poverty Line 15% (2005 est.) Distribution Of Family Income NA% Unvestment Gross Fixed 27% of GDP (2009 est.) Inflation Rrate 30.1% of GDP (2009 est.) Central Bank Discount Rate 3% (2009 est.) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate NA% (31 December 2008) Stock Of Money $NA (31 December 2008) Stock Of Quasi Money $NA (31 December 2008) Stock Of Domestic Credit $NA (31 December 2008) Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares $21.18 billion (31 December 2008) Agriculture - Products fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish Industries petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing, tourism Industrial Production Growth Rate -0.5% (2009 est.) Electricity Production 10.25 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Consumption 10.1 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Exports 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Imports 0 kWh (2008 est.) Oil Production 48,520 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Consumption 38,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Exports 238,300 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Imports 228,400 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 124.6 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Natural Gas Production 12.64 billion cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Consumption 12.64 billion cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Exports 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Imports 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves 92.03 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Current Account Balance $1.808 billion (2009 est.) Exports $12.5 billion (2009 est.) Exports Commodities petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles Exports Partners India 4%, Saudi Arabia 3.4%, UAE 2.2% (2008) Imports $10.37 billion (2009 est.) Imports Commodities crude oil, machinery, chemicals Imports Partners Saudi Arabia 26%, Japan 8.7%, US 7.6%, China 6%, Germany 4.7%, South Korea 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2008) Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold $3.465 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Debt - External $10.87 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Radio Broadcast Stations $10.04 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Television Broadcast Stations Bahraini dinars (BHD) per US dollar - 0.376 (2009), 0.376 (2008), 0.376 (2007), 0.376 (2006), 0.376 (2005) Internet Country Code 220,000 (2008) Airports 4 (1997) Military Service Age and Obligation 1 (2009)

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