Population and Demographics

The official religion of Bahrain is Islam, practiced by the majority of the population. However, due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined in recent years. According to the most recent census, 81% of Bahrain's population was Muslim, 9% were Christian and 10% practiced other Asian or Middle Eastern religions.

Recently, Bahrain has transformed into a cosmopolitan society with mixed communities: two thirds of Bahrain's population consists of Arabs, while the rest are immigrants and guest workers largely from Iran, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Facts and Figures

  • Population: 708,573
    Note: includes 235,108 non-nationals
  • Age Structure:
    • 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 96,217/female 94,275)
    • 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 284,662/female 207,555)
    • 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 13,451/female 12,413)
  • Median Age:
    • Total: 29.7 years
    • Male: 32.7 years
    • Female: 26.1 years
  • Population Growth Rate: 1.392%
  • Birth Rate: 17.53 births/1,000 population
  • Death Rate: 4.21 deaths/1,000 population
  • Net Migration Rate: 0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population
  • Sex Ratio:
    • At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
    • Under 15 years: 1.021 male(s)/female
    • 15-64 years: 1.372 male(s)/female
    • 65 years and over: 1.084 male(s)/female
    • Total population: 1.255 male(s)/female
  • Infant Mortality Rate:
    • Total: 16.18 deaths/1,000 live births
    • Male: 18.89 deaths/1,000 live births
    • Female: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Life Expectancy at Birth:
    • Total population: 74.68 years
    • Male: 72.18 years
    • Female: 77.25 years
  • Total Fertility Rate: 2.57 children born/woman
  • HIV/AIDS:
    • Adult prevalence rate: 0.2%
    • People living with HIV/AIDS: less than 600
  • Ethnic Groups:
    • Bahraini 62.4%
    • Non-Bahraini 37.6%
  • Religions:
    • Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%
    • Christian 9%
    • Other 9.8%
  • Languages:
    • Arabic
    • English
    • Farsi
    • Urdu
  • Literacy:
    • Total population: 86.5%
    • Male: 88.6%
    • Female: 83.6%