Bahrain Economy

Boosting economic integration among the Gulf states has been a key component of the GCC since the organisation was established in late May 1981. Indeed, while the six countries that make up the GCC – namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – have implemented joint projects in a wide variety of sectors already, economic...

The effectiveness of Bahrain’s efforts to develop and encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is evidenced by the high percentage of SMEs operating in the local economy. Indeed, according to the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), SMEs represent roughly 98% of companies in the kingdom. The UN Industrial...

In a speech delivered at a conference in Riyadh in early May 2012, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the secretary-general of the GCC addressed the numerous changes that have taken place in the region in recent years. “The new political, security and military challenges, at the regional and international levels, as well as insecurity in the Arab...

Despite a number of notable uncertainties in the global economy, Bahrain’s economic outlook remains largely positive. It appears that the international economy will continue to be challenged by problems such as the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone and fiscal disputes in the US throughout 2013.

The name Bahrain means “two seas” in Arabic, referring to the seas that surround the Gulf island nation. It is unclear which seas the term specifically refers to, and for much of its history, Bahrain was the name for the province. Only recently has it come to identify the islands of the Awal archipelago.

Horses are believed to have been part of Bahrain’s culture for as long as 4000 years, dating back to the Dilmun civilisation. The predominance in modern times of the Arabian horse in Bahrain is often linked to the Al Khalifa tribe, the nation’s ruling family, which came to the archipelago in 1783. Since that time, the ruling sheikhs have...