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Bahrain

2009-08-25 14:22 BJT

Special Report: Asia Pacific |

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Profile of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain is an Arabic island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway, which officially opened on 25 November 1986.

Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge will link Bahrain to Qatar as the longest fixed link in the world.

Economy
In a region experiencing an oil boom, Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia found in January 2006. Bahrain also has the freest economy in the Middle East according to the 2006 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal, and is twenty-fifth freest overall in the world.

In 2008, Bahrain was named the world’s fastest growing financial center by the City of London’s Global Financial Centres Index.Bahrain's banking and financial services sector, particularly Islamic banking, have benefited from the regional boom. In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP.

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