The
demographics
Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration.
Demographic analysis examin ...
of the
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
includes
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
,
ethnicity
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
, 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
Manama ( ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and List of cities in Bahrain, largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is ...
and
Al Muharraq.
Population
Population census
Population estimates by nationality (on July 1)
Structure of the population
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 17.III.2020):
Vital statistics
UN estimates
Registered data
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.
Life expectancy
Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''
Ethnic groups
Regarding the ethnicity of Bahrainis, a ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' article published on 31 May 1983 found that "Bahrain is a
polyglot
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
state, both religiously and racially. Discounting temporary immigrants of the past ten years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island".
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
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
,
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
,
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. These may be classified as:
Non-nationals make up more than half of the population of Bahrain, with immigrants making up about 52.6% of the overall population. 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, 150,000 Bangladeshis, 110,000 Pakistanis, 40,000 Filipinos,
and 8,000 Indonesians. In 2023, about 4,000 people from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
live in Bahrain, although some estimates are double this number.
The following is a firm containing estimates from countries' embassies:
Genetics
Ancient DNA and genetic history
A 2024 study sequenced whole genomes from four individuals who lived in Bahrain during the
Tylos period (circa 300 BCE to 600 CE). The genetic makeup of these ancient Bahrainis revealed a blend of ancestries, primarily tracing back to ancient populations of the
Near East
The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
. Analysis indicated that their genetic heritage is best described as a mixture of Ancient
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
,
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
, and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
/
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
.
Subtle genetic differences were observed among the four individuals, suggesting a degree of population diversity within Bahrain even before the Islamic era. One individual displayed a stronger affinity to Levantine populations, while others showed closer genetic links to groups from Iran and the Caucasus.
Comparing the ancient Bahraini genomes to those of modern populations revealed notable connections. Genetically, the Tylos-period individuals showed closer affinities to present-day inhabitants of Iraq and the Levant than to modern-day Arabians from the peninsula.
Malaria adaptation
The
G6PD Mediterranean mutation, known to provide protection against
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
, was found in three out of the four ancient individuals. Genetic analysis suggests that this mutation began to increase in frequency in
Eastern Arabia
Eastern Arabia () is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province), and the United Arab ...
around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. This timeframe coincides with the emergence of agriculture in the region, which could have inadvertently created environments conducive to malaria-carrying mosquitoes, thus driving natural selection for malaria resistance.
Haplogroups
= Y-chromosome DNA
=
Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) represents the male lineage. In 2020, a study was made on 562 unrelated Bahraini males.
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
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
,
Southern and
Muharraq
Muharraq () is Bahrain's third most populous city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2020 was 263,373.
Muharraq served as the country’s capital until 1932. It rose to prominenc ...
.
Haplogroup prediction indicated diverse origins of the population with a predominance of haplogroups
J2 and
J1, but also haplogroups such as B2 and
E1b1a
Haplogroup E-V38, also known as E1b1a-V38, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. E-V38 is primarily distributed in Africa. E-V38 has two basal branches, Haplogroup E-M329, E-M329 and Haplogroup E-M2, E-M2. E-M329 is a subclade mostly foun ...
likely originating in Africa, and H, L and R2 likely indicative of migration from South Asia.
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
The Bahārna (, or ), are an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs indigenous to the historical region of Bahrain. They are generally regarded to be the original inhabitants of Eastern Arabia. They inhabited the area even before the arrival ...
,
Ajams and Arabs.

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
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
,
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
or
Western Iran
Western Iran consists of Armenian Highlands, northern Zagros and the rich agricultural area of the Khuzestan Plain in the south.
It includes the provinces of Kordestan, Kermanshah Province, Kermanshah, Ilam Province, Ilam, Lorestan, and Hamadan ...
) encompassing 27.6% of the sample, followed by
J1 (23.0%),
E1b1b (8.9%),
E1b1a
Haplogroup E-V38, also known as E1b1a-V38, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. E-V38 is primarily distributed in Africa. E-V38 has two basal branches, Haplogroup E-M329, E-M329 and Haplogroup E-M2, E-M2. E-M329 is a subclade mostly foun ...
(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.
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
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
Governorates (21% and 19%).
By contrast, the
Northern and
Capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
Governorates where the
Baharna
The Bahārna (, or ), are an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs indigenous to the historical region of Bahrain. They are generally regarded to be the original inhabitants of Eastern Arabia. They inhabited the area even before the arrival ...
and
Ajam
(, ) is an Arabic word for a non-Arab, especially a Persian. It was historically used as a pejorative—figuratively ascribing muteness to those whose native language is not Arabic—during and after the Muslim conquest of Iran. Since the ea ...
are most represented show higher frequencies of haplogroup
J2 (34% and 31%) than in
Muharraq
Muharraq () is Bahrain's third most populous city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2020 was 263,373.
Muharraq served as the country’s capital until 1932. It rose to prominenc ...
and the
Southern Governorate (both 17%).
Languages
*
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
*
English
*
Persian
*
Kurdish
*
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
*
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
*
Balochi
*
Konkani __NOTOC__
Konkani may refer to:
Language
* Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India.
* Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language
**Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...
*
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
*
Sinhalese
*
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
*
Punjabi
*
Bengali
*
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
*
Filipino
*
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
*
Spanish
Religion
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
is the official religion forming 74% of the population.
Current census data does not differentiate between the other religions in Bahrain, but in 2022, the country was approximately 12%
[US State Dept 2022 report](_blank)
/ref> Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and had about 40 Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
citizens.
According to the website of Ministry of Information Affairs, 74% of the population are Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, with Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
being the second largest religious group, forming 10.2% of the population, Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
making up 0.21%. The percentage of local Bahraini Christians, Jews, Hindus and Baha’is is collectively 0.2%.
Bahraini citizens of Muslim faith belong to the Shi'a
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...
and Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
branches of Islam. The last official census (1941) to include sectarian identification reported 52% (88,298 citizens) as Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
and 48% as Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
of the Muslim population. Unofficial sources, such as the Library of Congress Country Studies
The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain ...
, and ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', estimate sectarian identification to be approximately 45% Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
and 55% Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
. 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.Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
''وثيقة بحرينية: الشيعة أقل من النصف''
1973, retrieved 14 February 2021
Foreigners, overwhelmingly from South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
and other Arab countries
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
, constituted 52.6% of the population in 2020. Of these, 50.9% are Muslim and 49.1% are non-Muslim, including Christians (primarily: Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, Syriac Orthodox
The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...
, and Mar Thoma from South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
), Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
s, Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
s, Baháʼís, and Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
s.
See also
* Bahranis
References
Notes
Sources
*2003 U.S. Department of State website
{{Asia topic, Ethnic groups in