General information:
Reino do Bahrein
Embaixada do Bahrein
embaixada.bahrein@mofa.gov.bh
Endereço: SHIS QI 11, Conjunto 10, Casa 5 – Lago Sul
Brasília – DFCEP: 71625-300
Tel.: (61) 3554-7722
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in Western Asia. It is
situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural
islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes
up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar
and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd
Causeway. According to the 2020 census, the country's population numbers
1,501,635, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some 760 square
kilometers, and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore.
The capital and largest city is Manama.
Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization. It has been famed since antiquity
for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century.
Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of
Muhammad in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the
Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas I of
the Safavid dynasty. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-
Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh
as Bahrain's first hakim.
In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a
protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an
emirate, Bahrain was declared an Islamic constitutional monarchy in 2002. In 2011, the
country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring.
Bahrain developed the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades
of investing in the banking and tourism sectors; many of the world's largest financial
institutions have a presence in the country's capital. It consequently ranks 35th in the
Human Development Index and is recognized by the World Bank as a high-income
economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab
League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
