Bahrain 🇧🇭

Quick facts

• Capital: Manama
• Continent: Asia
• Population: 1,472,233
• Area: 765 km²
• Density: 1,924 people per km²
• Currency: BHD
• Languages: Arabic
• ISO code: BH

Where Bahrain sits

Bahrain 🇧🇭 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Manama. It covers 765 square kilometres — 175th in the world — and is home to about 1,472,233 people, 153rd globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Bahrain compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Bahrain sits closest to Trinidad and Tobago and Timor-Leste. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Dominica and Tonga.

At 1,924 people per square kilometre it is about 32 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.

Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Chad, Comoros and Djibouti, and 20 others. The BHD is used by Bahrain and no one else.

To see Bahrain next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Bahrain

Bahrain means 'two seas' in Arabic. Manama, the capital, is on the northeast tip of the main island. For the flag, count the points: five for Bahrain, nine for Qatar.

The flag of Bahrain: red and white

🇧🇭 The flag is a red flag with a white band at the hoist, separated from the red by a zigzag line of five white points. The five white points stand for the Five Pillars of Islam. Qatar's flag looks similar, but it is maroon and has nine points.

Region and neighbours

Bahrain is a small island country in the Persian Gulf, off the east coast of Saudi Arabia. As an island country it has no land neighbours.

Three facts about Bahrain

1. Bahrain is connected to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway, a bridge and road about 25 km long that opened in 1986.
2. Qal'at al-Bahrain, an ancient harbour and fort, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
3. Bahrain was famous for pearl diving for centuries, and its pearling sites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sources: Wikipedia: Bahrain, Wikipedia: Flag of Bahrain, Wikipedia: Manama, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Bahrain

• Asian capitals quiz — match Bahrain to Manama
• Asian flags quiz — spot the Bahrain flag among its neighbours
• Island nations quiz — Bahrain is an island country

Quizzes that include Bahrain

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Bahrain those are:

• Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
• Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
• Asia capitals quiz — match it to Manama
• Bahrain capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Bahrain
• Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Read more about Bahrain

• Capital of Bahrain: Manama — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
• All 48 countries of Asia

Nearby countries

• Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
• Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
• Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
• Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
• Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
• Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
• Cambodia 🇰🇭 — capital Phnom Penh
• China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
• Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
• India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
• Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
• Iran 🇮🇷 — capital Tehran

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Bahrain flag?

The flag of Bahrain is a red flag with a white band at the hoist, separated from the red by a zigzag line of five white points. The five white points stand for the Five Pillars of Islam. Qatar's flag looks similar, but it is maroon and has nine points.

Which countries border Bahrain?

None. Bahrain is a small island country in the Persian Gulf, off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, so it has no land borders with other countries.

How can I remember the capital of Bahrain?

Bahrain means 'two seas' in Arabic. Manama, the capital, is on the northeast tip of the main island. For the flag, count the points: five for Bahrain, nine for Qatar.