How Is Bahrain A Small Island Country In The Persian Gulf?

Bahrain is a small island country in the Persian Gulf. Its neighbor, Saudi Arabia is more than 830 million square miles larger. Even though Bahrain is lacking size in land mass, it has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Bahrain is a leading force in the Persian Gulf, largely due to their trade agreement with the United States. The discovery of oil was the leading role in the huge economic boom that helped advance the nation into the modern era. Although the country has a population of 30 million less than Saudi Arabia, Bahrain continues to make advancements in all aspects of power. According to Smith and Crystal (2018) from their work about Bahrain, Bahrain is a small island country in the Persian Gulf, consisting
In the last year the population has risen almost 2 percent. The official language of Bahrain is Arabic, although English is widely used. The ruling family and most of the influential families are Sunni Muslim, causing underlying political and social tension with the remaining 46 percent Shi’ite Muslim community. Most of the population lives in towns, although there are still villages in the northern region of the island. One-third of the population lives in two cities, Manama and Al-Muharraq. The largest city and capital is Manama which hosts the port for the island. Manama is also the home of the government offices and the business and financial districts. Manama is also home to large hotels and western style shops, making it a tourist attraction. Al-Muharraq is the northernmost island of the archipelago and is the location of the Bahrain International Airport. Bahrain’s public education system is the oldest in the Arabian Peninsula, having been founded in 1932. Public education is free to anyone who wants to attend. There are private and religious schools available for those who want to pay for their children’s education. Bahrain has the highest female literacy rate in the Persian Gulf (Smith & Crystal, 2018). Uninfluenced by the high tourist rate, Bahrain’s cultural customs are still conservative compared to Western standards. However, the country is still much more modernized than their neighbors in the Persian Gulf. Western style clothing is on the rise, although many men wear the traditional thawb and kaffiyeh. For the women of Bahrain the dress code is considered relaxed for Arab standards. The women in some rural areas, as well as those in religious communities, still wear the full length hijab (Smith & Crystal, 2018). The World Report Rights Trends in Bahrain (2017) reports that in 2016