Bahrain
The island nation of Bahrain, also known formally as the Kingdom of Bahrain, is located in Western Asia. The majority of the country's landmass is located on Bahrain Island, which accounts for around 83 percent of the total land area. It is a tiny archipelago that is located on the Persian Gulf and consists of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 manmade islands. Bahrain is located in the Persian Gulf, between the country of Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The King Fahd Causeway links Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. There are an estimated 1,501,635 people living in the country as of the census in the year 2020, with 712,362 of them people being citizens of Bahrain. Bahrain has a total land area of around 760 square kilometres (290 square miles), making it the third-smallest country in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. Manama is both the nation's capital and its biggest city.
The remains of the ancient Dilmun civilisation may be found in Bahrain. Since ancient times, it has been known across the globe for the quality of its pearl fishery, which, up until the 19th century, were regarded as the finest in the world. During Muhammad's lifetime (628 CE), Bahrain was one of the first regions to come under the influence of Islam. This occurred in the year 628 CE. After being controlled by Arabs for some time, Bahrain fell under the control of the Portuguese Empire in 1521 and remained under their authority until 1602, when Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty drove them out of the country. The Bani Utbah tribe defeated Nasr Al-Madhkur and took control of Bahrain in 1783. Since then, the Al Khalifa royal family has remained in control of the country, and Ahmed al Fateh served as the country's first hakim.
After signing a series of treaties with the British during the 1800s, Bahrain finally became a protectorate of the United Kingdom in the late 1800s. In 1971, it proclaimed independence. Bahrain, which was once an emirate, transitioned to an Islamic constitutional monarchy in the year 2002. In 2011, the nation saw demonstrations that were influenced by the Arab Spring uprisings that occurred in the area. Dissidents, political opposition personalities, and Bahrain's majority Shia Muslim populace have all been accused of having their human rights violated by Bahrain's ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family. This accusation has been met with widespread criticism.
As a consequence of decades of investment in the banking and tourist industries, Bahrain created the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf. The country's capital is home to branches of several of the world's top financial organisations. As a consequence of this, it holds the 35th spot on the Human Development Index and is classified as a high-income country by the World Bank.