National name : Mamlakat al Bahrayn

King : Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah (1999)

Prime minister: Khalifah ibn Sulman al-Khalifah (1970)

Area : 257 sq mi (665 sq km)

Population : (2005 est.) 688,345 (growth rate: 1.5%); birth rate: 18.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 17.3/1000; life expectancy: 74.2; density per sq mi: 2,681. Al-Manámah, 527,000 (metro area), 149,900 (city proper)

Monetary unit : Bahrain dinar

Language : Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu

Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% Islam (Shiite 70%, Sunni 30%) Literacy rate : 89% (2003 est.) nonassociated natural gas, fish.

International disputes : none. www.kuwaitchamber.org.kw