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• Bahrain means "two seas" in Arabic. As the island is in the middle of a bay, the two seas referred to lie to the east and west. Other authors cite alternate meanings for the name. “The name of Bahrein, which means ‘Two Seas’. Is derived, according to the natives of the country, from the existence of two strata of water located there. The higher film is extremely salty, whereas the deeper consists of sweet water with a very pleasant taste.” So wrote Masoudi, the famous Arabian author. Ibn Khallakan has a different explanation. He cites the Persian lexicographer Al-Ahsa as follows: “Al Bahrein (“The Two Seas”) is so named because in the region where the towns are situated, near the gate of Al-Ahsa and the village of Hajar, there is a lake ten parsangs distance from the Great Green Ocean (The Persian Gulf). The lake is three miles long and as many broad. It does not overflow, and the waters are tranquil and salt. According to Al-Jawahari, the author of Sahab, the inhabitants are called Bahrani rather than the more formal form Bahri, because “the latter term might be misunderstood, having as it does another meanings, namely, “Belonging to the Sea.”

• However, al-Bahrayn, "the Two Seas", is a cosmographical and cosmological concept appearing five times in the Qu'ran. This did not apply to the country of Bahrain. "The variety of explanations, none of them convincing, of the name al-Bahrayn in the Arabic sources indicates its origins remain unknown. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times the name applied to the mainland of Eastern Arabia, embracing the oases of al-Katif and Hadjar (now al-Hasa); later it was restricted to the archipelago offshore." Inhabited since ancient times, Bahrain occupies a strategic location in the Persian Gulf that has been ruled and influenced by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and the Arabs, under whom the island became Islamic. Bahrain may have been associated with Dilmun, an important Bronze age trade centre linking Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

• Prior to Alexander the Great's arrival in the Persian Gulf in the 4th century BC, there are no historical references to Bahrain. From the 6th to 3rd century BC, Bahrain was added to the Persian Empire by the Achaemenian dynasty. By about 250 BC, the Parthian dynasty brought the Persian Gulf under its control and extended its influence as far as Oman. From the 3rd century BC until the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, Bahrain was controlled by two other Persian dynasties, the Parthians and the Sassanids. In order to control trade routes, the Parthians established garrisons along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. In the 3rd century AD, the Sassanids succeeded the Parthians, holding the area until the rise of Islam four centuries later. Ardashir I, first ruler of the Sassanian dynasty, marched on Oman and Bahrain, where he defeated Sanatruq II. At this time, Bahrain comprised the southern Sassanid province along the Persian Gulf's southern shore as well as the archipelago of the present day country.

• The Sassanid Empire divided their southern province into the three districts of Haggar (now al-Hafuf province, Saudi Arabia), Batan Ardashir (now al-Qatif province, Saudi Arabia) and Mishmahig (which in Middle-Persian/Pahlavi means "ewe-fish"). Until Bahrain adopted Islam in 629 AD, it was a centre of Nestorian Christianity. Early Islamic sources describe the country as inhabited by members of the Abdul Qais, Tamim and Bakr tribes who worshipped the idol Awal.

• Bahrain is an Constitutional monarchy headed by the King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the head of government is the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalīfa bin Salman al Khalifa. Bahrain has a bicameral National Assembly (al-Jamiyh al-Watani) consisting of the Shura Council (Majlis Al-Shura) with 40 seats and the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab) with 40 seats. The 40 members of the Shura are appointed by the king. In the Council of Representatives, 40 members are elected by absolute majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.

• The first round of voting in the 2006 parliamentary election took place on 25 November 2006, and in the second round Islamists hailed a huge election victory.

• The opening up of politics has seen big gains for both Shīa and Sunnī Islamists in elections, which have given them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies. This has meant parties launching campaigns to impose bans on female mannequins displaying lingerie in shop windows, and the hanging of underwear on washing lines.

• Analysts of democratization in the Middle East cite the Islamists' references to respect for human rights in their justification for these programmes as evidence that these groups can serve as a progressive force in the region. Islamist parties have been particularly critical of the government's readiness to sign international treaties such as the United Nation's International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. At a parliamentary session in June 2006 to discuss ratification of the Convention, Sheikh Adel Mouwda, the former leader of salafist party, Asalah, explained the party's objections: "The convention has been tailored by our enemies, God kill them all, to serve their needs and protect their interests rather than ours. This why we have eyes from the American Embassy watching us during our sessions, to ensure things are swinging their way".

• Both Sunnī and Shī'a Islamists suffered a setback in March 2006 when 20 municipal councillors, most of whom represented religious parties, went missing in Bangkok on an unscheduled stopover when returning from a conference in Malaysia. After the missing councillors eventually arrived in Bahrain they defended their stay at the Radisson Hotel in Bangkok, telling journalists it was a "fact-finding mission", and explaining: "We benefited a lot from the trip to Thailand because we saw how they managed their transport, landscaping and roads". Bahraini liberals have responded to the growing power of religious parties by organizing themselves to campaign through civil society in order to defend basic personal freedoms from being legislated away. In November 2005, al Muntada, a grouping of liberal academics, launched "We Have A Right", a campaign to explain to the public why personal freedoms matter and why they need to be defended.

• Women's political rights in Bahrain saw an important step forward when women were granted the right to vote and stand in national elections for the first time in the 2002 election. However, no women were elected to office in that year's polls. Instead, Shī'a and Sunnī Islamists dominated the election, collectively winning a majority of seats. In response to the failure of women candidates, six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom's indigenous Jewish and Christian communities. Dr. Nada Haffadh became the country's first female cabinet minister on her appointment as Minister of Health in 2004. The quasi-governmental women's group, the Supreme Council for Women, trained female candidates to take part in the 2006 general election. When Bahrain was elected to head the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 it appointed lawyer and women's rights activist Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa President of the United Nations General Assembly, only the third woman in history to head the world body. The King recently created the Supreme Judicial Council to regulate the country's courts and institutionalize the separation of the administrative and judicial branches of government; the leader of this court is Mohammed Humaidan.

• On 11–12 November 2005, Bahrain hosted the Forum for the Future, bringing together leaders from the Middle East and G8 countries to discuss political and economic reform in the region. The near total dominance of religious parties in elections has given a new prominence to clerics within the political system, with the most senior Shia religious leader, Sheikh Isa Qassim, playing an extremely important role. According to one academic paper, "In fact, it seems that few decisions can be arrived at in Al Wefaq – and in the whole country, for that matter – without prior consultation with Isa Qassim, ranging from questions with regard to the planned codification of the personal status law to participation in elections". In 2007, Al Wefaq-backed parliamentary investigations were credited with forcing the government to remove ministers who had frequently clashed with MPs: the Minister of Health, Dr. Nada Haffadh and the Minister of Information, Dr Mohammed Abdul Gaffar.

• The "1990s Uprising in Bahrain" or "1990s Intifada" was a rebellion in Bahrain between 1994 and 2000 in which leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces. The event resulted in approximately forty deaths and ended after Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999. A referendum on 14–15 February 2001 massively supported the National Action Charter.

• During the Arab Spring Revolutions of 2011, protestors began pouring into the Pearl Roundabout area. The protesters selected 14 February as a day of protest to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the National Action Charter. On 18 February five people were killed when police raided the Pearl Roundabout protests early in the morning. After a week, the Bahrain troops retreated within a week's time. They allowed the protestors to continue a festival type event at the Pearl Roundabout where different groups came and shared their views. The Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa promised a dialogue during this period. Within this time, Robert Gates, Defense Secretary of the United States, visited Bahrain to discuss the situation along with a visit to the UAE on an arms deal. Historically, the 2nd line of defense against a Shia uprising has been to call the Saudi National Guard ever since the British army left in 1971. Due to the media attention on the protests, the idea to use the Saudi Arabian troops along with other GCC member states under the operating name of the Peninsula Shield was a plan. It was decided that if the protests could be moved to a financial district, based on the guidelines of the formation of this military body, it would be able to move legally into the country, even though it was the first time it was used internally against GCC citizens. Kuwait declined taking part on this ground operation based on this "misuse" of the organization, though it sent naval help later on.

• Within a few days, the protestors were lured into the Financial Harbour, an area filled with exchanges and banks. On March 15, the government began a retaliatory "crackdown", a term used mainly by the Bahraini government. On March 14, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates entered Bahrain with the stated purpose of protecting essential facilities including oil and gas installations and financial institutions. The maneuver was carried out under the aegis of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The following month was filled with alleged arrests, tortures, and deaths. The Saudi forces began using "night raids" as has been done in the Eastern Provinces for generations. Most of the protestors are from the Shia Islamic sect who make up the majority of Bahrainis but are disproportionately represented by the Sunni royal led government.

• On June 23, 2011, Hasan Mushaima, Abdulhadi Khawaja, and several other opposition activists were sentenced to life in prison by a military court.

• According to a January 2006 report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world. Bahrain also has the freest economy in the Middle East and is tenth freest overall in the world based on the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal, .

• In 2008, Bahrain was named the world's fastest growing financial center by the City of London's Global Financial Centres Index. Bahrain's banking and financial services sector, particularly Islamic banking, have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil. In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP.

• Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing price of oil since 1985, for example during and following the Persian Gulf crisis of 1990–91. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to a number of multinational firms and construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from imported crude oil. In 2004, Bahrain signed the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, which will reduce certain trade barriers between the two nations.

• Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. In 2008, the jobless figure was at 4%, with women over represented at 85% of the total. In 2007 Bahrain became the first Arab country to institute unemployment benefit as part of a series of labour reforms instigated under Minister of Labour, Dr. Majeed Al Alawi.

• 92% of Bahrain is desert with periodic droughts and dust storms the main natural hazards for Bahrainis. Environmental issues facing Bahrain include desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, distribution stations, and illegal land reclamation at places such as Tubli Bay. The agricultural and domestic sectors' over-utilization of the Dammam Aquifer, the principal aquifer in Bahrain, has led to its salinization by adjacent brackish and saline water bodies.

• The Zagros Mountains across the Persian Gulf in Iraq cause low level winds to be directed toward Bahrain. Dust storms from Iraq and Saudi Arabia transported by northwesterly winds cause reduced visibility in the months of June and July.

• Due to the Persian Gulf area's low moisture, summers are very hot and dry. The seas around Bahrain are very shallow, heating up quickly in the summer to produce high humidity, especially at night. Summer temperatures may reach more than 40 °C (104 °F) under the right conditions. Rainfall in Bahrain is minimal and irregular. Rainfalls mostly occur in winter, with a recorded maximum of 71.8 mm (2.83 in).

• In 2010, Bahrain's population grew to 1.234 million, of which more than 666,172 (54%) were non-nationals, up from 1.05 million (517,000 non-nationals) in 2008. Though a majority of the population is ethnically Arab, a sizable number of people from South Asia live in the country. In 2008, approximately 290,000 Indian nationals lived in Bahrain, making them the single largest expatriate community in the country.

• The official religion of Bahrain is Islam, and a majority practise Shia Islam. However, due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as India, Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined in recent years. According to the 2001 census, 81.2% of Bahrain's population was Muslim, 9% were Christian, and 9.8% practiced Hinduism or other religions. There are no official figures for the proportion of Shia and Sunni among the Muslims of Bahrain. Most academic analysts give the native Bahraini population a Shia majority of approximately 70 percent.

• A Financial Times article published on 31 May 1983 found that "Bahrain is a polyglot state, both religiously and racially. Discounting temporary immigrants of the past ten years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island". These may be classified as:

• Bahrain is sometimes described as "Middle East lite" due to its combination of modern infrastructure with a Persian Gulf identity. While Islam is the main religion, Bahrainis are known for their tolerance towards the practice of other faiths.

• It is too early to say whether political liberalization under King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has augmented or undermined Bahrain's traditional pluralism. The new political space for Shia and Sunni Islamists has meant that they are now more able to pursue programs that often seek to directly confront this pluralism. At the same time, political reforms have encouraged an opposite trend whereby society becomes more self-critical and shows a greater willingness to examine previous social taboos.

• In common with the rest of the Muslim world, though Bahrain has take strong strides for women's rights, it does not recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.

• Another facet of the new openness is Bahrain's status as the most prolific book publisher in the Arab world, with 132 books published in 2005 for a population of 700,000. In comparison, the 2005 average for the entire Arab world was seven books published per one million people, according to the United Nations Development Programme. Ali Bahar is the most famous singer in Bahrain. He performs his music with his Band Al-Ekhwa (The Brothers).

• The kingdom has a small but well equipped military called the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF). The BDF is primarily equipped with United States equipment, such as the F16 Fighting Falcon, F5 Freedom Fighter, UH60 Blackhawk, M60A3 tanks, and the ex-USS Jack Williams, an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate renamed the RBNS Sabha. The Government of Bahrain has a cooperative agreement with the United States Military and has provided the United States a base in Juffair since the early 1990s. This is the home of the headquarters for Commander, United States Naval Forces Central Command (COMUSNAVCENT) / United States Fifth Fleet (COMFIFTHFLT), and about 1500 United States and coalition military personnel.

• At the beginning of the 20th century, Qur'anic schools (Kuttab) were the only form of education in Bahrain. They were traditional schools aimed at teaching children and youth the reading of the Qur'an. After World War I, Bahrain became open to western influences, and a demand for modern educational institutions appeared. 1919 marked the beginning of modern public school system in Bahrain when the Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia School for boys opened in Muharraq. In 1926, the Education Committee opened the second public school for boys in Manama, and in 1928 the first public school for girls was opened in Muharraq.

• In 2004 King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa introduced the "King Hamad Schools of Future project that uses Information Communication Technology to support K–12 education in Bahrain. The project's objective is to connect all schools within the kingdom with the Internet. In addition to British intermediate schools, the island is served by the Bahrain School (BS). The BS is a United States Department of Defense school that provides a K-12 curriculum including International Baccalaureate offerings. There are also private schools that offer either the IB Diploma Programme or United Kingdom A-Levels.

• In 2007, St. Christopher's School Bahrain became the first school in Bahrain to offer a choice of International Baccalaureate or A-Levels for students. Numerous international educational institutions and schools have established links to Bahrain. A few prominent institutions are DePaul University, Bentley College, the Ernst & Young Training Institute, NYIT and the Birla Institute of Technology International Centre Schooling is paid for by the government. Primary and secondary school attendance is high even though it is not compulsory.

• Bahrain also encourages institutions of higher learning, drawing on expatriate talent and the increasing pool of Bahrain Nationals returning from abroad with advanced degrees. The University of Bahrain was established for standard undergraduate and graduate study, and the King Abdulaziz University College of Health Sciences, operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health, trains physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics. The 2001 National Action Charter paved the way for the formation of private universities such as the Ahlia University in Manama and University College of Bahrain in Saar. The Royal University for Women (RUW), established in 2005, was the first private, purpose-built, international University in Bahrain dedicated solely to educating women. The University of London External has appointed MCG as the regional representative office in Bahrain for distance learning programs. MCG is one of the oldest private institutes in the country. Institutes have also opened which educate Asian students, such as the Pakistan Urdu School, Bahrain and the Indian School, Bahrain.

• As a tourist destination, Bahrain receives over eight million visitors per annum. Most of these are from the surrounding Arab states although an increasing number hail from outside the region due to growing awareness of the kingdom's heritage and its higher profile as a result of the Bahrain International F1 Circuit. The Lonely Planet Guide describes Bahrain as "an excellent introduction to the Persian Gulf", because of its authentic Arab heritage and reputation as a liberal and modern country. The kingdom is also home to the popular tourist attraction, the Bahrain City Center.

• The kingdom combines modern Arab culture and the archaeological legacy of five thousand years of civilization. The island is home to castles including Qalat Al Bahrain which has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Bahrain National Museum has artifacts from the country's history dating back to the island's first human inhabitants some 9000 years ago.