Bahrain People And Society

Of the 600,000 people who live in Bahrain, 150,000 are foreign workers. While oil and financial industries employ many North Americans and British, Filipinos dominate the services. Manama is probably the most cosmopolitan city in the Gulf. The people of Bahrain are Arabs, though many have Persian ancestry. Foreigners of any nationality cannot obtain citizenship in any of the Gulf States.

As it is in other Gulf States, the Bahrainis keep their social and religious identity and do not mix closely with foreigners except for business. Bahrain is among the more liberal states of the Gulf, though considered conservative by western standards.

Religion

Most of the population, about 85 % in Bahrain is Muslim, the rest of the minority being Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Parsee. Islam is the state religion. The majority of the Muslims (70%) are Shiites.

Language

Arabic is the main language though English is widely spoken. Other languages spoken in Bahrain are Urdu and Farsi.