The Bahraini society is characterized by its cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. According to the official census for the year 2010 issued by the Central Informatics Organisation, the Kingdom of Bahrain had a total resident population of 1234571. The estimated population of 2014 was 1.316 million people. It is expected to reach 1.592 million in 2020 and 2.128 million in 2030, up from 621 thousand in 1999. The population growth rate is 7.4% on average.
70.2% of the total population of Bahrain is Muslims and 29.8% are adherents of other religions and beliefs, such as Christians (10.2%) and Jews (0.21%). This is in addition to Hindus, Baha’is, Buddhists, Sikhs and others who are mostly from South Asia and other Arab countries. 99.8% of Bahraini citizens are Muslims. The percentage of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Baha’is is 0.2%.
As for the distribution of the population according to gender, 49.4% of all citizens are females, constituting 38% of the total population.
As for the distribution of the population according to age, the percentage of those under the age of 19 years amount 25.9%, those between 20-64 years amount to 71.1% and those over the age of 65 amount to 2.1%.
The population is distributed across five Governorates (the Capital Manama, Muharraq, Northern, Central and Southern). The size of the labor force is estimated to be 716.4 thousand workers.
Bahrain is known historically as a model of tolerance and peaceful coexistence among all cultures, religions and sects. It strives to ensure the rights of citizens and respect for human dignity. It led many regional and international initiatives, including the hosting of conferences on the Islamic-Christian dialogue in 2002, the Convergence between Islamic Sects in 2003, and the Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures in 2014.