(2001), 0.376 (2000), 0.376 (1999)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Bahrain
Telephones - main lines in use:
185,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
443,100 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network
with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and
UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to
Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
(1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios:
338,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
4 (1997)
Televisions:
275,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.bh
Internet hosts:
1,334 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)
Internet users:
195,700 (2003)
Transportation Bahrain
Highways: total: 3,261 km paved: 2,531 km unpaved: 730 km (2000)
Pipelines:
gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah
Merchant marine:
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Hong Kong 1, Kuwait 1
by type: bulk 3, container 2, petroleum tanker 1
Airports:
4 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Heliports:
1 (2003 est.)
Military Bahrain
Military branches:
Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense),
Navy, Air Force, National Guard
Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15–49: 221,661 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 121,484 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 6,396 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$618.1 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
7.5% (2003)
Transnational Issues Bahrain
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
======================================================================
@Baker Island
Introduction Baker Island
Background:
The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano
deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second
half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at
colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland
Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned.
Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US
Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle
of the west coast.
Geography Baker Island
Location:
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between
Hawaii and Australia
Geographic coordinates:
0 13 N, 176 31 W
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 1.4 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1.4 sq km
Area - comparative:
about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
4.8 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain:
low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 8 m
Natural resources:
guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)
Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime
hazard
Environment - current issues:
no natural fresh water resources
Geography - note:
treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses,
prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting,
roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
wildlife
People Baker Island
Population:
uninhabited
note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and
naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during
World War II, but abandoned after