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Location of Bahrain on the globe

Bahrain

BH

Western Asia

Bahrain is home to 2 documented ethnic groups in Western Asia — led by Non Bahraini Foreign (~54%), Bahraini Arab (~46%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Non Bahraini ForeignNon Bahraini Foreign54.0%Bahrain 2020 Census; non-Bahraini foreign workers and residents (~54%, ~800,000+); predominantly migrant-worker populations from India (~330,000+), Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nepal, plus other source populations
Bahraini ArabBahraini Arab46.0%Bahrain Information & eGovernment Authority 2020 Census; Bahraini citizens (~46%, ~700,000+ of ~1.5M total). Predominantly Arab, divided across Sunni Muslim (~30-40% of citizens including the al-Khalifa royal family) and Twelver Shia (~60-70% of citizens, the historically Bahraini Indigenous Shia community plus the substantial Persian-Bahraini Shia community)

Bahrain Phenotype Profile

Bahrain is a small Gulf state (~1.5M+ population) with a distinctive demographic structure — Bahraini citizens (~46%) plus the substantial non-Bahraini foreign-worker population (~54%). The country has historically been a major Sunni-Shia political-religious tension zone with documented post-2011 unrest. The Bahraini citizen population is divided between Sunni (~30-40%, including the al-Khalifa royal family) and Shia (~60-70%, the historically Bahraini Indigenous Shia plus the substantial Persian-Bahraini Shia community).

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Bahrain population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from Bahrain Information & eGovernment Authority 2020 Census. The Sunni-Shia distinction within the Bahraini citizen population is politically sensitive and is not directly enumerated in census instruments.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Information & eGovernment Authority Bahrain. Bahrain Census 2020. Manama: iGA; 2021.
  2. 2.Khuri FI. Tribe and State in Bahrain. University of Chicago Press; 1980.
  3. 3.Holes C. Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia. Brill; 2004.
  4. 4.Louer L. Transnational Shia Politics: Religious and Political Networks in the Gulf. Hurst; 2008.
  5. 5.Bahry L. The Socioeconomic Foundations of the Shiite Opposition in Bahrain. Mediterranean Quarterly. 2000;11(3):129-143.

Other countries in Western Asia

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Western Asia nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Western Asiaethnic groups & countries →