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What do you think of when you think of Middle Eastern countries? In most people's minds, Middle Eastern countries are almost "rich." With a piece of cloth on my head, I am the richest in the world. This sentence describes the local tyrants in the Middle East.
A large part of the reason why the countries of the Middle East are so rich is because they have oil resources, and almost all the countries of the Middle East have made their fortune on oil.
But there is one exception, with a GDP per capita of $60,500 in 2023, making it the 27th richest country in the world. Saudi Arabia, which is famous for its local tycoons, ranks 23rd in the world.
This particular country is not entirely dependent on oil, and its income from oil is only about 20% of the total income, and it is a small tyrant country - Bahrain.
Bahrain is also a very special place, in the Middle East, which is generally a very conservative country, Bahrain has a very developed entertainment industry, which can be called one of the most free and open countries in the Middle East.
Bahrain even has the title of "Middle Eastern backyard".
Why did Bahrain develop into what it is today, and what is the story of this small tycoon country?
1. Bahrain, the smallest country in the Middle East
When it comes to the country of Bahrain, many people are at a loss and feel like they have never heard of this place.
Bahrain is located in the southwestern part of the Persian Gulf, sandwiched between Saudi Arabia and the cartel.
The country has a land area of about 780 square kilometers, which is so small that it is not only the lowest in the Middle East, but also difficult to find on the world map.
Not only is the place small, but the population of this place is also limited. With a population of less than 1.5 million, the country is a veritable small country.
Most of the landforms in the Middle East are plateaus. Unlike other countries, Bahrain is the only country in the Middle East that is made up of islands.
It is mainly composed of Bahrain Island and 33 small islands nearby, the largest of which is dominated by deserts and Gobi landforms.
Climatically, Bahrain is similar to the countries of the Middle East, with a tropical climate with dry temperatures throughout the year, especially in summer, when the daytime temperature often exceeds 40°C.
Although Bahrain is an island country, it does not receive much rainfall throughout the year, and can even be described as "little", with an average rainfall of only about 100 mm.
Worst of all, there are no rivers in Bahrain, so water is particularly precious to them. In this arid and rainless environment, Bahrain is unable to develop agriculture and plantations.
At the same time, due to the geographical location and land area of the country, the development of other industries in Bahrain is also very limited.
Therefore, in the beginning, Bahrain's economic development was very unoptimistic, and it was once called "the poorest country in the Middle East". There is no appearance of a tyrant country in the Middle East at all.
Bahrain is one of the few countries in the world with a hereditary monarchy, and the political, economic and military power of the country is controlled by the king, who has supreme power.
The current king of Bahrain is named Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and has four sons and two daughters.
The official religion of Bahrain is the same as that of most Middle Eastern countries, Islam. The whole country is very religious, and most of the people are Muslims.
2. History of Petroleum Development
How can the per capita GDP of Bahrain, a small and sparsely populated country, be compared with that of Saudi Arabia?
In fact, Bahrain was one of the first countries in the Middle East to develop oil.
In the 30s of the last century, Bahrain was fortunate to explore the first oil well in the Middle East and discovered a large number of rich oil resources.
The Bahraini government was ecstatic after the discovery of oil and immediately ordered the development of oil, but things did not go so smoothly, and it all had to start with the history of Bahrain.
Bahrain has a history of more than 3,000 years, but unfortunately due to its special geographical location, Bahrain has always been invaded by other countries.
As early as 3,000 years ago, the Sumers had already established and settled here. It didn't take long for the Phoenicians to occupy it.
For more than 100 years, Bahrain was ruled by the Persian Empire, the Parthian Empire, and the Sassanid Empire.
At the end of the story, Bahrain became part of the Arab Empire. Since then, Islam has arisen in this land and has spread widely.
Unfortunately, the tranquility of life was shattered once again, and in 1820 the British crushed the land by force and forced Bahrain to sign a treaty. Since then, Bahrain has gradually become a British colony.
In 1932, a large amount of oil resources were discovered in Bahrain. Before they could rejoice, the following year Bahrain's oil exploitation rights were shamelessly taken away by the British.
The British colonized the area for 14 years. On August 11, 1971, Bahrain finally ushered in the dawn of freedom and gained full independence.
Before the discovery of oil, Bahrain's main sources of income were handicrafts and pearl diving. However, resources are limited and people continue to live in poverty.
After the country's independence, Bahrain quickly rose from poverty to prosperity by selling oil.
On the eve of World War II, Bahrain had become the fifth-largest oil producer in the Middle East, behind only the oil giants of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
At the peak of Bahrain's oil production, more than 70% of the country's revenue came from the oil industry.
You must know that Bahrain is the smallest country in the Middle East, and it is very rare for the economy to develop rapidly.
But the good times don't last long, and oil is a finite resource after all. And Bahrain is a small country with an area of only 780 square kilometers, and it can't resist long-term mining.
In the 80s, after years of exploitation, the amount of oil reserves was greatly reduced, and Bahrain fell into crisis again. There is no hope for oil, what is Bahrain going to do to save itself this time?
After seeing this situation, it became clear to the Bahraini government that if it relied on oil resources, the whole country would soon fall into poverty.
When it came to making the decision to transform, Bahrain chose one direction wisely. The country's focus is still on oil, but it no longer relies on oil exploration and extraction, but transforms into an oil refining industry.
Although Bahrain has limited oil resources, the country is surrounded by major oil countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Relying on this advantage, Bahrain has directly started the industry of oil storage and refining and processing for other countries, and has actively developed the international oil refining industry.
Soon, Bahrain's refining industry was booming, not only successfully eliminating the crisis of depletion of oil resources, but also becoming a rare country in the Middle East where the refining capacity exceeded the production capacity.
3. Economic transformation
After the depletion of Bahrain's oil resources, the government actively took measures to develop new businesses in the fields of finance, tourism, and services.
Finance
The Middle East is famous for being "rich", and all the capital's eyes are on this land, hoping to make a fortune here.
Therefore, Bahrain has formulated many policies that are conducive to the flow of funds, such as foreign capital does not need to be guaranteed to register a company in Bahrain, the tax is much lower than that of other countries, and the domestic visa is easy to obtain.
Attracted by such preferential policies, many foreign capital and migrant workers have poured into Bahrain, so much so that by now, Bahrain's foreign population far exceeds the local population.
Because it is an island nation, Bahrain is not very good at agricultural development. But a blessing in disguise, Bahrain has a big advantage in port trade.
It gives full play to the role of a "cargo transit station" and declares that no taxes will be charged for the transit of goods. The introduction of this policy has undertaken almost one-third of the cargo movement business in the Middle East.
The Bahraini government has few restrictions on foreign banks, which are not required to make reserves or pay taxes.
As a result of various incentives, 81 banks and securities companies came to Bahrain in 1981. Four years later, the number of banks in Bahrain has risen to 76!
As of today, there are more than 200 banks in Bahrain. It is no exaggeration to say that Bahrain is as large as it is full of banks.
Although Bahrain is a small country, it has a 3,000-year history and a rich cultural heritage. Based on this, Bahrain has embarked on a major tourism development.
Bahrain is a country rich in tourism resources, such as the King Fahd Bridge, the Manama Mosque in the capital of Bahrain, visiting the Kalat Castle, Dilmun Gardens and other attractions are famous all over the world.
In particular, the King Fahd Bridge, a sea-crossing highway bridge connecting Saudi Arabia and Arabia, brings a large number of tourists to Bahrain.
At the same time, in order to better serve tourists, Bahrain has opened a large number of high-end hotels, and now there are 25 five-star hotels and nearly 50 four-star hotels.
Fourth, the "back garden" of the Middle East
In addition to the above, Bahrain has another industry that is very developed, albeit not glamorous.
As we all know, the Middle East is heavily influenced by religion, and the most widespread sect is Islam. So although there are many local tycoons in the Middle East, the life they live is not as fun as the public thinks.
In this case, the peculiarities of Bahrain come to the fore. Compared with countries such as Saudi Arabia, which are particularly conservative, Bahrain has a more open atmosphere and a more liberal life.
Moreover, in order to develop the economy, Bahrain has vigorously developed tourism. For the local tyrants in neighboring countries, it can be called a tourist attraction.
At the same time, Bahrain is relatively loose in the control of foreign entry and visas, so there are many custom girls who take advantage of the loopholes to come to Bahrain and make a living in the erotic industry.
In short, after more than ten years of planning and development. Bahrain has completely faded from the poverty of its past and has become one of the richest countries in the world.
The people of Bahrain are also very affluent, not only enjoying free education and medical care, but also high social welfare benefits.
It is extremely difficult for a small island country in the Middle East of Bahrain to develop to its current status.
It is worth mentioning that Bahrain has surveyed a huge oil field of up to 80 billion barrels in 19 years. There are countless countries that want to cooperate with it, but Bahrain refuses and names it wants to cooperate with China.
What is the significance of this move, does it mean that the next "Pakistan Railway" will appear?
Do you have any thoughts, welcome to leave a message in the comment area~