The economy

Bahrain's oil production is, by Gulf standards, minimal. The UAE, for instance, produces about 2 million barrels a day while Bahrain's daily production is less than 50,000 barrels. Bahrain does, however, refine a large quantity of Saudi oil which arrives in the country through an undersea pipeline.

Because of its limited oil production, the country has developed a more diversified economy than the other Gulf states.

The largest aluminium smelter in the Middle East is in Bahrain as is a large shipbuilding and repair yard and one of the area's busiest airports.

When Lebanon collapsed in the late 1970s, Bahrain made conscious efforts to attract the formerly Beirut-based banks and bankers to Manama and the efforts paid off. In the late '80s, Bahrain's financial services sector expanded into offshore banking though competition in this field from both Abu Dhabi and Cyprus has been stiff.

In the recent past, the government has also begun a drive to attract tourists to the islands.