Middle East economic data
For more, go to our GCC economic data and Mena economic data pages
Bahrain economic indicators at a glance
Bahrain nominal GDP
Bahrain GDP per capita
Bahrain GDP growth
Bahrain oil breakeven prices
Bahrain’s economy contracted in 2020 and 2023, as the GDP per capita and nominal GDP indicators show. Both are now on an upward trajectory. The growth rate for Bahrain’s non-oil GDP hit 7.5 percent in 2022 before slowing. Bahrain’s oil GDP is edging back towards positive territory. The oil breakeven price has fallen since 2023.
Bahrain inflation
Bahrain debt & current account balance
Bahrain’s consumer price index has remained broadly stable since 2019. Inflation is forecast to be below 2 percent in 2024 and 2025 and just over 2 percent for the following two years.
Bahrain’s government gross debt as a percentage of GDP is predicted to increase, while its current account balance dips.
Bahrain trade
Bahrain’s top 10 trade partners
Bahrain’s trade picked up after the 2020 pandemic – especially its exports, which surged in 2021. Both imports and exports are projected to grow for Bahrain up to 2027, but at a slower rate.
Aluminium is Bahrain’s top export and its top imports include machinery, nuclear reactors, inorganic chemicals and electronic equipment.
Bahrain foreign direct investment
Bahrain credit ratings
Bahrain governance
Bahrain’s outward foreign direct investment topped $3.2 billion in 2015, before plummeting. By contrast Bahrain’s inward foreign direct investment has generally been growing, with a significant increase in 2023.
All three major credit ratings agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and S&P – consider Bahrain’s outlook stable.
Its ranking on the Corruption Perceptions Index rose sharply in 2024. In 2023 it was the lowest of the GCC countries and one point below the global average of 43. Its score increased by 11 last year.
Bahrain population
Bahrain life expectancy
Bahrain employment
Bahrain’s population rate and life expectancy were rising before significant drops in 2020 and 2021. Both indicators are now rising again. Bahrain’s unemployment rate increased in 2020 but this has since returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Expats in Bahrain
Bahrain expats’ country of origin
More than half of Bahrain’s population are expats and more than a third of the country’s expat residents come from India.
The charts and tables on this page are for general information purposes only. AGBI aims to keep the information up-to-date and correct, but makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of the information. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. All IMF, World Bank and United Nations data on this page is publicly available.
The latest IMF World Economic Outlook was published on April 25, 2025. The IMF says medium-term projections for all six GCC economies have been revised “based on developments in commodity markets and international trade as of April 4”.
