The Kingdom is an archipelago of 33 islands strategically located at the center of the Arabian Gulf's southern shore, in the area between the 26 00 N, 50 33 E latitude and longitude bearings (coordinates), 16 km away from Saudi Arabia and 54 km away from Qatar.

The 25 km King Fahad Causeway links Bahrain with the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia at Al Khobar City. Opened on November 25, 1986, the causeway celebrated 20 years of operational success in 2006. Soon though, another causeway will be built to join Bahrain with Qatar at approx. 45 km in length, making it the world's longest bridge. 

Bahrain Island is the Kingdom's mainland at 591 sq km, or 83% of the total area of Bahrain (approx. 717.5 sq km). The name "Bahrain" literally means 2 seas in reference to the sweet water springs in the shallow sea water surrounding the archipelago, hence the name depicting the contrast of salty and sweet waters.

Muharraq is Bahrain's 2^nd largest island, accommodating one of the oldest international airports in the region, and linked to the mainland via 3 bridges. Other uninhabited islands have been declared natural sanctuaries to preserve the native flora and fauna, besides several species of migrating birds.

·    Total Land Area: approx. 717.5 sq km (9% of the total area).

·    Total Sea Area: approx. 7552 sq km (91% of the total area).

·    Marine Borders: approx. 442 km.

·    Coastlines: 673 km.

·    Highest Point of Natural Elevation: Jabal Addukhan (literally: Smoke Mountain) 134 m.

·    Highest Point of Man-made Elevation: Twin Harbour Towers, The Bahrain Financial Harbour; approx. 260 m.

·    Deepest Subaquatic Point:  69 m North of Bahrain.

·    Climate: low rainfall, high temperature, and extreme humidity:

o   Summer: soaring temperatures, no rainfall, and humidity exceeding 80%.

o   Winter: low to moderate temperatures, longer days, low to moderate rainfall.

o   Fall/Spring: relatively short and dominated by the 2 main seasons.

·    Religion: (est.) 81.2% Muslim, 9% Christian, and 9.8% Others (Jewish, Hindu, Baha'ee, Sikh, etc.).

·    Languages: Arabic, English, Persian, Urdu, Others.

·    Education: The 1^st school was established in 1919 to gradually end traditional teaching and nowadays 270 public and private schools exist, besides 15 or so universities and 50 institutes in various fields.

·    Culture: exposure to many civilizations and cultures, in addition to being open to the rest of the world left a legacy of good local and foreign publication, several theatres, cinemas, salons, and a renowned museum.