Demographics of Bahrain

In 2008, Bahrain's population stood at 1.05 million, out of which more than 517,000 were non-nationals.[81] Though majority of the population is ethnically Arab, a sizable number of people from South Asia live in the country. In 2008, approximately 290,000 Indian nationals lived in Bahrain, making them the single largest expatriate community in the country.[82]

The official religion of Bahrain is Islam, which the majority of the population practices. However, due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as India, Philippines and Sri Lanka,[83] the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined in recent years. According to the 2001 census, 81.2% of Bahrain's population was Muslim, 9% were Christian, and 9.8% practiced Hinduism and other religions.[1] There are no official figures for the proportion of Shia and Sunni among the Muslims of Bahrain. Unofficial sources, such as the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, estimate it to be approximately 33% Sunni and 66% Shia.[84] The vast majority of Muslims are shia, with other estimates at almost 80%.[85][86]

A Financial Times article published on 31 May 1983 found that "Bahrain is a polyglot state, both religiously and racially. Leaving aside the temporary immigrants of the past ten years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island". The present communities may be classified as:

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