Discusses key economic indicators and trade statistics, which countries are dominant in the market, the U.S. market share, the political situation if relevant, the top reasons why U.S. companies should consider exporting to this country, and other issues that affect trade, e.g., terrorism, currency devaluations, trade agreements.
Last Published: 2/12/2019
  • Bahrain and Oman are the two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members to have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
  • Bahrain permits 100 percent foreign-ownership of a business or branch office, without the need for a local partner.
  • Bahrain has no tax on corporate income, personal income, wealth, capital gains, withholding, or death/inheritance.
  • Bahrain has no restrictions on repatriation of capital, profits or dividends.
  • The Heritage Foundation ranked Bahrain as the world’s 50th freest economy in its 2018 Index of Economic Freedom, behind only Qatar and the UAE among GCC member states.
  • The World Bank ranked Bahrain 66th out of 190 countries for ease of doing business in its “Doing Business 2017” report. 
  • Many U.S. businesses have done well in Bahrain and are dominant in major sectors such as oil and gas, engineering, and information and communications technology (ICT).
  • Bahrain’s real GDP  grew by 3.9 percent in 2017, up from 3 percent in 2016.  Although real GDP growth rates have slowed considerably since 2013, mostly due to declining revenues from hydrocarbons sales, real GDP growth in non-hydrocarbons sectors grew from 3.2 percent in 2016 to 5 percent in 2017.
  • Bahrain has been ranked by Internations, the largest international community for people who live and work abroad, as the first preferred destination for expatriates worldwide in 2017.  The number of foreign workers in the Kingdom estimated to be 764,000 in the first half of 2017, a large segment of those are Third Countries Nationals primarily from South Aisan nations working in construction, services, health sector and transportation.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.