V L Srinivasan
Manama, Feb 7:
Expats currently outnumber locals by 8 per cent, the final results of the 2010 Census have revealed. The census also shows that the Kingdom’s population has grown by nearly 90 per cent over the past nine years, from around 650,000 in 2001 to 1,234,571 in 2010.
Citizens account for 46 per cent of the total population, while the remaining majority of 54 per cent is comprised of expatriates.
There are currently 1,234,571 people residing in Bahrain, out of which 666,172 are expats.
Female expats are in a clear minority, with just 184,997 foreign women living in the Kingdom, as opposed to 481,175 men. This adds up to 260 male expats for every 100 woman.
The expat population consists mostly of Asians and Arabs, which account for 55 per cent of the demographic.
The number of citizens in the country stands at 568,399. Amongst Bahrainis, the male population outnumbers the female population slightly, with 287,239 men and 281,160 women. This amounts to 102 Bahraini men for every 100 women.
The Bahraini youth accounts for a considerable segment of the population, with 31.8 per cent of Bahrainis being below the age of 15. This has decreased from previous years when under-15s accounted for 36.5 per cent of the population.
The 2010 Census was based on five categories, namely population based on gender and nationality, housing, buildings, establishments and agriculture.
While the preliminary findings were announced in November last year, the final results were announced yesterday by the Central Information Organisation (CIO).
Discussing the final results with DT, CIO President Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Al Amer said that despite expats still being in a majority in the country, the gap between expat and Bahraini population numbers has actually decreased.
In 2001 expats constituted a third of the total population, while now they account for 54 per cent.
“The growth of the Bahraini population has been natural but that of expats can be attributed to the strong growth in the economy and the various developmental activities the Kingdom has witnessed over the past few years for which additional skilled and unskilled manpower was needed. In fact, the growth of the economy and the expat population has been interconnected,” he said.
Mr. Al Amer added that although the census was initially supposed to be held later this year, it was moved up according to a decision taken at a GCC level meeting.
“Bahrain is the first country to complete the census in the GCC. Instead of doing it in the traditional way by conducting door-to-door surveys, we depended on data from the Central Population Register, which was launched in 1984, and other registers maintained in various ministries. This saved us time and money.”
He added that the methodology used is new to the region and has been utilised in certain Scandinavian countries. “Many countries in the Middle East have followed us but they are yet to complete the work,” he said.
Manama, Feb 7:
Expats currently outnumber locals by 8 per cent, the final results of the 2010 Census have revealed. The census also shows that the Kingdom’s population has grown by nearly 90 per cent over the past nine years, from around 650,000 in 2001 to 1,234,571 in 2010.
Citizens account for 46 per cent of the total population, while the remaining majority of 54 per cent is comprised of expatriates.
There are currently 1,234,571 people residing in Bahrain, out of which 666,172 are expats.
Female expats are in a clear minority, with just 184,997 foreign women living in the Kingdom, as opposed to 481,175 men. This adds up to 260 male expats for every 100 woman.
The expat population consists mostly of Asians and Arabs, which account for 55 per cent of the demographic.
The number of citizens in the country stands at 568,399. Amongst Bahrainis, the male population outnumbers the female population slightly, with 287,239 men and 281,160 women. This amounts to 102 Bahraini men for every 100 women.
The Bahraini youth accounts for a considerable segment of the population, with 31.8 per cent of Bahrainis being below the age of 15. This has decreased from previous years when under-15s accounted for 36.5 per cent of the population.
The 2010 Census was based on five categories, namely population based on gender and nationality, housing, buildings, establishments and agriculture.
While the preliminary findings were announced in November last year, the final results were announced yesterday by the Central Information Organisation (CIO).
Discussing the final results with DT, CIO President Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Al Amer said that despite expats still being in a majority in the country, the gap between expat and Bahraini population numbers has actually decreased.
In 2001 expats constituted a third of the total population, while now they account for 54 per cent.
“The growth of the Bahraini population has been natural but that of expats can be attributed to the strong growth in the economy and the various developmental activities the Kingdom has witnessed over the past few years for which additional skilled and unskilled manpower was needed. In fact, the growth of the economy and the expat population has been interconnected,” he said.
Mr. Al Amer added that although the census was initially supposed to be held later this year, it was moved up according to a decision taken at a GCC level meeting.
“Bahrain is the first country to complete the census in the GCC. Instead of doing it in the traditional way by conducting door-to-door surveys, we depended on data from the Central Population Register, which was launched in 1984, and other registers maintained in various ministries. This saved us time and money.”
He added that the methodology used is new to the region and has been utilised in certain Scandinavian countries. “Many countries in the Middle East have followed us but they are yet to complete the work,” he said.
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