Bahrain

Bahrain: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

One of the first Gulf states to develop oil in the early 20th century and among the first to see reserves decline, Bahrain diversified earliest into regional banking and financial services. Between 1980 and 2025, Bahrain's GDP per capita grew from $9,733 to $30,597 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 2.6% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 3.8% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 3.9 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 0.3% to 0.2% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 53.5% to 54.3% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 70.7 to 81.4 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 3.3% to 58.4%, while the urban population share grew from 80.4% to 100.0%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 21.69 to 23.90 tonnes CO2e per person.