Many Bahrainis hold government jobs. Farmers grow dates, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables on irrigated land in northern Bahrain. Some raise cattle and poultry. Fish and shrimp are caught in the coastal waters. Modern warehouse and port facilities help make Bahrain a major trading center of the Persian Gulf area.
Petroleum products are the chief exports.
The country imports clothing, crude petroleum for refining, food, industrial machinery, and motor vehicles. Bahrain reexports some of these goods to neighboring countries. An airport on Al Muharraq links Bahrain to other nations. The government operates a radio station and a television station in Bahrain. Dilmun, a prosperous trading civilization from about 2000 B.C. to 1800 B.C., once occupied the area that is now Bahrain.