Claim: The King Fahd Causeway links Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain -LRB- -LSB- bɑːˈreɪn -RSB- البحرين -RRB- , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small Arab monarchy in the Arabian Gulf . It is an island country consisting of a small archipelago centered around Bahrain Island , situated between the Qatar peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia , to which it is connected by the 25 km King Fahd Causeway . Bahrain 's population is 1,234,571 -LRB- c. 2010 -RRB- , including 666,172 non-nationals . It is 780 km2 in size , making it the third smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore .   Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation . It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries , which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century . Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam -LRB- 628 -RRB- . Following a period of Arab rule , Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in 1521 , who in turn were expelled in 1602 by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire . In 1783 , the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family , with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain 's first hakim . In the late 1800s , following successive treaties with the British , Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom . In 1971 , Bahrain declared independence . Formerly an emirate , Bahrain was declared a Kingdom in 2002 . In 2011 , the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring .   Bahrain had the first post-oil economy in the Arabian Gulf . Since the late 20th century , Bahrain has invested in the banking and tourism sectors . Many large financial institutions have a presence in Manama , the country 's capital . Bahrain has a high Human Development Index and was recognised by the World Bank as a high income economy .