In 1992 an around 551,500 people lived in Bahrain. This number included 364,000 Bahraini citizens and 187,500 foreign nationals. Citizens accounted for 67 % of the total population, a decline from the 70 % they described in the 1981 census and the 83 % they described in 1971. The unofficial estimate suggested that the population had increased by 57 %, or at an average annual growth rate of 5.2 %, since 1981. In 1992 the growth rate was 3.1 %. The non-Bahraini community, which grew from 113,000 in 1981 to 187,500 in 1992, increased by 67 %, while the number of citizens increased by 53 % in the same eleven-year time.

In 1992 an around 57 % of the population was male and only 43 % female. The gender disparity resulted from the exceptionally high number of men among Bahrain's foreign residents: 76 % of foreign residents were male. The maleto -female ratio was more balanced among Bahraini citizens: about 50.4 % were male and 49.6 % female. The age distribution also was skewed: about 80 % of the foreign population was more than fourteen years of age, but less than 60 % of citizens were more than fourteen. For the total population, 33.4 % were in the age-group of zero to fourteen; 62.8 % were in the age-group of fifteen to fiftynine ; and a mere 3.8 % were in the age-group of 60 years and older. Life expectancy for Bahraini children born in 1990 was 70 years for males and 75 years for females.

Bahrain’s population was around at 645,000 in 2001, giving the nation a density of 912 persons per sq km. About 92 % of the population resides in urban areas, primarily in Manama, its suburbs, and the nearby city of Al Mu?arraq on the island of the same name. Manama serves as the nation’s governmental and commercial center, while Al Mu?arraq is the site of Bahrain International Airport.