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.