A tiny constitutional monarchy located in the Persian Gulf, the Kingdom of Bahrain shipped US$22.3 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount results from a 55.1% increase since 2018 when Bahraini exports totaled $14.35 billion.

Year over year, revenue collected for Bahrain’s exports accelerated by 15.1% compared to $19.3 billion during 2021.

Bahrain’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 70.8% of products exported from Bahrain were bought by importers in: Saudi Arabia (19.4% of the Bahraini total), United States of America (12.2%), United Arab Emirates (10.4%), Netherlands (4.9%), Oman (4.1%), Türkiye (3.4%), Italy (3.22%), Egypt (3.21%), India (3.18%), Mexico (2.4%), South Korea (2.2%) and Spain (2.1%).

From a continental perspective, 57.2% of Bahrain’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 15.7% was sold to North American importers. Bahrain shipped another 15.5% worth of goods to European customers.

Smaller percentages went to buyers located in Africa (8.8%), Latin America (1.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (1.4%) mostly Australia and New Zealand.

Given Bahrain’s population of 1.542 million people, its total $22.3 billion in 2022 exports translates to about $14,400 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That dollar metric outpaces the average $8,400 per capita one year earlier for 2021.

Bahrain’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups categorize the highest dollar value in Bahraini global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Bahrain.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$7.1 billion (32.1% of total exports)
2. Aluminum: $6.9 billion (30.9%)
3. Ores, slag, ash: $2.2 billion (9.7%)
4. Machinery including computers: $800.9 million (3.6%)
5. Iron, steel: $700.8 million (3.1%)
6. Dairy, eggs, honey: $481 million (2.2%)
7. Fertilizers: $427.4 million (1.9%)
8. Articles of iron or steel: $425.4 million (1.9%)
9. Gems, precious metals: $355.1 million (1.6%)
10. Plastics, plastic articles: $308.9 million (1.4%)

Bahrain’s top 10 exports accounted for 88.4% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Dairy, eggs and honey was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 60.4% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place for improving export sales was the machinery including computers product category, which rose 53.9%.

Bahrain’s shipments of aluminum posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 53% year over year.

The severest decline among Bahrain’s top 10 export categories was the iron and steel metals product category, pulled down by a -28.1% drop compared to 2021.

Products Generating Bahrain’s Best Trade Surpluses

Overall, Bahrain generated a US$6.7 billion trade surplus for 2022, expanding by 924.2% from $655.9 million in black ink one year earlier in 2021.

The following types of Bahraini product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Aluminum: US$6.6 billion (Up by 52% since 2021)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: $6.5 billion (Up by 218.2%)
3. Iron, steel: $433.7 million (Down by -42.1%)
4. Fertilizers: $423.9 million (Up by 29.5%)
5. Ores, slag, ash: $291.3 million (Up by 230.8%)
6. Organic chemicals: $104.6 million (Down by -0.5%)
7. Glass: $89.6 million (Down by -5.1%)
8. Aircraft, spacecraft: $79 million (Down by -39.8%)
9. Dairy, eggs, honey: $73.7 million (Up by 527.3%)
10. Articles of iron or steel: $49.5 million (Down by -132.4%)

Bahrain has positive net exports in the international trade of aluminum-related materials and goods, then mineral fuels including oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Bahrain’s strong competitive advantages under those product categories.

Products Causing Bahrain’s Largest Trade Deficits

Below are exports from Bahrain that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Bahrain’s goods trail Bahraini importer spending on foreign products.

1. Inorganic chemicals: -US$1.4 billion (Up by 28.9% since 2021)
2. Machinery including computers: -$970.7 million (Down by -19.9%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$919.4 million (Up by 5.6%)
4. Vehicles: -$764.3 million (Up by 32.7%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$379.1 million (Up by 2%)
6. Gems, precious metals: -$299.1 million (Up by 73.1%)
7. Meat: -$278.9 million (Up by 29.6%)
8. Fruits, nuts: -$188.9 million (Up by 12.4%)
9. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$183.9 million (Down by -6.1%)
10. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: -$155.6 million (Up by 6.8%)

Bahrain has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the inorganic chemicals product category.

Bahraini Export Companies

Two Bahraini regional banks rank among Forbes Global 2000 corporations, namely Ahli United Bank and Arab Banking.

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Bahrain. Selected examples are shown below:

• Al Baraka Banking Group (investment banking)
• Aluminium Bahrain (aluminum and related products)
• Bahrain Petroleum Company (oil, gas)
• Banagas (natural gas)
• DHL International Aviation ME (cargo transportation)
• Fakhro Group (industrial conglomerate)
• Nass Corporation B.S.C. (construction materials)
• Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo (travel, shipping, technology conglomerate)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Bahrain’s total exported goods represent an estimated 24.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($89.6 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 24.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to the estimated 15.7% for 2021. Those percentages indicate a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Bahrain’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Bahrain’s unemployment rate averaged 5% for 2022, down from an average 6.6% in 2021 according to metrics from the International Monetary Fund.

Bahrain’s capital city is Manama, a name meaning “place of rest” or “place of dreams” in Arabic.

See also Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Exports, Jordan’s Top 10 Exports, UAE’s Top 10 Exports and Top Aluminum Exporters by Country Plus Average Unit Prices

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Middle East: Bahrain. Accessed on September 15, 2023

FlagPictures.org, Flag of Bahrain. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 15, 2023

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 15, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Richest Country Reports, Top 100 Richest Countries by GDP. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Wikipedia, Bahrain. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Bahrain. Accessed on September 15, 2023

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 15, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Manama, Bahrain. Accessed on September 15, 2023