That dollar amount results from a 9.8% increase from 5 years earlier in 2021 when Bahraini exports totaled $19.3 billion.
Year over year, revenue collected for Bahrain’s exports grew by 6.5% compared to $19.9 billion during 2024.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Bahraini dinar depreciated by -0.01% against the US dollar since 2021 but rose 0.01% from 2024 to 2025. Bahrain’s modestly stronger local currency versus 2024 made its exports paid for in slightly weaker US dollars modestly a bit more expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Bahrain’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 61.7% of products exported from Bahrain was bought by importers in: Saudi Arabia (19.8% of the Bahraini total), United Arab Emirates (12.4%), United States of America (7.0%), Netherlands (3.4%), Qatar (3.2%), India (2.9%), Italy (2.7%), Spain (2.5%), Algeria (2.2%), Greece (1.98%), Oman (1.93%) and Kuwait (1.85%).
From a continental perspective, 60% of Bahrain’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 15.8% was sold to importers in Europe.
Bahrain shipped another 11.2% worth of goods to buyers in North America.
Smaller percentages went to customers located in Africa (10%), Oceania (1.6%) mostly Australia and New Zealand, then Latin America (1.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Bahrain’s population of 1.7 million people, its total US$21.2 billion in exports for 2025 translates to about $12,800 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That dollar metric surpasses the average $12,300 per capita one year earlier for 2024.
Bahrain’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups categorize the highest dollar value in Bahraini global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Bahrain.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$8.1 billion (38.2% of total exports)
- Aluminum: $5.4 billion (25.6%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1.7 billion (7.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $618.6 million (2.9%)
- Vehicles: $586 million (2.8%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $550.3 million (2.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $508.9 million (2.4%)
- Gems, precious metals: $430.6 million (2%)
- Iron, steel: $420.5 million (2%)
- Fertilizers: $387.1 million (1.8%)
Bahrain’s top 10 export product categories generated 88.1% of the overall value of total Bahraini shipments.
Fertilizers represent the fastest-grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 44.3% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was articles made from iron or steel, which was up by 30.8%.
Bahrain’s shipments of vehicles posted the third-fastest advance in value, up by 22.7% year over year.
The leading year-over-year decliner among Bahrain’s top 10 export categories was machinery including computers which fell -35.9%
At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Bahrain’s most valuable exports were: processed petroleum oils (38.2% of the Bahraini total), unwrought aluminum (17%), iron ores and concentrates (7.8%), aluminum wire (4%), miscellaneous iron or steel structures (2.4%), aluminum plates, sheets and strips (2.2%), cheese and curd (also 2.2%), nitrogenous fertilizers (1.8%), aluminum stranded wire, cables and plaited bands (1.7%) then cars (1.6%).
Products Generating Bahrain’s Best Trade Surpluses
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.
- Aluminum: US$5.2 billion (Up by 10.5% since 2024)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $812.7 million (Up by 92.3%)
- Fertilizers: $383.6 million (Up by 44.4%)
- Iron, steel: $243.9 million (Down by -16.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $205.1 million (Up by 53.5%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $192.7 million (Up by 19.9%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $165.5 million (Up by 41.8%)
- Organic chemicals: $80.0 million (Up by 52.8%)
- Glass: $73.0 million (Up by 48.5%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $49.3 million (Up by 70.2%)
Bahrain has positive net exports in the international trade of aluminum. In turn, these cashflows indicate Bahrain’s strong competitive advantages under the related product category.
Products Causing Bahrain’s Largest Trade Deficits
Bahrain endured an overall -US$2.1 billion trade deficit for 2025, slowing by -10.9% from -$2.34 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.
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.
- Machinery including computers: -US$1.7 billion (Up by 89.1% since 2024)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$1.5 billion (Up by 1.3%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1 billion (Up by 8.2%)
- Vehicles: -$912.1 million (Down by -4.2%)
- Gems, precious metals: -$533.8 million (Up by 105.7%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$428.3 million (Down by -6.7%)
- Meat: -$286.7 million (Down by -4.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$206.7 million (Up by 3.6%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$198.5 million (Up by 3.6%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: -$146.1 million (Up by 10.1%)
Bahrain has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the machinery including computers 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 18.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($112.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 18.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 18.7% for 2024. 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 6.4% for 2025, up from an average 6.3% in 2024 according to Trading Economics metrics.
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 October 28, 2026
EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Exchange Rates History: Bahraini Dinar (BHD) To US Dollar (USD). Accessed on October 28, 2026
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Bahrain. Accessed on October 28, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 28, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 28, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 28, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 28, 2026
Wikipedia, Bahrain. Accessed on October 28, 2026
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 28, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Bahrain. Accessed on October 28, 2026
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 28, 2026