Ethnic Groups
See also: Ethnic, cultural and religious groups of Bahrain| Bahraini | Other Arabs | African | American | Asian | European | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 568,399 | 66,903 | 19,548 | 4,623 | 563,335 | 11,763 | 1,234,571 |
| Percentage | 46.0% | 5.4% | 1.6% | 0.4% | 45.6% | 1.0% | 100% |
Non-nationals make up 54% of the population of Bahrain. Of those, the vast majority come from South and Southeast Asia: according to various media reports and government statistics dated between 2005-2009 roughly 290,000 Indians, 125,000 Bangladeshis, 45,000 Pakistanis, 45,000 Filipinos, and 8,000 Indonesians.
Regarding the ethnicity of Bahrainis, a Financial Times article published on 31 May 1983 found that "Bahrain is a polyglot state, both religiously and racially. Discounting temporary immigrants of the past ten years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island". These may be classified as:
| Community | Description |
|---|---|
| Afro-Arabs | Descendants of Africans, primarily from East Africa and of mostly Sunni faith |
| Ajam | Ethnic Persians from Shia faith |
| Baharna | Indigenous people of Bahrain the overwhelming majority are Shia Arabs (Banu-Qais tribe ) |
| Banyan (Bania)) | Indians who traded with Bahrain and settled before the age of oil (formerly known as the Hunood or Banyan, Arabic: البونيان), of mostly Hindu faith |
| Tribals | Sunni Arab Bedouin tribes allied to the Al-Khalifa including the Utoob tribes, Dawasir, Al Nuaim, Al Mannai etc. |
| Huwala | Arabized Sunni Persians |
| Najdis (also called Hadhar) | Non-tribal urban Sunni Arabs from Najd in central Arabia. These are families whose ancestors were pearl divers, traders, etc. An example is the Al Gosaibi family. |
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Bahrain
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