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". Furthermore, sources claim that the government of Bahrain is said to have naturalised Sunnis from different countries to increase the Sunni population in comparison to the
Indigenous Shias including people from
India,
Pakistan,
Jordan,
Yemen,
Syria,
Iraq and
Egypt. These may be classified as: Non-nationals make up more than half of the population of Bahrain, with immigrants making up about 52.6% of the overall population. Of those, the vast majority come from South and Southeast Asia: according to various media reports and government statistics dated between 2005 and 2012 roughly 350,000 Indians, 150,000 Bangladeshis, 110,000 Pakistanis, 40,000 Filipinos, and 8,000 Indonesians. In 2023, about 4,000 people from the
United Kingdom live in Bahrain, although some estimates are double this number. The following is a firm containing estimates from countries' embassies:
Genetics Ancient DNA and genetic history A 2024 study sequenced whole genomes from four individuals who lived in Bahrain during the
Tylos period (circa 300 BCE to 600 CE). The genetic makeup of these ancient Bahrainis revealed a blend of ancestries, primarily tracing back to ancient populations of the
Near East. Analysis indicated that their genetic heritage is best described as a mixture of Ancient
Anatolia,
Levant, and
Iran/
Caucasus. Subtle genetic differences were observed among the four individuals, suggesting a degree of population diversity within Bahrain even before the Islamic era. One individual displayed a stronger affinity to Levantine populations, while others showed closer genetic links to groups from Iran and the Caucasus. Paternal population structure within Bahrain was investigated using the 27 Y-STRs (short tandem repeats) in the Yfiler Plus kit to generate haplotypes from 562 unrelated Bahraini males, sub-divided into four geographical regions—
Northern,
Capital,
Southern and
Muharraq. Haplogroup prediction indicated diverse origins of the population with a predominance of haplogroups
J2 and
J1, but also haplogroups such as B2 and
E1b1a likely originating in Africa, and H, L and R2 likely indicative of migration from South Asia. Haplogroup frequencies differed significantly between regions, with J2 significantly more common in the Northern region compared with the
Southern, possibly due to differential settlement by
Baharna,
Ajams and Arabs. Haplogroup prediction suggests that haplogroup
J2 is the most common in the Bahraini population (It is thought that J-M172 may have originated in the
Caucasus,
Anatolia or
Western Iran) encompassing 27.6% of the sample, followed by
J1 (23.0%),
E1b1b (8.9%),
E1b1a (8.6%) and
R1a (8.4%), with other predicted haplogroups (G, T, L, R1b, Q, R2, B2, E2, H and C) occurring at progressively lower frequencies. Haplogroup
J1 is most frequent in the
Southern Governorate (27%) where the highest proportion of Arabs live, and in the
Muharraq Governorate (27%) where many migrant
Huwala Arabs resettled, and it declines to its lowest frequency in the
Northern and
Capital Governorates (21% and 19%). By contrast, the
Northern and
Capital Governorates where the
Baharna and
Ajam are most represented show higher frequencies of haplogroup
J2 (34% and 31%) than in
Muharraq and the
Southern Governorate (both 17%). == Languages ==