Northern Governorate

The Northern Governorate (population 427,000) is Bahrain's most distinctly Bahraini territory—a 146 km² residential and agricultural region where 72% of residents hold citizenship, the kingdom's highest ratio. This demographic composition reflects the governorate's character as Bahrain's community heartland: 41 villages and towns including Hamad Town (established 1984) and the Northern City (opened 2018) spread across a landscape of date palm farms, traditional Shia-majority villages like Diraz and Barbar, and expanding suburban developments. A'ali (population 100,000) serves as the governorate's largest settlement, maintaining agricultural preservation amid residential growth. The 2024 Bahrain Metro preparations include land acquisitions for lines connecting northern villages to central commercial hubs—infrastructure that will fundamentally reshape the governorate's relationship with Manama. Unlike the Capital's transient expatriate majority, the Northern Governorate's stable citizen population creates different political and social dynamics, with traditional communities maintaining distinct identities even as modernization encroaches. The governorate's coastal villages along the northwestern shore—Budaiya, Bani Jamra—attract families seeking seaside proximity with suburban character.