Bahrain’s postal history dates as far back as 1884 with the opening of the first office in Manama. This was followed with the opening of a second office 62 years later in Muharraq.
During the early days, the postage stamps included Bahrain’s name as an over-print until 1933 when pre-printed stamps were introduced.
For a brief period during the Autumn of 1947, the Pakistani Government in Karachi was responsible for managing the Bahrain Post offices. Following that, the British Post took over and assumed this responsibility in 1948. During that period, the postage stamps cost 5 rupees until July 1948 when the 10 rupees postage stamps were introduced.
In 1953, the first collection of local Bahraini stamps with a 1.5 “anna” denomination were introduced. These stamps were adorned with a picture of His Highness the late Amir Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Ruler of Bahrain, and were used for local and international mail and hence marked the first step of Bahrain fully taking over the postal services from Britain. In 1968 Bahrain becomes a member in the Arab Postal Unions.
Additional stamp collections were introduced in the early sixties which started to replace the ‘Bahrain’ over-print stamps as well as those with the anna denomination and these were adorned with Queen Elizabeth II picture.
In 1973, Bahrain joined the International Postal Union - a specialised agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations, following the country’s independence and acceptance in the United Nations. Less than fifteen years later, Bahrain became a member of the Arab Postal Union and a founding member of the Gulf Postal Organisation.
During the reign of His Highness the late Amir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the postal sector witnessed many developments with great advancements made in the services offered as well as the post office network. Postal services also started to include non-core services with an overall aim to provide convenience to individuals and businesses.
Timeline – Major Milestones
| 1884 | First post office opens in Manama under the India Post’s management |
| 1933 | First set of stamps with Bahrain’s name issued |
| 1946 | Second post office opens in Muharraq |
| 1948 | English Post assumes responsibility for managing postal services and operations and issues British stamps with Bahrain’s name. |
| 1950 | An independent post office for BAPCO opens in Awali |
| 1953 | First collection of local Bahraini stamps with a 1.5 anna denomination and bearing the picture of His Highness the late Amir Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Ruler of Bahrain |
| 1966 | Bahrain assumes responsibility for managing postal services and operations |
| 1973 | Bahrain becomes a member of the Universal Postal Union. |
| 1977 | Bahrain becomes a member to the GCC Post Authority |
| 1986 | Bahrain becomes a member of the Arab Postal Union and a founding member of the Gulf Postal Organisation. |
| 2002 | First collection of stamps issued with the name ‘Kingdom of Bahrain’ |
| 2005 | Bahrain Post develops launches new brand identity and logo |
| 2019 | Bahrain Post receives silver classification for one of its branches (Riffa) as part of the second edition of the “Taqyeem” evaluation program |
| 2021 | Bahrain Post receives gold classification for five of its branches Sanad, Riffa, Budaya, Hamad Town, Bahrain Mall) and one silver classification for the Sitra post office as part of the third edition of the “Taqyeem” evaluation program |
| 2021 | Bahrain Post receives International Express Mail Customer Services award |
