 Bahrain's gross international reserves increased substantially in 2004 to US$1.6 billion, up from US$1.4 billion in the previous three years (2001-2003).Though Current GDP per capita shrank by 2.4% in the 1980s, it bounced back to a growth of 36% in the 1990s as a result of successful diversification initiatives.Bahrain's urgency in embracing economic liberalisation is due to its need to diversify the economy away from its limited oil supplies.