Lucayan Indians inhabited the
islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San
Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the
islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK
in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international
banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country
is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments
to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal
migrants into the US.
Geography
Bahamas, The
Location:
Caribbean, chain of islands in
the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Geographic coordinates:
24 15 N, 76 00 W
Map references:
Central America and the
Caribbean
Area:
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
hurricanes and other tropical
storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Environment - current issues:
coral reef decay; solid waste
disposal
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location adjacent to
US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
People
Bahamas, The
Population:
307,451 note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of
excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy,
higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth
rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than
would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
total: 28.4 years
male: 27.6 years female: 29.2 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.57% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
17.06 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
9.22 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.14 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69
male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 23.67
deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.89 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.72
years male: 62.5 years female: 69 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.13 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5,600 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian
Ethnic groups:
black 85%, white 12%, Asian and
Hispanic 3%
Religions:
Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%,
Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist
4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000
census)
Languages:
English (official), Creole
(among Haitian immigrants)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 95.6%
male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Government
Bahamas, The
Country name:
conventional long form:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The
Bahamas
Government type:
constitutional parliamentary
democracy
Capital:
name: Nassau
geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time
difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends
first Sunday in November
Administrative divisions:
21 districts; Acklins and
Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek,
Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua,
Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence,
Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point,
San Salvador and Rum Cay
Independence:
10 July 1973 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 July
(1973)
Constitution:
10 July 1973
Legal system:
based on English common law
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen
ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General
Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006) head of government:
Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's
recommendation elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor
general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is
usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime
minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists
of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon
the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve
five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by
direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve
the Parliament and call elections at any time elections: last
held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election
results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by
party - FNM 23, PLP 18
Judicial branch:
Privy Council in London; Courts
of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; Magistrates' Courts
Political parties and leaders:
Free National Movement or FNM
[Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
chief of mission:
Ambassador Cornelius A. SMITH chancery: 2220 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660
FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami,
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau
mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box
N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC
20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after
hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of
aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle
based on the hoist side
Economy
Bahamas, The
Economy - overview:
The Bahamas is one of the
wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on
tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven
construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and
directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force.
Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new
hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent
years, but tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. Financial
services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian
economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36%
of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new
regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have
left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute
approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government
incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short
run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector. Tourism, in turn,
depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors.
mineral products and salt,
animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners:
Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland
13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006)
Imports:
$2.401 billion (2006)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport
equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners:
US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan
13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$4.78 million (2004)
Debt - external:
$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Currency (code):
Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Currency code:
BSD
Exchange rates:
Bahamian dollars per US dollar
- 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Communications
Bahamas, The
Telephones - main lines in use:
133,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
227,800 (2005)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly
developed; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands
and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband
internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing
point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic
submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of
the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Radios:
215,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
2 (2006)
Televisions:
67,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.bs
Internet hosts:
248 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
19 (2000)
Internet users:
103,000 (2005)
Transportation
Bahamas, The
Airports:
62 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 24 over
3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m:
12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 38 1,524
to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22
(2007)
Heliports:
1 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999)
Merchant marine:
total: 1,213 ships (1000
GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT by type: barge
carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination
ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger
117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118,
roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle
carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium
15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Bahamas 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus
20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3,
Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1,
Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway
232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9,
Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1,
Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162,
Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3
(Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Freeport, Nassau, South Riding
Point
Military
Bahamas, The
Military branches:
Royal Bahamian Defense Force:
Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.); no
conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 73,121
(2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 44,309
(2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 2,804
(2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.5% (2006)
Transnational Issues
Bahamas, The
Disputes - international:
disagrees with the US on the
alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and
interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine
and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
