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(opens in new window) Arawak 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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants
into the US.
Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast
of Florida, northeast of Cuba
24 15 N, 76 00 W
total: 13,940 sq km 0 km 3,542 km territorial sea: 12 nm tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
arable land: 0.58% 10 sq km (2003)
hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind
damage coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
of which 30 are inhabited
303,770 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 41,799/female 41,733) total: 27.8 years 0.64% (2006 est.)
17.57 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
-2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female total: 24.68 deaths/1,000 live births total population: 65.6 years 2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)
3% (2003 est.)
5,600 (2003 est.)
less than 200 (2003 est.)
noun: Bahamian(s) black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
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) English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas constitutional parliamentary democracy
Nassau 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
10 July 1973 (from UK)
Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
10 July 1973
based on English common law
18 years of age; universal
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body
appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime
minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the
House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote
to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the
Parliament and call elections at any time Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court;
magistrates courts The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation 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 the slowdown in the US
economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in
these sectors in 2001-03. The current government has presided over a
period of economic recovery and an upturn in large-scale private
sector investments in tourism. Financial services constitute the
second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for
about 15% 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
together 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, which depends on growth in the US,
the source of more than 80% of the visitors. $5.696 billion (2005 est.)
$5.779 billion (2005 est.)
3% (2005 est.)
$18,900 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 3% 176,300 (2004)
agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005
est.) 10.2% (2005 est.)
9.3% (2004)
lowest 10%: NA% 1.2% (2004) revenues: $1.03 billion citrus, vegetables; poultry
tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite,
pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe 1.81 billion kWh (2003)
1.683 billion kWh (2003)
23,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003)
$469.3 million (2004 est.)
mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit
and vegetables US 40.5%, Poland 13.4%, Spain 12.3%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3%
(2004) $1.82 billion (2004 est.)
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral
fuels; food and live animals US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%,
Venezuela 6.6% (2004) $342.6 million (2004 est.)
$5 million (2004)
Bahamian dollar (BSD)
1 July - 30 June
139,900 (2004)
186,000 (2004)
general assessment: modern facilities AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
2 (2006) .bs 359 (2005) 93,000 (2005) 64 (2005) total: 30 total: 34 1 (2005) total: 2,693 km total: 1,156 Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004)
disagrees with the US on the alignment of the maritime boundary;
continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic
privation and political instability transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and
Europe; offshore financial center |
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