The Bahamas

Commonwealth of The Bahamas

constitutional parliamentary democracyIndependence 10 July 1973 (from UK)

The Bahamas as the 2006 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 116 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalNassau, UTC-5

Position24 15 N, 76 00 W

Area13,940 sq km

LocationCaribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba

Populationas each edition published it

303,770 people July 2006 est. · 246,491 in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.64% 2006 est. · 1.62% in 1993

Median ageyears

27.8 years 2006 est. · 27 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

65.6 years 2006 est. · 72.02 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.18 children per woman 2006 est. · 1.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

24.68 deaths per 1,000 live births 2006 est. · 21 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$20,200 2005 est. · $10,200 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

3.7% 2005 est. · 3% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

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 its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.

Geography

Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba

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Land useshare of 13,940 sq km

arable land 0.58%permanent crops 0.29%other 99.13% (2005)irrigated 10 sq km (2003)

Area

13,940sq km

land: 10,070 sq kmwater: 3,870 sq kmslightly smaller than Connecticut

Coastline

3,542km

land boundaries: 0 kmterritorial sea: 12 nmexclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Highest point

63m

Mount Alvernia, on Cat Islandlowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

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

Climate

tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream

Terrain

long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills

Natural resources

salt, aragonite, timber, arable land

Natural hazards

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

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Age structuremale left, female right · (2006 est.)

7,891

65 and over6.4%

11,426

98,847

15-6466.1%

102,074

41,799

0-1427.5%

41,733

MaleFemale

Population

303,770

growth rate: 0.64% (2006 est.)

Note

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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2006 est.)

Birth

17.57Death

9.05Net migration

-2.17

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2006 est.)65.6

62.24 · 69.03Infant mortality deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)24.68

30.29 · 18.96

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (2003 est.)95.6%

94.7% · 96.5%Median age years (2006 est.)27.8

27.1 · 28.6

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

black 85%white 12%Asian and Hispanic 3%

Religions(2000 census)

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)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

(2003 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 (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.18 children born/woman (2006 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

Languages

English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Government

Constitutional parliamentary democracy; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006); Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002)

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Presidential electionpercent of vote

50.8%

PLP 50.8%FNM 41.1%independents 5.2%last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)

Legislature, 40 seats, elected 1 May 2002one dot, one seat

PLP 29FNM 7independents 4

Percent of vote

PLP 50.8%FNM 41.1%independents 5.2%

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 first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October

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 Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002)
cabinet:: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation
elections:: none;
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-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

elections:: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)
election results:: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4

Judicial branch

Privy Council (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]

Political pressure groups and leaders

International organization participation

ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: vacant
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 John D. ROOD
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, 328-2206 (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

The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking.

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GDP, purchasing power parity

$6.105billion

(2005 est.)official exchange rate: $5.783 billion (2005 est.)

GDP per capita, PPP

$20,200

(2005 est.)

Real growth rate

3.7%

(2005 est.)industrial production growth: NA%

Inflation, consumer prices

1.2%

( 2004)

GDP - composition by sector(2001 est.)

agriculture 3%industry 7%services 90% (2001 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

31%

22.5%

29.7%

Spain

7.8%

South Korea

20.2%

9.3%

Poland

Brazil

7.1%

Italy

6.5%

5.6%

Germany

5.4%

4.1%

Guatemala

Exports $469.3 million (2004 est.)Imports $1.82 billion (2004 est.)(2005)

Budget

Revenues

$1.03 billionExpenditures

$1.03 billion

expenditures including capital expenditures of $130 million (FY04/05)

Electricity

Electricity production

1.81 billion (2003)Electricity consumption

1.683 billion (2003)

Economy - overview

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.

Communications

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Mobile cellular

186,000

(2004)

Internet users

591

(2006)

Fixed lines

139,900

(2004) · country code .bs

Telephone system

general assessment:: modern facilities
domestic:: totally automatic system; highly developed
international:: country code - 1-242;
tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida;
3 coaxial submarine cables;
satellite earth station - 2 (2005)

Transportation

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Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

1,524 to 2,437 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

Paved 29Unpaved 35

total:: 2,693 km
paved:: 1,546 km
unpaved:: 1,147 km (1999)

Merchant marine

total:: 1,177 ships (1000 GRT or over) 37,743,270 GRT/50,918,747 DWT
by type:: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 253, cargo 250, chemical tanker 64, container 79, liquefied gas 35, livestock carrier 2, passenger 115, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 175, refrigerated cargo 114, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 30
foreign-owned:: 1,093 (Angola 5, Australia 2, Belgium 13, Canada 18, China 3, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 59, Estonia 1, Finland 8, France 37, Germany 22, Greece 232, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 1, India 1, Indonesia 4, Ireland 2, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 51, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 17, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 259, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 12, Singapore 12, Slovenia 1, Spain 12, Sweden 6, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, Turkey 8, UAE 16, UK 69, Uruguay 2, US 121, Venezuela 1)
registered in other countries:: 4 (Barbados 1, Liberia 1, Panama 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals

Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point

Military

Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006)

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Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

disagrees with the US on the alignment of the maritime boundary;
continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center

Central Intelligence Agency. “Bahamas, The.” The World Factbook 2006. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/bahamas/2006.

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