Bahamas, The

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Introduction - Bahamas, The:
Country	Bahamas, The
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 Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Location - 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
Area comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries	0 km
Coastline	3,542 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Terrain	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Natural resources	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Land use	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)
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 - Bahamas, The:
Population	305,655 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 2007 est.)
Age structure	0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.)
Median age	total: 28.1 years male: 27.3 years female: 28.9 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate	0.602% (2007 est.)
Birth rate	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate	2.15 children born/woman (2007 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, Governors 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 ministers 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 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 (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	NA
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
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, 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 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 archipelagos 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.
Gdp purchasing power parity	$6.556 billion (2006 est.)
Gdp official exchange rate	$6.159 billion (2006 est.)
Gdp real growth rate	4% (2006 est.)
Gdp per capita ppp	$21,600 (2006 est.)
Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
Labor force	176,300 (2004)
Labor force by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	10.2% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	9.3% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Inflation rate consumer prices	1.2% (2004)
Budget	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion; including capital expenditures of $130 million (FY04/05)
Agriculture products	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Industries	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Industrial production growth rate	NA%
Electricity production	1.795 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity consumption	1.669 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity exports	0 kWh (2004)
Electricity imports	0 kWh (2004)
Oil production	0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil consumption	27,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil exports	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)
Oil imports	NA bbl/day
Oil proved reserves	0 bbl
Natural gas production	0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas consumption	0 cu m (2004 est.)
Exports	$451 million (2005 est.)
Exports commodities	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports partners	Spain 23.3%, US 20.7%, Poland 14.1%, Germany 7.2%, UK 6%, Guatemala 5.1% (2006)
Imports	$2.16 billion (2005 est.)
Imports commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports partners	US 20.9%, South Korea 17.9%, Brazil 16.8%, Japan 11.1%, Spain 6.1% (2006)
Debt external	$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Economic aid recipient	$5 million (2004)
Currency code	Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Exchange rates	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002)
Communications - Bahamas, The:
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June
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 international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 2 (2005)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	2 (2006)
Internet country code	.bs
Internet hosts	591 (2006)
Internet users	103,000 (2005)
Transportation - Bahamas, The:
Airports	64 (2006)
Airports with paved runways	total: 29 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Airports with unpaved runways	total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Heliports	1 (2006)
Roadways	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 - Bahamas, The:
Military branches	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006)
Military service age and obligation	18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
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)
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