Bahamas

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Bahamas

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Commonwealth of the Bahamas Area 13,880 sq km/5,383 sq mi Capital Nassau (on New Providence island) Language English (official), Creole Religion Christian 94% (Baptist 32%, Roman Catholic 19%, Anglican 20%, other Protestant 23%) Time difference GMT -5 Major holidays 1 January, 10 July, 25–26 December; variable: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Labour Day (June), Emancipation (August), Discovery (October)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Freeport (on Grand Bahama) Physical features comprises 700 tropical coral islands and about 1,000 cays; the Exumas are a narrow spine of 365 islands; only 30 of the desert islands are inhabited; Blue Holes of Andros, the world's longest and deepest submarine caves Principal islands Andros, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, New Providence, Berry Islands, Bimini Islands, Great Inagua, Acklins Island, Exuma Islands, Mayguana, Crooked Island, Long Island, Cat Islands, Rum Cay, Watling (San Salvador) Island, Inagua Islands Airports two international airports, two other important domestic airports, and about 50 smaller airports and airstrips; total passengers carried: 1.6 million (2001 est) Railways none Roads total road network: 2,693 km/1,673 mi, of which 57.4% paved (1999 est); passenger cars: 284.5 per 1,000 people (1998)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Queen Elizabeth II from 1973, represented by Governor General Ivy Dumont from 2001 Head of government Perry Christie from 2002 Political system liberal democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions 21 districts Political parties Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), centrist; Free National Movement (FNM), left of centre Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 860 (2006 est) Conscription military service is voluntary Defence spend (% GDP) 0.7 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 3.6 (1997) Health spend (% GDP) 3 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Bahamian dollar GDP (US$) 5.5 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 4 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 4.7 billion (2004 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 20,200 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 1.7% (2006 est) Unemployment 10.2% (2005 est) Labour force 3.5% agriculture, 17.8% industry, 78.7% services (2005) Foreign debt (US$) 290 million (2005 est) Major trading partners USA, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, South Korea, Germany, France Resources aragonite (extracted from seabed), chalk, salt Industries pharmaceutical chemicals, salt, rum, beer, cement, shipping, financial services, tourism Exports chemicals, fish and crawfish, oil products and transhipments, rum, aragonite, machinery and transport equipment, fruit and vegetables. Principal market: USA 31.5% (2005) Imports machinery and transport equipment, basic manufactures, petroleum and products, food and live animals, chemicals. Principal source: USA 23.4% (2005) Arable land 0.6% (2006 est) Agricultural products sugar cane, cucumbers, tomatoes, pineapples, papayas, mangoes, avocados, limes and other citrus fruit; commercial fishing (conches and crustaceans)


POPULATION

Population 327,400 (2006 est) Population growth rate 1.5% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 24 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 90 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 28%, 15–59 63%, 60+ 9% (2005 est) Ethnic groups about 85% of the population is of African origin, remainder mainly British, American, and Canadian Life expectancy 69 (men); 75 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 13 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 12 Literacy rate 95% (men); 96% (women) (2003 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 10.1 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 3.9 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 3.3 (2005 est) AIDS deaths <500 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 98 (urban); 86 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 43.9 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 58.4 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 726 (1997) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 248 (2004 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 29.6 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

8th–9th centuries AD Arawak Indians driven northwards to the islands by Caribs. 1492 Visited by Christopher Columbus; Arawaks deported to provide cheap labour for gold and silver mines of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti). 1629 King Charles I of England granted islands to Robert Heath. 1666 Colonization of New Providence island. 1783 Recovered after brief Spanish occupation and became British colony; settled during American War of Independence by American loyalists, who brought with them black slaves. 1834 Slaves emancipated. from 1950s Major development of tourist trade. 1964 Became internally self-governing. 1967 First national assembly elections. 1973 Full independence achieved within Commonwealth. 1992 Centre-left Free National Movement (FNM) led by Hubert Ingraham won absolute majority in elections. 2001 Dame Ivy Dumont became country's first woman governor-general. 2002 Perry Christie led Progressive Liberal Party to landslide victory, ending FNM's ten-year rule. 2004 Hurricane Frances caused widespread damage; weeks later Bahamas battered again by Hurricane Jeanne. 2007 Hubert Ingraham's opposition FNM won parliamentary elections.


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