:The Bahamas Geography

Total area:
    13,940 km2
Land area:
    10,070 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly larger than Connecticut
Land boundaries:
    none
Coastline:
    3,542 km
Maritime claims:
  Continental shelf:
    200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
  Exclusive fishing zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    3 nm
Disputes:
    none
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
Land use:
    arable land 1%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures NEGL%; forest
    and woodland 32%; other 67%
Environment:
    subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood
    damage
Note:
    strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain

:The Bahamas People

Population:
    255,811 (July 1992), growth rate 1.4% (1992)
Birth rate:
    19 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    19 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    69 years male, 76 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    2.2 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun--Bahamian(s); adjective--Bahamian
Ethnic divisions:
    black 85%, white 15%
Religions:
    Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God
    6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% (1980)
Languages:
    English; some Creole among Haitian immigrants
Literacy:
    90% (male 90%, female 89%) age 15 and over but definition of literacy not
    available (1963 est.)
Labor force:
    127,400; government 30%, hotels and restaurants 25%, business services
    10%, agriculture 5% (1989)
Organized labor:
    25% of labor force

:The Bahamas Government

Long-form name:
    The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Type:
    commonwealth
Capital:
    Nassau
Administrative divisions:
    21 districts; Abaco, Acklins Island, Andros Island, Berry Islands,
    Biminis, Cat Island, Cay Lobos, Crooked Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand
    Bahama, Harbour Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Long Island, Mayaguana,
    New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador,
    Spanish Wells
Independence:
    10 July 1973 (from UK)
Constitution:
    10 July 1973
Legal system:
    based on English common law
National holiday:
    National Day, 10 July (1973)
Executive branch:
    British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime
    minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower
    house or House of Assembly
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by
    Acting Governor General Sir Clifford DARLING (since 2 January 1992)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar PINDLING (since 16 January 1967)
Political parties and leaders:
    Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Sir Lynden O. PINDLING; Free National
    Movement (FNM), Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  House of Assembly:
    last held 19 June 1987 (next to be held by NA June 1992);
    results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(49 total) PLP 32, FNM 17
    *** No entry for this item ***
Other political or pressure groups:
    Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist Party (VNSP), a small leftist party
    headed
    by Lionel CAREY; Trade Union Congress (TUC), headed by Arlington MILLER
Member of:
    ACP, C, CCC, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO,
    ICFTU, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM,
    OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Margaret E. McDONALD; Chancery at 2220 Massachusetts
    Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 319-2660; there are
    Bahamian Consulates General in Miami and New York;

:The Bahamas Government

  US:
    Ambassador Chic HECHT; Embassy at Mosmar Building, Queen Street, Nassau
    (mailing address is P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau); telephone (809) 322-1181 or
    328-2206; FAX (809) 328-7838
Diplomatic representation:
    *** No entry for this item ***
Flag:
    three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine with
    a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side

:The Bahamas Economy

Overview:
    The Bahamas is a stable, middle-income developing nation whose economy is
    based primarily on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone provides
    about 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs about 50,000 people or
    40% of the local work force. The economy has slackened in recent years, as
    the annual increase in the number of tourists slowed. Nonetheless, the per
    capita GDP of $9,900 is one of the highest in the region.
GDP:
    purchasing power equivalent--$2.5 billion, per capita $9,900; real growth
    rate 1.0% (1990 est.)
    *** No entry for this item ***
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    7.3% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
    16.0% (1991)
Budget:
    revenues $627.5 million; expenditures $727.5 million, including capital
    expenditures of $100 million (1992, projected)
    *** No entry for this item ***
Exports:
    $306 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.);
  commodities:
    pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish;
  partners:
    US 41%, Norway 30%, Denmark 4%
Imports:
    $1.14 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.);
  commodities:
    foodstuffs, manufactured goods, mineral fuels;
  partners:
    US 35%, Nigeria 21%, Japan 13%, Angola 11%
External debt:
    $1.2 billion (December 1990)
Industrial production:
    growth rate 3% (1990); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity:
    368,000 kw capacity; 857 million kWh produced 3,339 kWh per capita
    (1991)
Industries:
    tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt production,
    rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral welded steel pipe
    *** No entry for this item ***
Agriculture:
    accounts for less than 5% of GDP; dominated by small-scale producers;
    principal products--citrus fruit, vegetables, poultry; large net importer of
    food
    *** No entry for this item ***
Illicit drugs:
    transshipment point for cocaine
Economic aid:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $1.0 million; Western
    (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $345
    million
Currency:
    Bahamian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bahamian dollar (B$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
    Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year

:The Bahamas Communications

Highways:
    2,400 km total; 1,350 km paved, 1,050 km gravel
Ports:
    Freeport, Nassau
Merchant marine:
    778 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,129,173 GRT/30,002,421 DWT;
    includes 48 passenger, 19 short-sea passenger, 152 cargo, 37
    roll-on/roll-off cargo, 42 container, 6 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier,
    172 petroleum tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 16 combination ore/oil, 47 chemical
    tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 143 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 78 refrigerated
    cargo;
    note--a flag of convenience registry
    *** No entry for this item ***
Civil air:
    11 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    59 total, 54 usable; 30 with permanent-surface runways; none with
    runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3, 659 m; 26 with runways
    1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    highly developed; 99,000 telephones in totally automatic system;
    tropospheric scatter and submarine cable links to Florida; broadcast
    stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean
    INTELSAT earth station
    *** No entry for this item ***

:The Bahamas Defense Forces

Branches:
    Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police
Branches:
    Force
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 68,020; NA fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion--$65 million, 2.7% of GDP (1990)