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 has 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.

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

slightly smaller than Connecticut

tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream

long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills

salt, aragonite, timber, arable land

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

black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%

English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Protestant 67.6% (Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%), Roman Catholic 13.5%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)

316,182 (July 2012 est.)

15.95 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

6.91 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

NASSAU (capital) 248,000 (2009)

47 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.98 children born/woman (2012 est.)

1.05 physicians/1,000 population (1998)

3.1 beds/1,000 population (2008)

fewer than 500 (2009 est.)

constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

31 districts; Acklins Islands, Berry Islands, Bimini, Black Point, Cat Island, Central Abaco, Central Andros, Central Eleuthera, City of Freeport, Crooked Island and Long Cay, East Grand Bahama, Exuma, Grand Cay, Harbour Island, Hope Town, Inagua, Long Island, Mangrove Cay, Mayaguana, Moore's Island, North Abaco, North Andros, North Eleuthera, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, South Abaco, South Andros, South Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, West Grand Bahama

10 July 1973 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 10 July (1973)

common law system based on the English model

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

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

Privy Council in London; Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; Magistrates' Courts

Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]

Friends of the Environment

ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side; the band colors represent the golden beaches of the islands surrounded by the aquamarine sea; black represents the vigor and force of a united people, while the pointing triangle indicates the enterprise and determination of the Bahamian people to develop the rich resources of land and sea

blue marlin; flamingo

The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries 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. Prior to 2006, a steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to solid GDP growth but since then tourism receipts have begun to drop off. The global recession in 2009 took a sizeable toll on The Bahamas, resulting in a contraction in GDP and a widening budget deficit. The decline was reversed in 2010-11 as tourism from the US and sector investment returned. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. However, the financial sector currently is smaller than it has been in the past because of the enactment of new and stricter financial regulations in 2000 that caused many international businesses to relocate elsewhere. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute approximately a 10th 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 and foreign investment in tourism related infrastructure projects. The government also completed the sale of 51% of the telecommunications company in 2011 after 14 years of trying to privatize the state-owned enterprise.

$10.92 billion (2011 est.)

$10.71 billion (2010 est.)

$10.61 billion (2009 est.)

$8.074 billion (2011 est.)

18.8% of GDP (FY11/12 est.)

-2.1% of GDP (FY11/12 est.)

4% (31 December 2011 est.)

5.25% (31 December 2010 est.)

5.06% (31 December 2011 est.)

5.5% (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.408 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.335 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$6.266 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$5.966 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$8.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$8.466 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

citrus, vegetables; poultry

tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe

-$1.146 billion (2011 est.)

-$812.1 million (2010 est.)

$709.7 million (2011 est.)

$702.4 million (2010 est.)

mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables

Singapore 26.8%, US 25.6%, Dominican Republic 11.2%, Ecuador 8.1%, Mexico 4.9%, Switzerland 4.9% (2011)

$2.854 billion (2011 est.)

$2.591 billion (2010 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals

US 25.9%, India 18.8%, South Korea 14.4%, Venezuela 9.6%, Singapore 7.8%, China 4.2% (2011)

$342.6 million (2004 est.)

Bahamian dollars (BSD) per US dollar -

1.945 billion kWh (2009 est.)

1.808 billion kWh (2009 est.)

493,000 kW (2009 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

36,300 bbl/day (2011 est.)

41,610 bbl/day (2009 est.)

70,990 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

5.573 million Mt (2010 est.)

2 TV stations operated by government-owned, commercially run Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (BCB); multi-channel cable TV subscription service is available; about 15 radio stations operating with BCB operating a multi-channel radio broadcasting network alongside privately-owned radio stations (2007)

Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point

Royal Bahamas Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2011)

17 1/2-25 years of age for voluntary male and female service; no conscription (2012)

disagrees with the US on the alignment of the northern axis of a potential maritime boundary

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