CIA World Factbook: Bahamas – Central Intelligence Agency

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, international banking, and investment management. Because of its location, 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

24 15 N, 76 00 W

Central America and the Caribbean

total: 13,880 sq km

land: 10,010 sq km

water: 3,870 sq km

slightly smaller than Connecticut

0 km

3,542 km

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream

long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills

mean elevation: NA

elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Alvernia on Cat Island 63 m

salt, aragonite, timber, arable land

agricultural land: 1.4%

arable land 0.8%; permanent crops 0.4%; permanent pasture 0.2%

forest: 51.4%

other: 47.2% (2011 est.)

10 sq km (2012)

0.02 cu km (2011)

hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage

coral reef decay; solid waste disposal

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

strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited

noun: Bahamian(s)

adjective: Bahamian

black 90.6%, white 4.7%, black and white 2.1%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2010 est.)

English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Protestant 69.9% (includes Baptist 34.9%, Anglican 13.7%, Pentecostal 8.9% Seventh Day Adventist 4.4%, Methodist 3.6%, Church of God 1.9%, Brethren 1.6%), Roman Catholic 12%, other Christian 13% (includes Jehovah's Witness 1.1%), other 0.6%, none 1.9%, unspecified 2.6% (2010 est.)

324,597

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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2015 est.)

0-14 years: 22.98% (male 37,838/female 36,747)

15-24 years: 17.15% (male 28,195/female 27,459)

25-54 years: 44.08% (male 71,528/female 71,555)

55-64 years: 8.58% (male 12,429/female 15,436)

65 years and over: 7.21% (male 8,981/female 14,429) (2015 est.)

Population Pyramid

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

total dependency ratio: 41.2%

youth dependency ratio: 29.6%

elderly dependency ratio: 11.7%

potential support ratio: 8.5% (2015 est.)

total: 31.5 years

male: 30.4 years

female: 32.6 years (2015 est.)

0.85% (2015 est.)

15.5 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

urban population: 82.9% of total population (2015)

rate of urbanization: 1.53% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

NASSAU (capital) 267,000 (2014)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.81 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

80 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

total: 11.92 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 11.75 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 12.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)

total population: 72.2 years

male: 69.77 years

female: 74.7 years (2015 est.)

1.96 children born/woman (2015 est.)

7.3% of GDP (2013)

2.82 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

2.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)

improved:

urban: 98.4% of population

rural: 98.4% of population

total: 98.4% of population

unimproved:

urban: 1.6% of population

rural: 1.6% of population

total: 1.6% of population (2015 est.)

improved:

urban: 92% of population

rural: 92% of population

total: 92% of population

unimproved:

urban: 8% of population

rural: 8% of population

total: 8% of population (2015 est.)

3.22% (2013 est.)

7,700 (2013 est.)

500 (2013 est.)

36.6% (2014)

NA

total: 30.8%

male: 29.6%

female: 32.2% (2012 est.)

conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Link:

CIA World Factbook: Bahamas - Central Intelligence Agency