Bahamas | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Infoplease has everything you need to know about Bahamas. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about Bahamas's geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. If that's not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags.

Facts & Figures

  • Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

    Governor-General: Dame Marguerite Pindling (2014)

    Prime Minister: Perry Christie (2012)

    Land area: 3,888 sq mi (10,070 sq km); total area: 5,382 sq mi 13,940 sq km)

    Population (2014 est.): 321,834 (growth rate: 0.87%); birth rate: 15.65/1000; infant mortality rate: 12.5/1000; life expectancy: 71.93

    Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Nassau, 254,000

    Monetary unit: Bahamian dollar

    Current Government Officials

    Languages: English (official), Haitian Creole 25% (Source)

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

    Religions: 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.)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, July 10

    Literacy rate: 95.6% (2011 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $8.373 billion; per capita $32,000. Real growth rate: 1.9%. Inflation: 1% (2011 est.). Unemployment: 16.2%. Arable land: 0.65%. Agriculture: citrus, vegetables; poultry. Labor force: 196,900 (2011); agriculture 3%, industry 11%, tourism 49%, other services 37% (2011 est.). Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe. Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land. Exports: $960 million (2013 est.): mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables. Imports: $3.245 billion (2013 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals. Major trading partners: U.S., South Korea, Dominican Republic, India, Singapore, Ecuador, Colombia, China, Canada, Switzerland (2012).

    Member of Commonwealth of Nations

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 137,00 (2012); mobile cellular: 254,000 (2012). Broadcast media: 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). Internet hosts: 20,661 (2012). Internet users: 115,800 (2012).

    Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 2,717 km; (2011). Ports and harbors: Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point. Airports: 61 (2013).

    International disputes: disagrees with the US on the alignment of the northern axis of a potential maritime boundary.

    Major sources and definitions

See also: