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Bahamas

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Background :

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 have 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. 

Location :

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

Geographic Coordinates Center :

24 15 N, 76 00 W  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -79.00
North 26.92
East -74.42
South 22.85

Area :

total 13 880 square km
land 10 010 square km
water 3 870 square km

Coastline :

3542.00 km

Climate :

tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream 

Terrain :

long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 63 metres

Natural resources :

arable land aragonite
salt timber

Land use :

arable land 0.58 %
permanent crops 0.29 %
other 99.13 %

Irrigated land :

10 square km

Natural hazards :

hurricanes tropical storms

current issues :

coral reef decay; solid waste disposal 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes
Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection
Ship Pollution Wetlands

Population :

307 552 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.93 %
Birth rate 16.41 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 2.00 children born/woman
Death rate 7.16 deaths/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 25.30 %
15-64 years 68.70 %
65 years and over 5.90 %

Median age :

total 28.70 years
male 27.90 years
female 29.50 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.00 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.69 male(s)/female
total population 0.96 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 14.84 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 69.92 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 67.48 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 72.43 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 3.00 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 6 200
HIV-AIDS deaths 200

Religions :

Baptist 35.40 %
Anglican 15.10 %
Roman Catholic 13.50 %
Pentecostal 8.10 %
Church of God 4.80 %
Methodist 4.20 %
other Christian 15.20 %
none 2.90 %
other 0.80 %

Languages :

English  
Creole  

Literacy :

total population 95.60 %
male 94.70 %
female 96.50 %

Country name :

conventional long form Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form The Bahamas

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 BS
ISO Numeric 44
ISO3 BHS
FIPS BF
ccTLD bs
English Bahamas

Administrative divisions :

21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador, and Rum Cay 

Capital :

name Nassau
geographic coordinates 25 05 N, 77 21 W
time difference -5.00
daylight saving time 1

International organization participation :

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

Independence :

1973-07-10 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1973-07-10

Executive branch :

Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM Queen ELIZABETH II

Legislative branch :

FNM 49.86 %
PLP 47.02 %

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 9 086 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 7 403 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -4.00 %
PPP - per capita 29 800 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 3.00 %
industry 7.00 %
services 90.00 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 5.00 %
industry 5.00 %
services 40.00 %

Other Indicators :

Unemployment rate 7.60 %
Population below poverty line 9.30 %
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.40 %
Current account balance - 1 442 000 000 $
Debt external 342 600 000 $
Military expenditures 0.50 % of GDP

Budget :

revenues 1 030 000 000 $
expenditures 1 030 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

citrus poultry
vegetables

Industries :

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

Energy :

Electricity Production 2 045 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 1 902 000 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 34 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 41 570 bbl/day
Oil Imports 72 420 bbl/day

Value :

674 000 000 $

Commodities :

animal products chemicals
fruit and vegetables mineral products and salt
rum

Value :

2 401 000 000 $

Partners :

United States (us) 25.70 %
South Korea 19.30 %
Japan (jp) 16.80 %
Singapore (sg) 7.50 %
Venezuela (ve) 5.10 %

Commodities :

chemicals food and live animals
machinery and transportation equipment manufactures
mineral fuels

Currency-name :

Bahamian dollar 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 133 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 358 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 5
Television broadcast stations 2
Internet Country code (ccTLD) bs
Internet Hosts 8 325
Internet Users 106 500

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 23
Heliports 1
Roadways - total 2 717 km
Roadways - paved 1 560 km
Roadways - unpaved 1 157 km

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