|
| The Long Bay House |
|
|
| People |
Population |
July1998
estimate: 279,883 people |
Languages |
English,
Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
| Major
Religions |
Baptist
32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist
6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none
or unknown 3%, other 2% |
| Ethnic
groups |
Black
85%, white 15% |
| Growth
rate |
1.39%
(1998 est.) |
| Birth
rate |
21.03
births/1,000 population (1998 est.) |
| Death
rate |
5.44
deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.) |
| Fertility
rate |
2.33
children born/woman (1998 est.) |
| Male
life expectancy |
67
(1996) |
| Female
life expectancy |
77
(1996) |
| Infant
mortality rate |
23.3
deaths/1,000 live births (1996) |
| Economy |
|
Economic
Overview
|
The
Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy
heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking.
Tourism alone accounts for more than 50% of GDP and
directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's
labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts
and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts,
and residences led to an increase of the country's
GDP by an estimated 3.5% in 1997. Manufacturing and
agriculture together contribute less than 10% of
GDP and show little growth despite government incentives
aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects
in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes
of the tourism sector and continued income growth
in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist
visitors. |
Labor force |
136,900
(1993) |
|
Unemployment
rate
|
15.0%
(1995) |
|
Inflation
Rate
|
1.5%
(1994) |
|
Gross
domestic product (total value of goods and services
produced annually)
|
$4.4
billion (1994 est.) |
|
Budget
|
$725.0
million (1996 est.) |
|
Debt
|
$407.8
million (1996) |
|
Exports
|
$224.3
million (1996 est.), primarily pharmaceuticals, cement,
rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products |
|
Imports
|
$1.1
billion (1996 est.), primarily foodstuffs, manufactured
goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics |
|
Defense
spending
|
2.7%
of GDP (1994 est.) |
|
Highways
|
2,400
km (1995) |
| |
|
| Government |
The
Bahamas are a Commonwealth. There are 21 administrative
divisions: 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, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands,
Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador
and Rum Cay .
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen
ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST
(since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime
Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August
1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since
December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the
governor general on the prime minister's recommendation
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch;
governor general appointed by the queen; prime
minister and deputy prime minister appointed by
the governor general
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed
by the governor general upon the advice of the
prime minister and the opposition leader for a
five-year term) and the House of Assembly (40 seats;
members elected by direct popular vote to serve
five-year terms) elections: last held 14 March
1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results:
percent of vote by party‹NA; seats by party‹FNM
35, PLP 5
International organization participation: ACP,
C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS, OPANAL,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO |
| Geography |
The
Bahamas are an island chain (specifically a coral
archipelago) in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast
of Florida, with a land area slightly smaller than
that of Connecticut.
The Bahamas various islands (over 700 total)
have a total surface of 13,940 sq km.
Sources:
1998 CIA World Factbook, Caribbean
Islands Handbook 1999 Edition |
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