BAHAMAS
Population 2017 329,988
GDP per capita 2017 (PPI, US$)... 31,200
GDP 2017 (PPI, US$ billions) 11.6
Unemployment 2017 10%
Total Area 13,880 sq km
Urban Population 83.3%
Life expectancy at birth (years) 72.8
Mortality rate, (per 1,000 live births) 11.3
Illiteracy (% of population age 15+) 1%
History
In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the Western Hemisphere in The Bahamas. Spanish slave traders later captured native Lucayan Indians to work in gold mines in Hispaniola, and within 25 years, all Lucayans perished. In 1647, a group of English and Bermudan religious refugees, the Eleutheran Adventurers, founded the first permanent European settlement in The Bahamas and gave Eleuthera Island its name. Similar groups of settlers formed governments in The Bahamas until the islands became a British Crown Colony in 1717.
The first Royal Governor, a former pirate named Woodes Rogers, brought law and order to The Bahamas in 1718, when he expelled the buccaneers who had used the islands as hideouts. During the American Civil War, The Bahamas prospered as a center of Confederate blockade-running. After World War I, the islands served as a base for American rumrunners. During World War II, the Allies centered their flight training and anti-submarine operations for the Caribbean in The Bahamas. Since then, The Bahamas has developed into a major tourist and financial services center.
Bahamians achieved self-government through a series of constitutional and political steps, attaining internal self-government in 1964 and full independence within the Commonwealth on July 10, 1973.
Government
Government type:
parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital:
name: Nassau
geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Administrative divisions:
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
Independence:
10 July 1973 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Constitution:
previous 1964 (preindependence); latest adopted 20 June 1973, effective 10 July 1973; amended many times, last in 2016 (2016)
Legal system:
common law system based on the English model
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of The Bahamas
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 6-9 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Marguerite PINDLING (since 8 July 2014)
head of government: Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS (since 11 May 2017)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
note: Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS is only the fourth prime minister in Bahamian history following its independence from the UK; he is also the first prime minister in 25 years besides Perry CHRISTIE and Hubert INGRAHAM, who repeatedly traded the premiership from 1992 to 2017
Legislative branch:
description: bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve 5-year terms)
House of Assembly (39 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
note: the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held on 10 May 2017 (next to be held by May 2022)
election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 57%, PLP 36.9%, other 6.1%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 4
Judicial branch:
highest resident court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 4 justices, organized in 3-member panels); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and a maximum of 11 and a minimum of 2 justices)
note: as of 2008, the Bahamas was not a party to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice as the highest appellate court for the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal for The Bahamas
judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal president and Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition party; other Court of Appeal and Supreme Court justices appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body headed by the chief justice; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 68 but can be extended until age 70; Supreme Court justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65 but can be extended until age 67
subordinate courts: Industrial Tribunal; Stipendiary and Magistrates' Courts; Family Island Administrators
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Christopher MORTIMER]
Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert MINNIS]
Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Philip "Brave" DAVIS]
Government
Government type:
parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital:
name: Nassau
geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Administrative divisions:
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
Independence:
10 July 1973 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Constitution:
previous 1964 (preindependence); latest adopted 20 June 1973, effective 10 July 1973; amended many times, last in 2016 (2016)
Legal system:
common law system based on the English model
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of The Bahamas
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 6-9 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Marguerite PINDLING (since 8 July 2014)
head of government: Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS (since 11 May 2017)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
note: Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS is only the fourth prime minister in Bahamian history following its independence from the UK; he is also the first prime minister in 25 years besides Perry CHRISTIE and Hubert INGRAHAM, who repeatedly traded the premiership from 1992 to 2017
Legislative branch:
description: bicameral Parliament consists of:
Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve 5-year terms)
House of Assembly (39 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
note: the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held on 10 May 2017 (next to be held by May 2022)
election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 57%, PLP 36.9%, other 6.1%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 4
Judicial branch:
highest resident court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 4 justices, organized in 3-member panels); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and a maximum of 11 and a minimum of 2 justices)
note: as of 2008, the Bahamas was not a party to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice as the highest appellate court for the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal for The Bahamas
judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal president and Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition party; other Court of Appeal and Supreme Court justices appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body headed by the chief justice; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 68 but can be extended until age 70; Supreme Court justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65 but can be extended until age 67
subordinate courts: Industrial Tribunal; Stipendiary and Magistrates' Courts; Family Island Administrators
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Christopher MORTIMER]
Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert MINNIS]
Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Philip "Brave" DAVIS]
People
Eighty-five percent of the population of the Bahamas is of African heritage. About two-thirds of the population resides on New Providence Island (the location of Nassau). Many ancestors arrived at the Bahama Islands when they served as a staging area for the slave trade in the early 1800's. Others accompanied thousands of British loyalists who fled the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. In July 2001, the estimated population was 297,852. However, due to the high death rates, this estimate may not be acurate. There are currently about 7,000 people living with HIV or AIDS
BAHAMASNational Air Transport System
number of registered air carriers: 4
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 16
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 587,516
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 172,730 mt-km (2015)
Civil aircraft registration country code prefix:
C6 (2016)
Airports:
61 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 80
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2017)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 17 (2013)
Heliports:
1 (2013)
Roadways:
total: 2,700 km
paved: 1,620 km
unpaved: 1,080 km (2011)
country comparison to the world: 170
Merchant marine:
total: 1,440
by type: bulk carrier 335, container ship 53, general cargo 98, oil tanker 284, other 670 (2017)
country comparison to the world: 19
Ports and terminals:
major seaport(s): Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
container port(s) (TEUs): Freeport (1,116,272)(2011)
cruise port(s): Nassau
Eighty-five percent of the population of the Bahamas is of African heritage. About two-thirds of the population resides on New Providence Island (the location of Nassau). Many ancestors arrived at the Bahama Islands when they served as a staging area for the slave trade in the early 1800's. Others accompanied thousands of British loyalists who fled the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. In July 2001, the estimated population was 297,852. However, due to the high death rates, this estimate may not be acurate. There are currently about 7,000 people living with HIV or AIDS
BAHAMASNational Air Transport System
number of registered air carriers: 4
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 16
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 587,516
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 172,730 mt-km (2015)
Civil aircraft registration country code prefix:
C6 (2016)
Airports:
61 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 80
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2017)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 17 (2013)
Heliports:
1 (2013)
Roadways:
total: 2,700 km
paved: 1,620 km
unpaved: 1,080 km (2011)
country comparison to the world: 170
Merchant marine:
total: 1,440
by type: bulk carrier 335, container ship 53, general cargo 98, oil tanker 284, other 670 (2017)
country comparison to the world: 19
Ports and terminals:
major seaport(s): Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
container port(s) (TEUs): Freeport (1,116,272)(2011)
cruise port(s): Nassau
Tourism
Tourism is the single biggest industry in the Bahamas. It brings in 48% of the GDP of the country. In 2017 6.14 million visitors came to the Bahamas which was down 2.1% from 2016 due to the major hurricanes that hit the island. 2018 has began shaply up,
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