Bahamas
 

Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

Area: 5,382 sq mi (13,940 sq km)

Population (2004 est.): 299,697 (growth rate: 0.7%); birth rate: 18.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 25.7/1000; life expectancy: 65.6; density per sq mi: 56

Capital: Nassau

Monetary unit: Bahamian dollar

Language: English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Ethnicity/race: black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%

Religions: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%

Literacy rate: 98.2% (1995 est.)

Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land. Exports: $617 million (2002 est.): fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables (1999). Imports: $1.614 billion (2002 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals (1999). Major trading partners: U.S., France, Germany, UK, South Korea, Italy, Japan.

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Symbolism of Flag

The blue represents the Caribbean Sea and yellow stands for the golden beaches.

Geography

The Bahamas are an archipelago of about 700 islands and 2,400 uninhabited islets and cays lying 50 mi off the east coast of Florida. They extend for about 760 mi (1,223 km). Only about 30 of the islands are inhabited; the most important is New Providence (80 sq mi; 207 sq km), on which the capital, Nassau, is situated. Other islands include Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, Andros, Cat Island, and San Salvador (or Watling's Island).

Government

Parliamentary democracy.