Country Profile: The Bahamas

Geography

Islands southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba.

Independence and Government

Acquired from Britain on July 10, 1973. A member of the Commonwealth, its full title Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is its formal chief of state.

Economy

Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.

Estimated per capita GDP:
2007 $22,700 (ranks 53rd)
2006 $21,600
2005 $20,200
2004 $17,700
2003 $16,700

GDP annual growth rate estimated for 2007: 2.8 percent. (Ranks 168th)

According to the CIA Factbook the economy is heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60 percent of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force.

Unemployment estimated for 2004, 10.2 percent.

Estimated Deaths and Births per 1,000 persons

For 2008: deaths 9.22, births: 17.06.

Population

Estimate for July 2008: 307,451, up from 301,790 in 2005. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 0.57 percent per year. Density estimated for 2005: 30 per square kilometer.

Migration

More people leaving than arriving estimated for 2008, a net loss of; 2.14 per 1,000 population

Health

Infant mortality estimated for 2008: 23.67, down from 25.21 in 2005 (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births)

Average life expectancy estimated for 2008: 65.72 years, up from 65.54 in 2005

Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 3 percent (2003). Five times that of the United States.

Ethnicity

Blacks 85 percent, Asian and Hispanic 3 percent. Others 12 percent.

SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/