The Bahamas
| Commonwealth of the Bahamas | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
| Motto: "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together" | ||||||
| Anthem: "March On, Bahamaland" Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen" |
||||||
 |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Nassau 25°4′N 77°20′W / 25.067°N 77.333°W |
|||||
| Official language(s) | English | |||||
| Ethnic groups | 85% African Bahamians 12% European Bahamians 3% Asians and Hispanic[1] |
|||||
| Demonym | Bahamian | |||||
| Government | Unitary Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy.[2][3] | |||||
| - | Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||
| - | Governor-General | Sir Arthur Foulkes | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Perry Gladstone Christie | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||
| - | Upper House | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower House | House of Assembly | ||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from the United Kingdom | July 10, 1973[4] | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 13,878 km2 (160th) 5,358 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 28% | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2010 estimate | 353,658[5] (177th) | ||||
| - | 1990 census | 254,685 | ||||
| - | Density | 23.27/km2 (181st) 60/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $9.136 billion[6] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $26,225[6] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $7.787 billion[6] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $22,352[6] | ||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.771[7] (high) (53rd) |
|||||
| Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) |
|||||
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) | ||||
| Drives on the | left | |||||
| Internet TLD | .bs | |||||
| Calling code | +1-242 | |||||
The Bahamas (officially called as Commonwealth of The Bahamas) is a group of islands in the West Indies. The country's capital, Nassau, is on New Providence Island.
The Taino were the first people living there. In 1492, Christopher Columbus found the Americas by landing on another of the islands, San Salvador. The Eleutheran Adventurers soon came along, making a home in Eleuthera.
The islands' mostly black population speaks English, the country's main language.
The Bahamas are a popular place for people to visit for holidays, the 700 islands and cays attract a large number of visitors from nearby America, as well as Europe and other countries.
Contents |
The people [change]
- See also: List of Bahamian people
Nearly 500,000 people live in the Bahamas. The ethnic groups of the population is:
82.1% African descent
15.4% European descent
2.5% Asian and other.
Languages [change]
The official language of the Bahamas is English, but they also speak a local dialect called Bahamian Creole.
Geography and climate [change]
- See also: List of cities in the Bahamas
In 1864 the Governor of the Bahamas reported that there were 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks in the colony.[8]
The closest island to the United States is Bimini. The southeasternmost island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island. Nassau, capital city of The Bahamas, is on the island of New Providence.
All the islands are low and flat. The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia on Cat Island. It is 63 metres (207 ft) high.
Climate [change]
The climate of The Bahamas is subtropical to tropical. The Gulf Stream can be very dangerous in the summer and autumn. This is when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.
There has never been a freeze reported in The Bahamas. The temperature can fall as low as 2–3 °C (35.6–37.4 °F).
Districts [change]
The Bahamas are divided into 32 districts and the town of New Providence.
The districts are:
Military [change]
The Bahamas does not have an army or an air force. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) is the navy. The Defence Force has a fleet of 26 coastal and inshore patrol craft along with 2 aircraft and over 850 personnel including 65 officers and 74 women.
References [change]
- ↑ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bf.html
- ↑ "•GENERAL SITUATION AND TRENDS". Pan American Health Organization. http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ais/cp_044.htm.
- ↑ "Mission to Long Island in the Bahamas". Evangelical Association of the Caribbean. http://www.caribbeanevangelical.org/newsevents/oldarticles.htm?id=82.
- ↑ "1973: Bahamas' sun sets on British Empire". BBC News. July 9, 1973. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/9/newsid_2498000/2498835.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
- ↑ COMPARISON BETWEEN THE 2000 AND 2010 POPULATION CENSUSES AND PERCENTAGE CHANGE.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "The Bahamas". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=99&pr.y=5&sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=313&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2011". United Nations. 2011. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ↑ Albury:6
Related pages [change]
Other websites [change]
 |
The Simple English Wiktionary has a definition for: Bahamas. |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Bahamas |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
