THE BAHAMAS

GOVERNMENT ECONOMY
Chief of State Economic Overview
Queen ELIZABETH II tourism accounts for 50% and financial services 15% of the
represented by Governor General Dame Bahamas’ GDP; public debt increased in 2017, in large part due to
Marguerite PINDLING hurricane reconstruction and relief financing
Head of Government GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS $11.6 billion (2017 est.)
Government Type GDP per capita (Purchasing Power Parity)
parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a $31,200 (2017 est.)
constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm Exports
Capital $934.7 million (2017 est.)
Nassau partners: US 63.9%, Namibia 19.3% (2017)
Legislature Imports
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 $3.105 billion (2017 est.)
seats) and the House of Assembly (39 seats) partners: US 83.2% (2017)
Judiciary
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
PEOPLE & SOCIETY
maximum of 11 and a minimum of 2 justices)
note: the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Population
(in London) serves as the final court of appeal for 330,000 (July 2017 est.)
The Bahamas Population Growth
Ambassador to US 0.81% (2017 est.)
Ethnicity
Ambassador Sidney Stanley COLLIE
black 90.6%, white 4.7%,
US Ambassador
black and white 2.1%,
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d’Affaires Stephanie
other 1.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2010 est.)
BOWERS
Language
GEOGRAPHY English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Area Religion
Total: 13,880 sq km Protestant 69.9%, Roman Catholic 12%, other Christian 13%,
Land: 10,010 sq km other 0.6%, none 1.9%, unspecified 2.6% (2010 est.)
Water: 3,870 sq km Urbanization
Climate urban population: 83% of total population (2018)
tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of rate of urbanization: 1.13% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Gulf Stream
Natural Resources
salt, aragonite, timber, arable land

as of September 2018