Commonwealth of the Bahamas |
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Motto: "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together"
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Capital and largest city |
Nassau 25°4′N 77°20′W / 25.067°N 77.333°W |
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Official languages | English | ||||
Recognised regional languages | Bahamian Creole | ||||
Ethnic groups (2016) | 90.6% Black 4.7% White 2.1% Mixed 1.9% other |
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Demonym | Bahamian | ||||
Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
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• Monarch
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Elizabeth II | ||||
Dame Marguerite Pindling | |||||
Perry Christie | |||||
Legislature | Parliament | ||||
Senate | |||||
House of Assembly | |||||
Independence | |||||
• from the United Kingdom
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10 July 1973 | ||||
Area | |||||
• Total
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13,878 km2 (5,358 sq mi) (160th) | ||||
• Water (%)
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28% | ||||
Population | |||||
• 2016 estimate
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392,718 (177th) | ||||
• 2010 census
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351,461 | ||||
• Density
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25.21/km2 (65.3/sq mi) (181st) | ||||
GDP (PPP) | 2016 estimate | ||||
• Total
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$9.066 billion | ||||
• Per capita
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$24,617 | ||||
GDP (nominal) | 2016 estimate | ||||
• Total
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$9.047 billion | ||||
• Per capita
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$24,567 | ||||
Gini (2001) | 57 high |
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HDI (2014) |
0.790 high · 55th |
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Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) (US dollars widely accepted) |
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Time zone | EST (UTC−5) | ||||
• Summer (DST)
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EDT (UTC−4) | ||||
Drives on the | left | ||||
Calling code | +1 242 | ||||
ISO 3166 code | BS | ||||
Internet TLD | .bs | ||||
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Coordinates: 24°15′N 76°00′W / 24.250°N 76.000°W
The Bahamas (i/bəˈhɑːməz/), known officially as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an archipelagic state within the Lucayan Archipelago. It consists of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean and is located north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands; southeast of the US state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The designation of "the Bahamas" can refer either to the country or to the larger island chain that it shares with the Turks and Caicos Islands. As stated in the mandate/manifesto of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas territory encompasses 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.