Independence Year : 1973
Population : 307000
Life Expectancy : 71.1
Capital : 148
GNP : 3527.00
GNP Old : 3347.00
Local Name : The Bahamas
Government Form : Constitutional Monarchy
Location : Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba.
Terrain : long, low flat coral formations with some low rounded hills.
Climate : Semitropical to tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Ethnic Group : African 85%, European 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Religions : Baptist predominant (32%), Roman Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical Protestants, Methodist, Church of God
Official Website :
www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/home.nsf
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General Information - Bahamas
Background
The Bahamas extends 760 miles from the coast of Florida on the north-west almost to Haiti on the south-east. The group consists of 700 islands, of which 30 are inhabited, and about 2,400 cays (coral reefs).
When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 on San Salvador, The Islands Of The Bahamas were inhabited by Lucayans, a subgroup of Arawak indians. Slavery, disease and other hardships wiped out the entire tribe within 25 years of Columbus' arrival.
British settlement in The Bahamas was established in 1647 by a group of English settlers in search for religious freedom, the Company of Eleutheran Adventurers, who organized a community on what is now the island of Eleuthera; in 1783 the Islands Of The Bahamas became a British colony.
During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, piracy flourished in the islands because of their proximity to important shipping lanes.
Today The Bahamas has become one of the world's foremost vacation resorts. Nassau is the political capital and the commercial hub of The Bahamas. Tourism and international banking and investment management accounts for more than 55% of the country's gross domestic product.
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