ACOG - Bahamas  - IBM

Geography

Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida

Area:
total area: 13,940 sq km
land area: 10,070 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3,542 km


People

Population: 256,616 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (female 35,924; male 36,504)
15-64 years: 66% (female 87,868; male 82,780)
65 years and over: 6% (female 8,247; male 5,293)

Population growth rate: 1.09% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 19.23 births/1,000 population

Death rate: 5.79 deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: -2.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Infant mortality rate: 24.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.12 years
male: 67.37 years
female: 76.97 years

Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born/woman

Ethnic divisions: black 85%, white 15%

Religions: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Churchof God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2%

Languages: English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write but definition of literary not available (1963 est.)
total population: 90%
male: 90%
female: 89%


Government

Names:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas

Type: commonwealth

Capital: Nassau

Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)

Constitution: 10 July 1973


Economy

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion

National product real growth rate: 3.5%

National product per capita: $15,900

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7%

Unemployment rate: 13.1%

Electricity:
capacity: 424,000 kW
production: 929 million kWh
consumption per capita: 3,200 kWh



Olympic Factoid
The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).