The Bahamas, although often bracketed with Caribbean countries, actually lies northeast of Cuba in the western Atlantic. The archipelago has 700 islands and 2400 cays: just 30 are inhabited. Long established as a tourist resort, the Bahamas today is also a major offshore financial center. It has one of the world's largest open-registry fleets; only a tiny fraction is owned by Bahamian nationals.

Africans first arrived as slaves in the 16th century; their descendants constitute most of the population, alongside a rich white minority. Small families are the norm. Absentee fathers are fairly common, especially in outlying fishing communities. More women are now entering the professions.

Strengths

Major international financial services sector, including banking, insurance, and business trade center. Major tourism and cruise ship destination. Growing container port. International ship registration.

Weaknesses

Growing competition in financial services and tourism from the countries of the Caribbean.

25 years of unbroken rule by the PLP under Prime Minister Lynden Pindling was brought to an end at the 1992 elections. His legacy of steering the Bahamas to independence and ending white political domination was undermined by allegations of narcotics-related corruption. There followed a decade of FNM government under Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who concentrated on tightening up ministerial accountability, introduced legisaltion to counter money laundering, and achieved relative economic success. However, his privatization drive proved deeply unpopular and the FNM was roundly defeated in 2002 by a resurgent PLP now led by Perry Christie.

The Bahamas is seen as a center for transshipping narcotics and a money-laundering risk, for which G7 blacklisted the country for a year in 2000. The return of unauthorized immigrants to Haiti and Cuba dominates regional relations.

The UK is the main trainer of and supplier for the small naval defense force. The interception of narcotics and illegal immigrants is the force's main activity. There is no land army.

The Bahamas has no strategic resources. A 13.5 MW electricity generating plant was opened in 1998.

As on many Caribbean islands, hotel overdevelopment is a major cause for concern. Environmental groups have also pointed out the potential for accidents posed by the Bahamas' enormous oil storage depots.

While traveling around and between the major islands is relatively easy, transportation links for the many "Out Islands" are greatly restricted.

The Bahamian health service combines state and private systems. In the outlying islands access to care relies on the Flying Doctor Service and around 50 local health centers. There are two private clinics on New Providence.

Schooling follows the former British selective system. Tertiary students attend the University of the West Indies or colleges in the USA.

The death penalty remains in force. Violent crime, ranging from narcotics-related murders to serious vandalism, is on the increase. Tourists can be targets for petty thefts. Illegal weapons are readily available.

There are marked wealth disparities: urban professionals who work in the financial sector are at one end of the scale, and the poor fishermen from the outlying islands are near the other. Cuban and Haitian refugees, who have no legal status, are the poorest group of all.

The tourist industry, built around beaches, casinos, and cruise ships, employs over 40% of the population. Larger hotel complexes on the main islands compete with small, family-run guesthouses in the outlying destinations.

Once an English pirate base, the Bahamas, which gained its first parliament in 1729, formally became a British colony in 1783.

• 1920–1933 US prohibition laws turn Bahamas into prosperous bootlegging center.
• 1959–1962 Introduction of male suffrage; women gain the vote.
• 1973 Independence.
• 1983 Narcotics-smuggling scandals involving the government.
• 1992 FNM wins elections, ending 25 years of PLP rule.
• 2002 PLP returned to power.