The 2001 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence AgencyЧитать онлайн книгу.
independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Bahamas, The Geography
Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida
Geographic coordinates: 24 15 N, 76 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km
water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 3,542 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Land use: arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 67% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage
Environment - current issues: coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
Bahamas, The People
Population: 297,852
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486)
15–64 years: 64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674)
65 years and over: 6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.93% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: −2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.46 years
male: 67.27 years
female: 73.71 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.13% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 6,900 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 500 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian
Ethnic groups: black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Religions: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2%
Languages: English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.2%
male: 98.5%
female: 98% (1995 est.)
Bahamas, The Government
Country name: conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas
Government type: constitutional parliamentary democracy
Capital: Nassau
Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands,
Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's
Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps
Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls
Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San
Salvador and Rum Cay
Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Constitution: 10 July 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6
February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Orville
TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts
Political parties and leaders: Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert
Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry