"text":"Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Piracy thrived in the 17th and 18th centuries because of The Bahamas close proximity to shipping lanes. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas has prospered through tourism, international banking, and investment management, which comprise up to 85% of GDP. Because of its proximity to the US - the nearest Bahamian landmass being only 80 km (50 mi) from Florida - the country is a major transshipment point for illicit trafficking, particularly to the US mainland, as well as Europe. US law enforcement agencies cooperate closely with The Bahamas, and the US Coast Guard assists Bahamian authorities in coastal defense through Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, or OPBAT."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba"
"text":"Protestant 69.9% (includes Baptist 34.9%, Anglican 13.7%, Pentecostal 8.9% Seventh Day Adventist 4.4%, Methodist 3.6%, Church of God 1.9%, Brethren 1.6%, other Protestant .9%), Roman Catholic 12%, other Christian 13% (includes Jehovah's Witness 1.1%), other 0.6%, none 1.9%, unspecified 2.6% (2010 est.)"
"text":"31 districts; Acklins Islands, Berry Islands, Bimini, Black Point, Cat Island, Central Abaco, Central Andros, Central Eleuthera, City of Freeport, Crooked Island and Long Cay, East Grand Bahama, Exuma, Grand Cay, Harbour Island, Hope Town, Inagua, Long Island, Mangrove Cay, Mayaguana, Moore's Island, North Abaco, North Andros, North Eleuthera, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, South Abaco, South Andros, South Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, West Grand Bahama"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"10 July 1973 (from the UK)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 10 July (1973)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1964 (preindependence); latest adopted 20 June 1973, effective 10 July 1973"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed as an \"Act\" by Parliament; passage of amendments to articles such as the organization and composition of the branches of government requires approval by at least two-thirds majority of the membership of both houses of Parliament and majority approval in a referendum; passage of amendments to constitutional articles such as fundamental rights and individual freedoms, the powers, authorities, and procedures of the branches of government, or changes to the Bahamas Independence Act 1973 requires approval by at least three-fourths majority of the membership of both houses and majority approval in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2016"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"common law system based on the English model"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of The Bahamas"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"6-9 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Cornelius A. SMITH (since 28 June 2019)"
"text":"Cabinet appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister"
"text":"bicameral Parliament consists of:<br>Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve 5-year terms)<br>House of Assembly (39 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"<br>Senate - last appointments on 24 May 2017 (next appointments in 2022)<br>House of Assembly - last held on 16 September 2021 (next to be held by September 2026)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"<br>Senate - appointed; composition - men 9, women 7, percent of women 43.8%<br>House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - PLP 52.5%, FNM 36.2%; seats by party - PLP 32, FNM 7; composition"
},
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time"
"text":"Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 4 justices, organized in 3-member panels); Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and a maximum of 11 and a minimum of 2 justices)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Court of Appeal president and Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition party; other Court of Appeal and Supreme Court justices appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body headed by the chief justice; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 68 but can be extended until age 70; Supreme Court justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65 but can be extended until age 67"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Industrial Tribunal; Stipendiary and Magistrates' Courts; Family Island Administrators"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Bahamas is a member of the 15-member Caribbean Community but is not party to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice as its highest appellate court; the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal for The Bahamas"
"text":"Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Arinthia KOMOLAFE]<br>Free National Movement or FNM [Michael PINTARD]<br>Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Philip \"Brave\" DAVIS]"
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side; the band colors represent the golden beaches of the islands surrounded by the aquamarine sea; black represents the vigor and force of a united people, while the pointing triangle indicates the enterprise and determination of the Bahamian people to develop the rich resources of land and sea"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1973; as a Commonwealth country, in addition to the national anthem, \"God Save the Queen\" serves as the royal anthem (see United Kingdom)"
"text":"The Bahamas has the second highest per capita GDP in the English-speaking Caribbean with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and financial services. Tourism accounts for approximately 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute less than 7% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. The new government led by Prime Minister Hubert MINNIS has prioritized addressing fiscal imbalances and rising debt, which stood at 75% of GDP in 2016. Large capital projects like the Baha Mar Casino and Hotel are driving growth. Public debt increased in 2017 in large part due to hurricane reconstruction and relief financing. The primary fiscal balance was a deficit of 0.4% of GDP in 2016. The Bahamas is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that is not a member of the World Trade Organization."
"text":"the telecom sector across the Caribbean continues to be a growth area, contributing to the country's overall GDP; totally automatic system; highly developed; operators focus investment on mobile networks; the activation of (mobile number portability) MNP in April 2017, allowing mobile subscribers to port their numbers between competing MNO (mobile network operators) has contributed to the competition and liberalization of the market (2020)"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"23 per 100 fixed-line, 109 per 100 mobile-cellular (2019)"
},
"international":{
"text":"country code - 1-242; landing points for the ARCOS-1, BICS, Bahamas 2-US, and BDSN fiber-optic submarine cables that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links all of the major islands; (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"The Bahamas has 4 major TV providers that provide service to all major islands in the archipelago; 1 TV station is operated by government-owned, commercially run Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (BCB) and competes freely with 4 privately owned TV stations; multi-channel cable TV subscription service is widely available; there are 32 licensed broadcast (radio) service providers, 31 are privately owned FM radio stations operating on New Providence, Grand Bahama Island, Abaco Island, and on smaller islands in the country; the BCB operates a multi-channel radio broadcasting network that has national coverage; the sector is regulated by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (2019)"
"text":"<p>the RBDF was established in 1980; its primary responsibilities are disaster relief, maritime security, and counter-narcotics operations; it is a naval force, but includes a lightly-armed marine infantry/commando squadron for base and internal security, as well as a few light non-combat aircraft; the maritime element has coastal patrol craft and patrol boats; the RBDF maintains training relationships with the UK and the US</p>"
