Bahamas

(Please note that I have been trying to profile one country per day in an effort to better educate myself about the world we live in. I am sharing the facts I find most interesting because like all bloggers I just assume that what interests me also interests you.)



- From the CIA World Factbook - "Arawak 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. Since attaining 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."

- The Bahamas (technically it is the Commonwealth of the Bahamas) covers an area just slightly smaller than the State of Connecticut (about 14,000 sq km) and has a population of about 297,477 (which would be less than the population of Witchita, KS - Hartford only has a population of about 122,000 which is less than Worcester)

- The Bahamas may have a smaller population than Witchita but they have a larger population than Iceland (which makes sense since logically more people would want to live in the Caribbean than on an island named after frozen water).

- AIDS is a problem in the Bahamas. About 3.5% of the adult population are HIV positive (2002 estimate). Compare that to the US where about 0.6% of the adult population is HIV positive.

- The island nation is about 85% black and about 12% white. The official language is English and about half the country's economy is tourism related.

- The chief of state (like Canada and Belize) is Queen Elizabeth II who is represented by a Governor General. There is an appointed Prime Minister (normally the leader of the majority party) and a bicameral legislature. There is a Senate (with 16 appointed seats) and a House of Assembly (with 40 directly elected seats).

- The per capita GDP is about $15,200 (making them about middle class - world economy wise)

- The water temperatures around the Bahamas is about 80 degrees year-around.

- New Orleans has Mardi Gras and Rio has Carnival but the Bahamas has Junkanoo.