Country
Countries A-Z
Bahamas
Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Political Status: Independent member of the Commonwealth since July 10, 1973.
Area: 5,380 sq. mi. (13,935 sq. km.).
Population: 303,611 (2000C); 336,000 (2008E).
Major Urban Center (2005E): NASSAU (227,000).
Official Language: English.
Monetary Unit: Bahamian Dollar (principal rate December 1, 2009: 1.00 dollars = $1US).
Sovereign: Queen ELIZABETH II.
Governor General: Arthur Dion HANNA; inaugurated on February 1, 2006, succeeding Dame Ivy DUMONT.
Prime Minister: Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (Free National Movement); served as prime minister 1992–1997; returned to office on May 4, 2007, in succession to Perry G. CHRISTIE (Progressive Liberal Party), following election of May 2.
The Country
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas encompasses a group of about 700 flat, coral islands stretching from the western Atlantic near Florida to the Caribbean Sea. Geomorphically an extension of the Little and Great ...