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: 385,640 (2019E—UN); 335,212 (2019E—U.S. Census).

Major Urban Center (2019E): NASSAU (286,405).

Official Language: English.

Monetary Unit: Bahamian Dollar (market rate September 30, 2020: 1.00 dollar = $1US).

Sovereign: Queen ELIZABETH II.

Governor General: Sir Cornelius SMITH; appointed on June 28, 2019, following the retirement of Dame Marguerite PINDLING.

Prime Minister: Hubert Alexander MINNIS (Free National Movement); sworn in on May 11, 2017, to succeed Perry G. CHRISTIE (Progressive Liberal Party), following the election on May 10, 2017.

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 Bahama ...