Bahamas Islands
Bahamas is an English speaking country that is formed of 29 islands, 661 cays (a flat and sandy island that is formed on coral reefs) and over 2,300 rocks. The Bahamas are only 48 miles away from florida coats of the United States. From this point, the islands stretch towards south east of about 760 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico lie towards the south of Bahamas while Florida peninsula lie towards the northwest of the Bahamas. The Islands cover an area of about 14,000 square kilometers and have a population of about 310,000. The capital of Bahamas is the city of Nassau. Nassau, with a population of about 270,000 is both the commercial and cultural center of the Bahamas. Nassau is located on the islands of New Providence. There are daily flights from the Lynden Pindling Airport to both UK, USA and Canada. The closest island of the Bahamas to the United States is the island of Bimini which is actually considered as the gateway to the Bahamas. Largest islands of the Bahamas are Andros and Eleuthera. Other important islands are Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador, Acklins, Crooked Island and of course New Providence where Nassau is located in.
Geography and Weather of Bahamas
All the islands are low and flat where mostly the highest point in a typical Bahamas Island is 20-25 meters. The highest point in the Bahamas is the Mount Alvernia with an height of 63 meters.The climate of Bahamas can be considered as subtropical. Temperature level throughout the year changes between 25 C (77 F) and 32 C (90 F) degrees. There are exceptional cold days where temperature go as low as 4 C (40 F) degrees but this is a very rare case. The only thing that should be careful about weather is the hurricanes. Many hurricanes have hit the Bahamas in the summer and autumn seasons in the last decades including the Hurricane Wilma and Frances.
Rainfall often occurs in the form of rather intense showers, frequently accompanied by strong winds. These storms are usually short and are mostly followed by clear skies. Weather conditions can change rapidly.
Economy of the Bahamas
The Bahamas is a stable and developing country where the economy relies mostly on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism industry accounts for more than 62% of the GNP of the Bahamas. Tourism also directly or indirectly employs almost half of the nations’ labor force. Steady growth in tourism revenues and a development in the construction of new pensions, hotels, resorts, and residences eventually led to a stable GNP growth in recent years. Unfortunately the slowdown in the US economy with the crisis in 2009 and the attacks of 9/11/2001 held back growth in this industry in the last decade. Financial services, on the other hand, is the second important industry of the Bahamas, constituting for almost 17% of GNP. Overall growth forecasts in the short run rest heavily on the tourism industry, which eventually depends on the growth in the Unites States economy, the source of more than 85% of the visitors to the Bahamas. In addition to tourism and banking industries, the government supports the development of internet business and e-commerce.Government
The Bahamas are a Commonwealth. There are 21 administrative divisions: 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 .The Prime Minister of the Bahamas is the head of the government and is the leader of its party with the most seats in the House of Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet, selected by the Prime Minister and drawn from his party in the House of Assembly. The Bahamas has a largely two party system dominated by the center left Progressive Liberal Party and the center right Free National Movement.