25 Facts About Bahamas

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an island country. 

The Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. 

The Bahamas has a total area of 13,880 square km. 

Nassau is its capital and largest city. 

English is its official language. 

Its official currency is Bahamian dollar (BSD). 

The Bahamas is one of the wealthier Caribbean nations in terms of income per person, largely due to tourism and financial services.

Conch is a staple of Bahamian cuisine and one of the most popular seafood dishes on the islands.

Out of more than 700 islands and cays, only about 30 are permanently inhabited.

The Bahamas is one of the few countries in the world whose official name begins with the word “The.”

The country lies near the region commonly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle, an area long associated with maritime legends and mystery.

The Bahamas has extensive underwater cave systems, formed when sea levels were much lower during the Ice Age and acidic rainwater dissolved the limestone bedrock.

Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the Americas in 1492 on an island in the Bahamas, widely believed to be San Salvador Island.

Slavery played a major role in the islands’ early colonial economy and was abolished in the Bahamas in 1838.

The Bahamas gained independence from the United Kingdom on 10 July 1973, and Lynden Pindling became the country’s first prime minister.

The Bahamas signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 2005, supporting global efforts to ban nuclear weapons testing.

There is no national railway system in the Bahamas. Transportation relies mainly on roads, boats, and aircraft.

The Bahamian economy depends heavily on imports, especially for food and manufactured goods.

The Bahamas has one of the largest ship registries in the world, making it an important center for maritime registration.

The Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) is the country’s main stock exchange.

The Bahamas does not charge personal income tax, and much of the government’s revenue comes from import duties, tourism-related taxes, and value-added tax.

The government provides maternity benefits and grants to support families after childbirth.

Tourism accounts for roughly 40 to 45 percent of the national economy and is driven by the country’s beaches, coral reefs, and resort industry.

Gambling is legal in the Bahamas, but only visitors are permitted to gamble in casinos, not Bahamian citizens.

Visitors from many countries, including the United States and Canada, can enter the Bahamas without a visa for short stays, although a valid passport is required.