About The Islands of the Bahamas
The Islands of The Bahamas has a population of just over 300,000.

Government
The Bahamas is an Island Democracy. Its constitution is based on the Westminster Model of The British Parliamentary System.

Geography
The Islands of the Bahamas is a 100.000-sq-mile archipelago that extends over 500 miles of the clearest water in the world. Our 700 islands, including uninhabited cays and large rocks, total an estimated land area of 5.382 sq miles, and register a highest land elevation of 206 ft.

History
Geography played a crucial role in Bahamian history. In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the New World on the island of San Salvador in the eastern Bahamas, After observing the shallow islands, he said “baja mar” (shallow water or sea) and effectively named the area The Bahamas or The Islands of the Shallow Sea.

Since it was located close to Florida and well-traveled shipping channels, The Islands of the Bahamas caught the attention of explorers, settlers, invaders and traders. These people shaped the colorful history of The Bahamas and made the country what it is today.

Economy
With a pleasant subtropical climate and some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, The Bahamas is one of the most popular year-round resorts in The Western hemisphere visited annually by well over a million tourists. Tourism plays a central role in the country’s economy and has helped make the Bahamas one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean region.

Because of favorable tax laws and secrecy for depositors, The Bahamas has also become an international banking centre. Industrial activity is limited; it includes the transshipment and refining of petroleum and the production of steel pipe, pharmaceuticals, salt, and shellfish. The unit of currency is the Bahamian Dollar (1 Bahamian dollar equals U.S. $1).

Tourism, banking and insurance form the backbone of the economy accounting for over two thirds of the total gross domestic product (GDP).