Bahamas

The Bahamas is an archipelagic sovereign state in the western Atlantic Ocean, comprising about 700 islands and 2,400 reefs and cays. It lies north of Cuba and southeast of Florida, with Nassau on New Providence Island serving as the capital and largest city. The country covers roughly 14,000 square kilometers of land and is surrounded by shallow seas and extensive coral reefs. The climate is tropical, with warm temperatures year round and a pronounced wet and dry season.

Historically inhabited by the Lucayan people, the Bahamas were the first landfall of Christopher Columbus in 1492. They later came under British control and remained part of the British Empire until independence in 1973, becoming a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth. The head of state is a monarch represented by a governor-general; the head of government is the prime minister. Parliament is bicameral, with a Senate and a House of Assembly.

Economically, the Bahamas is a high-income nation whose economy is dominated by tourism and financial services. Tourism, including cruise ship traffic, is a major source of employment and revenue, while offshore finance contributes to monetary stability. In recent years, nominal GDP has been around 14–15 billion USD, with a per‑capita income in the mid‑30,000s USD. The Bahamian dollar (BSD) is pegged to the United States dollar and widely accepted.

Demographically, the population is largely of African descent, with English as the official language. Religion is predominantly Protestant. Bahamian culture features music such as junkanoo and rake-and-scrape, as well as seafood cuisine, especially conch. The country faces environmental challenges including hurricane exposure, coastal erosion, and coral reef degradation, and has established protected areas and marine reserves to address them.