Bahamas Country Overview
Where is Bahamas located? The Bahamas are an island country that is part of Central America. On the time zone map, the countries along the degrees of longitude are assigned to different world time zones. The classification provides information about how big the time difference between the respective country and the world time (also called UTC) is. The time zone to which the Bahamas belong is called “Eastern Standard Time”. The local time there is always 5 hours behind the world clock (UTC -5). In the summer months, the time is changed to “Eastern Daylight Time”. The clocks are put forward one hour so that the difference to world time is only 4 hours.
Bordering Countries of Bahamas
According to abbreviationfinder, the Bahamas is an archipelagic country located in the Atlantic Ocean, east of Florida and north of Cuba. It is comprised of over 700 islands, cays, and islets spread across more than 5,000 square miles. The country has a population of over 400,000 people and its capital is Nassau. It is bordered by the United States to the northwest and Cuba to the northeast.
The United States shares a maritime border with The Bahamas in the northwest. This border separates The Bahamas from the US state of Florida. The two countries have had a long-standing relationship for centuries that dates back to when The Bahamas was a British colony. In recent years, this relationship has grown stronger as both countries work together on various issues such as trade, security, and environmental protection in their region.
Cuba lies to the northeast of The Bahamas and shares a maritime border with it in the Caribbean Sea. This border was established in 1783 after The Bahamas gained independence from Britain. Since then, both countries have maintained strong diplomatic ties which have allowed them to cooperate on various matters such as trade agreements and joint initiatives for regional development.
In addition to its land borders with Cuba and the United States, The Bahamas also has maritime borders with Haiti to its east and Jamaica to its south-southeast across the Caribbean Sea. These two countries also share similar histories due to their pasts as British colonies and have worked together on various initiatives for regional development over recent years such as fighting poverty or providing disaster relief assistance during times of crisis.
Finally, there are several other nations that share maritime borders with The Bahamas including Mexico to its west across the Gulf of Mexico; Colombia and Venezuela to its south-southwest; Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to its southeast; Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Panama further south; Belize & Guatemala further south-southwest; Canada further west; Cayman Islands & Turks & Caicos Islands further north-northeast; Jamaica further south-southeast; Haiti further east; St Kitts & Nevis further southeast; Barbados & Trinidad & Tobago even further southeast; Netherlands Antilles even further southwest across Leeward Islands Passage; St Martin even further southwest across Windward Islands Passage; Anguilla even farther southwest across Anegada Channel; US Virgin Islands even farther west across Mona Passage; Dominica far southeast; Grenada far southwest; French Guiana far southwest across Caribbean Sea; Suriname far west across Guyana Basin; Guyana far west across Guyana Basin. All these nations play an important role in providing resources such as oil or seafood for The Bahamas while also allowing it access to other regional ports for trade purposes.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Bahamas is 337,721, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 337,721 |
| Population growth rate | 0.75% |
| Birth rate | 15.30 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall life expectancy | 71.69 years |
| Men life expectancy | 69.25 years |
| Women life expectancy | 74.19 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 22.39% |
| 15-64 years | 69.56% |
| 65 years and above | 8.05% |
| Median age | 31.50 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 0.96 |
| Population density | 24.33 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 89.50% |
| Ethnicities | |
| approx. 85% African descent | |
| Religions | |
| Baptists 32%, Anglicans 20%, Catholics (Roman Catholic) 19%, Methodists 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestants 12%, members of other religious communities 2% no religion or unknown 3%, | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.805 |
| HDI ranking | 60th out of 194 |
People in Bahamas
The Bahamas has 385,000 residents. Around 260,000 of them live in the capital Nassau and 26,000 in the second largest city, Freeport. Most people, 85 percent, are of African descent. The first blacks to arrive here were freed slaves from Bermuda.
About twelve percent are whites of European origin. These are mainly descendants of the English Puritans who came to the island of Eleuthera in 1649, as well as the North American settlers who sided with Great Britain in the American War of Independence and who were looking for a new home in 1783.
Three percent are Asians or from Latin America. There are also immigrants from Haiti who are fleeing the poor economic situation of their homeland and are looking for a new home in the Bahamas.
Languages in Bahamas
English is spoken in the Bahamas. The islands were a British colony for more than 250 years. English is the official language, but many residents speak a Creole language, Bahamian Creole. The basis is English, but the pronunciation is influenced by African heritage and there are also words that differ from English. It is typical, for example, that the English th, which you have to learn in school, is not pronounced: The word this is pronounced dis. The sentence Is that your book? becomes Das ya book?
Religions in Bahamas
About 80 percent of the Bahamas’ residents are Christians, 67 percent of them Protestants and 13 percent Catholics. Among the Protestants, the Baptists are the largest group, followed by Anglicans.