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Taking
advantage of its proximity to the USA, the Bahamas has successfully
promoted itself as a popular destination for jetsetters and
snowbirds fleeing the North American winter. Nassau, the sprawling,
crowded capital, has become nearly indistinguishable from
many US cities. Yet there are lots of places among the country's
700 islands and 2500 cays to disappear into a mangrove forest,
explore a coral reef and escape the high-rise hotels and package-tour
hype.
The
18th-century Privateers' Republic has become the 20th-century
banker's paradise, at least on New Providence and Grand Bahama.
On the other islands - once known as the Out Islands but now
euphemistically called the Family Islands - the atmosphere
is less oriented toward the North American tourist and more
toward the rhythms of West Indian life. You'll certainly be
more in tune with the local environment listening to a rake
'n' scrape band in a bar on a backwater cay than sunning by
the pool at a Paradise Island resort.
Area:
5380 sq miles (13,940 sq km)
Population: 294,982
Capital city: Nassau (pop 190,000)
People: African descent (85%), European descent (12%), Asian
& Hispanic (3%)
Language: English
Religion: Baptist (32%), Anglican (20%), Roman Catholic (19%)
Government: Independent state within the British Commonwealth
Governor General: Dame Ivy Dumont
Prime Minister: Hubert Alexander Ingraham
GDP:
US$5.58 billion
GDP per head: US$20,000
Inflation: 1.3%
Major industries: Tourism, finance
Major trading partners: USA, UK, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Switzerland
Bahamas
Flight from UK
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