About Bahamas, Information about Bahamas Island in the caribbean, Travel Information and places to visit in Bahamas

The Bahamas is an archipelago of 29 Islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets (rocks) located in the Caribbean, a chain of Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida and northeast of Cuba. Originally the Islands were inhabited by the Lucayan Indians when Christopher Columbus set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. Although, the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. British settlement of the Islands began in 1647 and the Islands became a colony in 1783. The Bahamas became a Crown Colony in 1718 when the British fought againsst piracy. Since its independence from the UK in 1973, the Bahamas has prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management.
The capital is Nassau and with Freeport, they offers great shopping, casinos, resorts and touristics attractions. With its majestic beaches, prestine lagoon and coral reefs, Bahamas offers a number of attractions such as diving with dolphins and sharks, snorkeling in reefs and scuba diving.

Location:	Located in the Caribbean, chain of Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida and northeast of Cuba
Area:	total: 13,880 sq km land: 10,010 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Coastline:	3,542 km
Climate:	Tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Natural hazards:	Hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Population:	313,312 (July 2011 est.)
Ethnic groups:	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Religions:	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)
Languages:	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Judicial System:	Common law system based on the English model
Government type:	Constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Capital:	name: Nassau geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Economy overview:	The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. However, the financial sector currently is smaller than it has been in the past because of the enactment of new and stricter financial regulations in 2000 that caused many international businesses to relocate elsewhere. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector
GDP by sector:	agriculture: 1.2% industry: 14.7% services: 84.1% (2007 est.)
Industries:	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Electricity:	110 V, 60 Hz, A, Type J may exist in some hotels
Currency (code):	Bahamian dollar ($B, BSD)
Credit Cards:	Most hotels, restaurants and businesses accept major credit cards.
Sales Tax:	No sales tax. However, a government tax and resort levy of 8% on hotel room rates is added to your bill upon check-out
Telephone system:	The phone system in the Bahamas operates similar to that in the United States or Canada. There is a monopoly to the government owned and controlled BaTelCo (Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation).