Travel Information for Bahamas
Time zone:GMT -5 (Caribbean standard time)
Daylight savings:GMT +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Main languages:English Other languages:    Creole
Currency: Bahamian dollars (BSD)

1 = B$1.12, $1 = B$0.00, £1 = B$1.33

(rates as of Sep 2016)

Internet Domain:.bsInternational Dialling Code:    1242

For help planning your trip to Bahamas including visas, vaccinations, currency exchange, flights, accomodation and insurance, see our Bahamas trip planning page.



Further information on Bahamas

Discover more about Bahamas - the country's geogrpahy and natural features, an assessment of its status on freedom and rights and data on the country's population and economy.

Geography & Natural Features

Map of bahamas

Total area: 13,940 sq km (3,870 sq km under water)

Coastline: 3,542 km (Atlantic Ocean)

Neighbours (border lengths): No land borders

Climate: Tropical marine climate where winter temperatures are moderated by warm Gulf Stream waters. Hurricanes and tropical storms can cause extensive damage in summer months.

Highest mountain: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island (63m)

Freedom & Rights

Summary status and rankings for Bahamas from classifications of different organisations measuring political and economic freedom, democracy and civil rights. See more details of these rankings.

IndexStatusRank
Freedom in the WorldFree -
Democracy IndexNo Data -
Economic FreedomModerately Free 41/179
Press FreedomNo Data -
ILGA LGBT rightsLimited rights -
Corruption PerceptionsLow corruption 24/174
Overall Ranking:    48/195

Other Data & Links

Full name: Commonwealth of The Bahamas     Status: Independent Country

Population: 321,834 (rank: 172/196)     Density: 23 people/sq km (rank: 155/196)

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)

GDP (PPP): $11.4 billion       GDP per capita: $32,000 (rank: 30/195)

Information derived from the CIA World Factbook. Other country profiles: BBC News.