Demographics of the Bahamas
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Eighty-five percent of the Bahamian population is of African heritage. About two-thirds of the population lives on New Providence Island (the location of Nassau). And about half of the remaining one-third lives on Grand Bahama (the location of Freeport).
The islands were sparsely settled and a haven for pirates until the late 1700s when thousands of British loyalists and their slaves were given compensatory land grants following the American Revolution. At the turn of the 20th century the total population was only 53,000.
School attendance is compulsory between the ages of five and 16. There are 158 public schools and 52 private schools in The Bahamas catering to more than 66,000 students. The College of The Bahamas, established in Nassau in 1974, provides programmes leading to bachelors and associate degrees. The college is now converting from a 2-year to a 4-year institution.
[edit] Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook
[edit] Population
- 303,770
- note: Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
[edit] Age structure
- 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 41,799/female 41,733)
- 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 98,847/female 102,074)
- 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 7,891/female 11,426) (2006 est.)
[edit] Median age
- Total: 27.8 years
- Male: 27.1 years
- Female: 28.6 years (2006 est.)
[edit] Population growth rate
- 0.64% (2006 est.)
[edit] Birth rate
- 17.57 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
[edit] Death rate
- 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
[edit] Net migration rate
- -2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
[edit] Sex ratio
- At birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
- Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
[edit] Infant mortality rate
- Total: 24.68 deaths/1,000 live births
- Male: 30.29 deaths/1,000 live births
- Female: 18.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
[edit] Life expectancy at birth
- Total population: 65.6 years
- Male: 62.24 years
- Female: 69.03 years (2006 est.)
[edit] Total fertility rate
- 2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)
[edit] HIV/AIDS
- Adult prevalence rate: 3% (2003 est.)
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 5,600 (2003 est.)
- Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)
[edit] Nationality
- Noun: Bahamian(s)
- Adjective: Bahamian
[edit] Ethnic groups
- black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
[edit] 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)
[edit] Languages
- English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
[edit] Literacy
- Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
- Total population: 95.6%
- Male: 94.7%
- Female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
[edit] References
This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.