Demographics of the Bahamas

This article is about the demographic features of the population of The Bahamas, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

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 18th century 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 associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees; the college is now converting from a two-year to a four-year institution.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

309,156

country comparison to the world: 177

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 2009 est.)

Age structure

2-14 years: 25.9% (male 40,085/female 39,959)

15-64 years: 67.2% (male 102,154/female 105,482)

65 years and over: 6.9% (male 8,772/female 11,704) (2009 est.)

Median age

Total: 28.7 years

Male: 27.9 years

Female: 29.5 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate

0.536% (2009 est.)

county comparison to the world: 152

Birth rate

16.81 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

county comparison to the world: 125

Death rate

9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

county comparison to the world: 78

Net migration rate

-2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

county comparison to the world: 140

Urbanization

Urban population: 84% of total population (2008)

Rate of urbanization: 1.4% of annual rate of change (2005-2010 est.)

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 (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 23.17 deaths/1,000 live births

county comparison to the world: 93

Male: 28.21 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 18.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 65.78 years

county comparison to the world: 164

Male: 62.63 years

Female: 68.98 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.1 children born/woman (2009 est.)

county comparison to the world: 121

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 3% (2007 est.)

county comparison to the world: 24

People living with HIV/AIDS: 6,200 (2007 est.)

county comparison to the world: 118

Deaths: less than 200 (2007 est.)

county comparison to the world: 126

Nationality

Noun: Bahamian(s)

Adjective: Bahamian

Ethnic groups

Blacks or Afro-Bahamians 85%, Whites or European Bahamian 12%, Asians or Indo-Caribbean 3%

Religions

Main article: Religion in the Bahamas

Baptist 35.1%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.4%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 1.6%, Buddhism 2%, other 0.7% (2000 census)

Languages

English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

The CIA World Factbook does not distinguish between Haitian Creole, and Bahamian Creole known simply as "dialect" to its 400,000 users. In addition, Spanish is spoken among Cuban and Dominican immigrants.

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 95.6%

Male: 94.7%

Female: 96.5% (2003 est.)

Education expenditure

3.6% of GDP (2000)