Demographics
The 294,982 people who live in The Bahamas are predominantly of West African descent. Their ancestors were slaves brought to the islands to work the cotton plantations until 1834, when Britain abolished slavery in all its territories. Most white residents of are descendants of the first English settlers, who emigrated from Bermuda in 1647 to gain religious freedom. Some are also related to the Loyalists who fled the southern United States during the American Revolution and built enormous plantations here.

• Country name: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
• Capital Name: Nassau
• Population: 307,451
• Nationality: Bahamian(s)
• Languages: English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
• Ethnic Groups: Black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%

Economy
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. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. 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, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. 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. Tourism, in turn, depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors.

• GDP (purchasing power parity): $8.332 billion (2007 est.)
• GDP - real growth rate: 3.1% (2007 est.)
• GDP - per capita (PPP): $25,000 (2007 est.)
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (2007 est.)
• Exports: $674 million (2006)
• Imports: $2.401 billion (2006)

Government
Over 270 years of uninterrupted Parliamentary Democracy makes The Bahamas one of the most stable countries in the world. Prior to its independence in 1973, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas was a British Colony. To this date, The Bahamas remains a member of the Commonwealth and also holds membership in the United Nations and Organization of American States. The political system is based on the British parliamentary system. The Parliament comprises the House of Assembly and the Senate. Members of the House are elected directly every five years. The members of the Senate are appointed by the Governor General. The Prime Minister proposes the majority of the Senators, the Opposition Leader proposes 1/4 of the Members, and the remaining (1/3 of the number the Prime Minister proposes) members are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition

• Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay.
• Legal system: Based on English common law
• Constitution: 10 July 1973
• Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)

References
The Government of the Bahamas - Official Website
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - The World Factbook
Nation Master - World Data Center
Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
Lonely Planet - Travel Guidebook