• The Bahamas:
• Society

The Bahamas - Society

Population: 331,000 (2007); 67% lives in New Providence, 90% in urban areas; growth 2% p.a. 1970–90 and 1.6% p.a. 1990–2004; birth rate (2005) 18 per 1,000 people (31 in 1970); life expectancy 71 years (66 in 1970). Bahamians are largely of African (85%), Afro-European and European origin, as the indigenous Arawaks were wiped out.

Religion: Mainly Christians (Baptists 32%, Anglicans 20%, Roman Catholics 19%, Methodists, Church of God).

Language: English

Media: There are no restrictions on the country’s private press or broadcasters.

The government operates the country’s only television service, ZNS Bahamas, which is commercially run by the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (BCB). Cable TV is widely available.

BCB operates Radio Bahamas, the principal state-run radio station, and private and commercial radio stations include Love 97 FM and 100 Jamz.

Daily newspapers are The Bahama Journal, Freeport News, The Nassau Guardian and The Tribune; The Punch is published twice weekly, and there are several weeklies. The Bahamas Tourist News and What’s On magazine are printed once a month and international newspapers are available.

There are 319 internet users per 1,000 people (2006).

Education: There are 12 years of compulsory education starting at age five. Net enrolment ratios are 91% for primary and 84% for secondary (2005). The pupil–teacher ratio for primary is 16:1 and for secondary 14:1 (2005). The school year starts in September.

Government-assisted higher technical and professional schools and private colleges provide clerical, secretarial, accounting and computer training, and a nursing course is available at the College of The Bahamas, which offers an associate degree and has links with several Florida universities. The Sir Etienne Dupuch Law School opened in September 1998, as a part of the University of the West Indies. It offers the same curriculum as the Manley and Wooding Law Schools. Students are eligible for places at the University of the West Indies, which also has an extra-mural department in Nassau and campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Health: New Providence has the Princess Margaret Hospital, mental hospital and rehabilitation unit, geriatric hospital, private hospital, with an emergency facility, and private clinic which undertakes plastic surgery. Grand Bahama has a general hospital and the Out Islands cottage hospitals. In addition there are medical centres and clinics, and a flying doctor and dentist service covers the islands. 97% of the population uses an improved drinking water source and 100% in urban areas have access to adequate sanitation facilities (2004/2005). Infant mortality was 13 per 1,000 live births in 2005 (51 in 1960). At the end of 2005, 2.8% of people age 15 and over were HIV positive.

Communications: Country code 1 242. Coin- and card-operated phone booths are found on all the islands, and phonecards can be purchased at local stores and post offices. Mobile phone coverage is good, although it can be patchy in some of the more remote islands. Roaming agreements exist with a number of international phone companies and handsets are available to hire from BaTelCo, the state-run telephone company. Internet connections are widely available and there are internet cafes in the main towns; visitors can also access a number of Wi-Fi hotspots.

There are 412 main telephone lines and 705 mobile phones per 1,000 people (2006).

Public holidays: New Year’s Day, Labour Day (first Friday in June), Independence Day (10 July), Emancipation Day (first Monday in August), Discovery Day (12 October), Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Religious and other festivals whose dates vary from year to year include Good Friday, Easter Monday and Whit Monday.