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 (official exchange rate):$6.586 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:3.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):$25,000 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
Labor force:181,900 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation:agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:7.6% (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):2.4% (2007 est.)
Budget:revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)Agriculture - products:citrus, vegetables; poultry
Industries:tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Electricity - production:1.894 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:1.762 billion kWh (2005)
Oil- consumption:26,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - imports:68,250 bbl/day (2004)
Exports:$674 million (2006)
Exports - commodities:mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners:Spain 22.8%, US 20.2%, Poland 13.8%, Germany 11.2%, UK 5.8%, Guatemala 5% (2006)
Imports:$2.401 billion (2006)
Imports - commodities:machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners:US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:$4.78 million (2004)
Debt - external:$342.6 million (2004 est.)
Currency (code):Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Exchange rates:Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)
Fiscal year:1 July - 30 June
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
