The Commonwealth of the Bahamas consists of about 700 islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They form a 5,382 square mile (13,940 square kilometer) archipelago lying between the Florida coast of the United States and the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The area occupied by the Bahamas is slightly less than is occupied by the state of Connecticut.
The Bahamas' capital city, Nassau, is located on New Providence Island in the center of the island group. Its population was estimated as 303,770 in 2006 and New Providence, although not the largest, is by far the most populous and most densely populated island.
The Bahamas are an independent sovereign nation within the Commonwealth, with the British monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) as head of state and represented by an appointed, resident governor general. The governor general appoints a prime minister but executive power is vested in the prime minister. The Prime Minister is Hubert Ingraham.
English is the spoken and official language of the Bahamas. Haitian immigrants speak French or a Creole patois.
The population is overwhelmingly Christian, with Baptists comprising about 32 percent. About 20 percent of the population is Anglican and about 19 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. There is also a strong Greek Orthodox community.
Descendants of slaves brought to the Western Hemisphere from Africa make up about 85 percent of the legal population. About 12 percent of the total is white, largely of British origin.
Its monetary unit is the Bahamian dollar (B$).
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