The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and 88% of its population. The archipelagic country consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes the Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.
The economy of the Bahamas is dependent upon tourism and offshore banking. The Bahamas is the richest country in the West Indies and is ranked 14th in North America for nominal GDP. It is a stable, developing nation in the Lucayan Archipelago, with a population of 391,232 (2016). Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth for many years. The slowdown in the Economy of the United States and the September 11 attacks held back growth in these sectors from 2001 to 2003.
The Bahamas are a group of about 700 islands and cays in the western Atlantic Ocean, of which only between 30 and 40 are inhabited. The largest of the islands is Andros Island, located north of Cuba and 200 kilometres southeast of Florida. The Bimini islands are to its northwest. To the North is the island of Grand Bahama, home to the second-largest city in the country, Freeport. The island of Great Abaco is to its east. In the far south is the island of Great Inagua, the second-largest island in the country. Other notable islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, and Mayaguana. Nassau is the capital and largest city, located on New Providence. The islands have a tropical savannah climate, moderated by the Gulf Stream. The total size is 13,878 km2 (5,358 sq mi). Due to the many widespread islands it has the 41st largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 654,715 km2 (252,787 sq mi).
This article talks about transportation in the Bahamas, a North American archipelagic state in the Atlantic Ocean.
Andros Island is an archipelago in The Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consists of hundreds of small islets and cays connected by mangrove estuaries and tidal swamplands, together with three major islands: North Andros, Mangrove Cay, and South Andros. The three main islands are separated by bights, estuaries that trifurcate the island from east to west. It is 167 kilometres (104 mi) long by 64 km (40 mi) wide at the widest point.
The Abaco Islands lie in the north of The Bahamas, about 193 miles east of Miami, Florida, US. The main islands are Great Abaco and Little Abaco, which is just west of Great Abaco's northern tip. There are several smaller barrier cays, of which the northernmost are Walker's Cay and its sister island Grand Cay. To the south, the next inhabited islands are Spanish Cay and Green Turtle Cay, with its settlement of New Plymouth, Great Guana Cay, private Scotland Cay, Man-O-War Cay and Elbow Cay, with its settlement of Hope Town. Southernmost are Tilloo Cay and Lubbers Quarters. Also off Abaco's western shore is Gorda Cay, a Disney-owned island and cruise ship stop renamed Castaway Cay. Also in the vicinity is Moore's Island. On the Big Island of Abaco is Marsh Harbour, the Abacos' commercial hub and The Bahamas' third-largest city, plus the resort area of Treasure Cay. Both have airports. Mainland settlements include Coopers Town and Fox Town in the north and Cherokee and Sandy Point in the south. Administratively, the Abaco Islands constitute seven of the 31 Local Government Districts of The Bahamas: Grand Cay, North Abaco, Green Turtle Cay, Central Abaco, South Abaco, Moore's Island and Hope Town.
Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & plc. As of March 2024, Royal Caribbean Group fully owns three cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises with 65 ships in the current fleet and 5 ships on order until 2028. They also hold a 50% stake in TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of The Bahamas. It is the third largest island in The Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island is roughly 530 square miles (1,400 km2) in area and approximately 153 kilometres long west to east and 24 kilometres at its widest point north to south. Its westernmost town, West End, is located 56 nautical miles east of Palm Beach, Florida. Administratively, the island consists of the Freeport Bonded Area and the districts of East Grand Bahama and West Grand Bahama. Nearly half of the homes on the island were damaged or destroyed in early September 2019 by Hurricane Dorian.
Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) is an international airport in Freeport, The Bahamas. It was privately owned until the government of The Bahamas purchased it in April 29 2021 for one Bahamian dollar, a deal they were able to procure largely due to the devastation from Hurricane Dorian, which almost completely destroyed the airport in 2019. The Bahamian government spent a approximately $1 million on staff severance costs as part of the deal.
The Hawksbill Creek Agreement named in honour of the Hawksbill Sea Turtle was an agreement signed in 1955 between the government of the Bahamas and Wallace Groves to establish a city and free trade zone on Grand Bahama Island with an aim of spurring economic development in the area.
Lucaya is a suburb of Freeport, Bahamas, a city on the island of Grand Bahama, approximately 105 mi (160 km) east-northeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Lucaya's primary industry is tourism.
The Grand Bahama Port Authority is a privately held corporation that also acts as the municipal authority for Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas. The GBPA was created by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to The Bahamas:
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Bahamian pineyards are a tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
West End is the oldest town and westernmost settlement on the Bahamian island of Grand Bahama. It is agreed by most academics and lawmakers that West End is the current capital of Grand Bahama, contrary to the popular belief that Freeport is the capital of the island. Yet however, some lawmakers continue to insist that Freeport City is the legitimate capital of Grand Bahama. It is also the third largest settlement in The Bahamas. There is one airport in West End, West End Airport, which serves mostly private aircraft. Since the 1950s, the settlement of West End has fluctuated with the rise and fall of the adjacent resort developments.
Wallace Groves was an American financier and fraudster. After release from federal prison in 1944, he moved to the Bahamas where he founded and operated a free trade zone, resort, and casino development at what would become Freeport, Grand Bahama. He is credited with the development of the modern Bahamian economy of offshore banking. He was suspected to have links with the Meyer Lansky syndicate operating offshore casinos from Miami Beach.
The Bahama nuthatch is a nuthatch species endemic to the pineyards of Grand Bahama island in the Bahamas. It may be extinct as of 2019.
The Bahama Archipelago, also known as the Lucayan Archipelago, is an archipelago comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The archipelago is in the western North Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba along with the other Antilles, and east and southeast of Florida. The archipelago has experienced the effects of at least 22 Atlantic hurricanes, or storms that were once tropical or subtropical cyclones, including 17 since 2000. The storms collectively killed 101 people.
The most popular sports in the Bahamas are those of colonial British origin as well as those adopted from neighbouring United States. They include athletics, basketball, baseball, American football, swimming, softball, tennis, boxing, and volleyball track.
The Bahamas 
