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.
Perry Gladstone Christie PC, MP is a Bahamian former politician who served as prime minister of the Bahamas from 2002 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017. He is the second longest-serving Bahamian elected parliamentarian, representing the Centreville constituency from 1977 to 2017. He is also a former athlete. His Progressive Liberal Party is the oldest Bahamian political party, holding solid majorities in the Bahamian Parliament several times in its long history.
Local government in the Bahamas exists at two levels: 32 districts and 41 towns. The boundaries of districts are defined by the First Schedule of The Bahamas Local Government Act 1996, defined with reference to parliamentary constituency boundaries. The Second Schedule lists 13 districts which are divided into town areas. Towns are governed by directly elected town committees. Second Schedule districts are governed by nine-person district councils composed of the chairs of the town committees, and if numerically required, additional people elected by the town committees. The 19 Third Schedule districts are unitary authorities which cannot be divided into towns. They are governed by nine-person district councils which are directly elected by voters. The powers of Second Schedule and Third Schedule councils are slightly different, and the Third Schedule district known as the City of Freeport has a slightly different list of enumerated powers.
Hubert Alexander Ingraham, PC is a Bahamian politician who was Prime Minister of the Bahamas from August 1992 to May 2002, and again from May 2007 to May 2012. He is a member of the Free National Movement Party (FNM). Prior to the 2012 election, he was the FNM's Party Leader and member of Parliament for the North Abaco constituency. He served as leader of the opposition in the House of Assembly of the Bahamas from 2005 to 2007.
Exuma is a district of The Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands and cays.
Ragged Island is a 23 km2 (8.9 sq mi) island and district in the southern Bahamas. Ragged Island is part of the Jumentos Cays and Ragged Island Chain. The crescent-shaped chain measures over 180 km (110 mi) in length and includes cays known as Raccoon Cay, Hog Cay and Double-Breasted Cay. Island ownership is stated to have been granted to William George Lockhart some time in the 18th century. On 8 September 2017, Duncan Town took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma.
Arthur Dion "A. D." Hanna was a Bahamian politician who served as the eighth governor-general of the Bahamas from 2006 to 2010.
Rev. Dr. Reuben Edward Cooper, M.B.E., was a Bahamian religious leader, founding pastor of Mission Baptist Church, and a leading figure in the country's struggle to achieve Black Majority Rule (1967).
Dame Cynthia Alexandria "Mother" Pratt is a Bahamian politician who has served as the 12th governor-general of the Bahamas since 2023.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to The Bahamas:
Philip Edward "Brave" Davis is a Bahamian politician serving as the prime minister of the Bahamas since 2021. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cat Island, Rum Cay & San Salvador from 1992 to 1997 and returned to the seat in May 2002, which he still represents.
Jerome Kennedy Fitzgerald is a Bahamian politician and former Cabinet Minister.
The prime minister of the Bahamas is the head of government of the Bahamas. The prime minister is formally appointed into office by the Governor-General of the Bahamas, who represents Charles III, the King of the Bahamas.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 10 May 2017. The elected members of the House of Assembly then elected the Prime Minister.
Sir Cornelius Alvin Smith is a Bahamian politician and diplomat, who served as the 11th Governor-General of the Bahamas from 2019 to 2023.
Bell Island is a private island inside the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, in the island archipelago of the Exumas, which is in turn part of the Lucayan Archipelago. As of 2021, it was a territory of The Bahamas. The island has a surface of 349 acres. Sometimes the island is called Big Bell Island, and it is not to be confused with nearby Little Bell, which is also known as Cambridge Cay.
Isaac Chester Cooper is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas to Philip Davis and Minister of Tourism and Aviation since September 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for The Exumas and Ragged Island since 2017.
Ruby Ann Cooper-Darling is a Bahamian politician and stateswoman.
Thomas Desmond Bannister is Bahamian politician from Free National Movement.
