- with unpaved runways: total : 40 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 33 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border
Guards
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49 : 1,982,747 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 1,596,087 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 69,524 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: 33.5 billion manats (1994); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; transshipment point for opiates to Western Europe ______________________________________________________________________
THE BAHAMAS
@The Bahamas:Geography
Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida
Geographic coordinates: 24 15 N, 76 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water : 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 3,542 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation (measured from the archipelagic straight baselines) exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Elevation extremes: lowest point : Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia 63 m
Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber
Land use: arable land : 1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 32% other : 67% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage
Environment - current issues: coral reef decay
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
@The Bahamas:People
Population: 275,941 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 28% (male 39,280; female 38,755) 15–64 years: 66% (male 89,483; female 93,479) 65 years and over : 6% (male 6,209; female 8,735) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.41% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 21.47 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: −1.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years : 1.01 male(s)/female 15–64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 19.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.75 years male: 70.36 years female : 77.2 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.36 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Ethnic groups: black 85%, white 15%
Religions: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2%
Languages: English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write but definition of literacy not available total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.)
@The Bahamas:Government
Country name: conventional long form : Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Data code: BF
Government type: commonwealth
National capital: Nassau
Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands,
Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour,
Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long
Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and
Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador
and Rum Cay
Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 10 July (1973)
Constitution: 10 July 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections : none; the queen is a hereditary
