which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified
Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network (including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of provincial roads); of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are unpaved; in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly gravel, crushed stone, earth)
Inland waterways: 446 km
Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)
Merchant marine: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,311 GRT/366,401 DWT; includes 23 cargo, 1 container, 5 bulk
Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined products
Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft
Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 19 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440–3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000 telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations—6 AM, 21 (544 repeaters) FM, 47 (867 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating in INTELSAT 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth station and EUTELSAT systems
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Flying Division
Military manpower: males 15–49, 1,970,189; 1,656,228 fit for military service; 50,090 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.1% of GDP, or $1.1 billion (1989 est.)
——————————————————————————
Country: The Bahamas
- Geography
Total area: 13,940 km2; land area: 10,070 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 3,542 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber
Land use: 1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and pastures; 32% forest and woodland; 67% other
Environment: subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood damage
Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
- People
Population: 246,491 (July 1990), growth rate 1.2% (1990)
Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 75 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Bahamian(s); adjective—Bahamian
Ethnic divisions: 85% black, 15% white
Religion: Baptist 29%, Anglican 23%, Roman Catholic 22%, smaller groups of other Protestants, Greek Orthodox, and Jews
Language: English; some Creole among Haitian immigrants
Literacy: 95% (1986)
Labor force: 132,600; 30% government, 25% hotels and restaurants, 10% business services, 5% agriculture (1986)
Organized labor: 25% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Type: commonwealth
Capital: Nassau
Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Abaco, Acklins Island,
Andros Island, Berry Islands, Biminis, Cat Island, Cay Lobos, Crooked Island,
Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Harbour Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Long Island,
Mayaguana, New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San Salvador, Spanish Wells
Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
Constitution: 10 July 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Acting Governor General Sir Henry TAYLOR (since 26 June 1988);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar PINDLING (since 16 January 1967)
Political parties and leaders: Progressive Liberal Party (PLP),
Sir Lynden O. Pindling; Free National Movement (FNM), Cecil Wallace-Whitfield
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: House of Assembly—last held 19 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(49 total) PLP 31, FNM 16, independents 2
Communists: none known
Other political or pressure groups: Vanguard Nationalist and Socialist
Party (VNSP), a small leftist party headed by Lionel Carey; Trade Union
Congress (TUC), headed by Arlington Miller
Member of: ACP, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77,
GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, ILO, IMF,
IMO,
