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Economy - overview:
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The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2002. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of most of the visitors.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $4.59 billion (2002 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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0.1% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 3%
industry: 7%
services: 90% (1999 est.)
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Population below poverty line:
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NA%
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.8% (2001 est.)
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Labor force:
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156,000 (1999)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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tourism 50%, other services 40%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1999 est.)
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Unemployment rate:
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6.9% (2001 est.)
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Budget:
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revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY 99/00)
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Industries:
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tourism, banking, e-commerce, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA%
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Electricity - production:
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1.56 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.451 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001)
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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23,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001)
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001)
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Agriculture - products:
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citrus, vegetables; poultry
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Exports:
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$560.7 million (2002 est.)
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Exports - commodities:
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fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables
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Exports - partners:
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US 39.1%, Germany 15.4%, Spain 10.8%, France 7.4%, Poland 4.6%, Switzerland 4.3% (2002)
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Imports:
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$1.86 billion (2002 est.)
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
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Imports - partners:
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US 20.3%, South Korea 20.1%, Germany 11.5%, Norway 11.5%, Japan 10%, Italy 7.2% (2002)
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Debt - external:
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$371.6 million (2001)
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$9.8 million (1995)
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Currency:
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Bahamian dollar (BSD)
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Currency code:
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BSD
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Exchange rates:
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Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999), 1 (1998)
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Fiscal year:
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1 July - 30 June
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