Population and Demographics

The country's population has a mixed ancestry, officially 85% black, 12% white and 3% mixed. The origin of African-descended Bahamians has been traced from Yoruba, Congo, and Angola among other areas. There is a significant proportion of the black population that descends from Haitians, and an ongoing flux of immigration from that country. Caucasian Bahamians descend largely from loyalists who migrated from the southern United States, but Irish, British and a significant Greek ancestry is also present. Some Amerindian heritage has also been incorporated into the demographic pool. The islands are also home of a significant expatriate population of Americans, Canadians and British.

The official language of the country is English. The majority of the population speak a creolised version known as Bahamian Dialect; the other principle language is Haitian Creole among people of Haitian origin.

At independence the Bahamas had one of the fastest growing populations in the world; however family planning initiatives among other factors have caused rates to stabilise and decline. The current population is estimated at 300,000. Half the country's population are under the age of 30.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 305,655
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186)
  • 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230)
  • 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 28.1 years
  • Male: 27.3 years
  • Female: 28.9 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.602%
• Birth Rate: 17.3 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 9.13 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: -2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.956 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 65.66 years
  • Male: 62.37 years
  • Female: 69.02 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 2.15 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 3%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 5,600
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Black 85%
  • White 12%
  • Asian and Hispanic 3%
• Religions:
  • Baptist 35.4%
  • Anglican 15.1%
  • Roman Catholic 13.5%
  • Pentecostal 8.1%
  • Church of God 4.8%
  • Methodist 4.2%
  • Other Christian 15.2%
  • None or unspecified 2.9%
  • Other 0.8%
• Languages:
  • English (official)
  • Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 95.6%
  • Male: 94.7%
  • Female: 96.5%