opium poppy, mostly
for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program;
transshipment point for opiates to Western Europe

______________________________________________________________________

BAHAMAS, THE

The Bahamas

The Bahamas
@Bahamas, The: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, on Cat Island 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; solid waste disposal

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

@Bahamas, The:People

Population: 279,833 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 39,239; female 38,708)
15-64 years: 67% (male 91,208; female 95,198)
65 years and over: 5% (male 6,444; female 9,036) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.39% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 21.03 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.44 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 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 (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 18.97