total: 146,600 (1996)
by occupation: government 30%, tourism 40%, business services 10%,
agriculture 5% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $687.5 million
expenditures: $827 million, including capital expenditures of $112
million (FY96/97 est.)

Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment,
salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel
pipe

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity-capacity: 401,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 1.29 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 4,100 kWh (1996)

Agriculture-products: citrus, vegetables; poultry

Exports:
total value: $201.7 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum
products
partners: US 24%, Spain 14%, UK 7%, Norway 7%, France 6%, Italy 5%
(1995 est.)

Imports:
total value: $1.26 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles,
electronics
partners: US 29%, Finland 10%, Iran 10%, Denmark 8%

Debt-external: $381.7 million (1997)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Bahamian dollar (B$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1-1.000 (fixed rate pegged
to the dollar)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Communications

Telephones: 200,000 (1997 est.)

Telephone system:
domestic: 91,183 telephone lines; totally automatic system; highly
developed
international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3
coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios: 200,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 60,000 (1993 est.)

@Bahamas, The:Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km
unpaved: 1,147 km (1997 est.)

Ports and harbors: Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau

Merchant marine:
total: 1,024 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 24,674,594
GRT/38,334,892 DWT
ships by type: bulk 205, cargo 223, chemical tanker 34, combination
bulk 8, combination ore/oil 21, container 55, liquefied gas tanker 25,
oil tanker 176, passenger 53, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo
145, roll-on/roll-off cargo 49, short-sea passenger 11, specialized
tanker 1, vehicle carrier 17
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 48 countries
among which are Norway 172, Greece 145, UK 122, U