The Bahamas

With a thriving economy driven by tourism and financial services, The Bahamas is attracting significant foreign investment, especially from its neighbor and top trading partner,
the United States.

Area: 5,437 square miles Capital: Nassau Government: Democracy Population: 317,413 Languages: English GDP per capita: USD 16,067 Monetary unit: Bahamian dollar Imports: Machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels, food and live animals.. Exports: Mineral products, chemicals, rum, vegetables, pharmaceuticals, travel services, transportation, financial and insurance services

Anchoring The Bahamas into a new era

Economy

Hon Perry Gladstone Christie, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

In 2005, more than five million tourists visited The Bahamas, 87 percent of them from the United States, and around 110 businesses affiliated with the United States are now operating in The Bahamas, mainly in the tourism and banking sectors. The Bahamas also imports nearly all its food and manufactured goods from the United States and pegs the Bahamian dollar to the USD.

The current government of The Bahamas has overseen a period of strong economic performance that is expected to continue as projects to develop the Family Islands and other long-term initiatives bear fruit.
Perry G. Christie, Prime Minister, explains, “When the new tourism anchor projects in the Family Islands come on stream over the next few years, and the transformation of New Providence is completed, our tourism industry will be the most formidable and successful in the region. The Bahamas is a great place for foreign investment.”

Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt points out that the government is making sure The Bahamas provides the kind of security and safety that American investors and second-home-owners demand. She says, “Business in The Bahamas is expanding rapidly, especially in the Family Islands, and it is important that people know that security is already in place.”

The Bahamas offers a number of investment incentives: a stable democratic environment, no personal and corporate income taxes, repatriation of corporate profits, proximity to the United States, supportive government and skilled English-speaking workers. In fact, the government projects some USD 8 billion in foreign investment in The Bahamas over the next few years, a total that outpaces the country’s 2005 GDP of USD 5.9 billion.