Economy Overview
The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 35% of GDP. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute less than one 10th of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. The economy of The Bahamas shrank at an average pace of 0.8% annually between 2007 and 2011, and tourism, financial services, and construction - pillars of the national economy - remain subdued. Conditions are improving in the tourism sector, however, due to steady foreign investment led activity. New resort and marina developments are likely to provide sustained employment opportunities.
Agriculture Products
citrus, vegetables; poultry
Industries
tourism, banking, oil bunkering, maritime industries, transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals
Industrial Production Growth Rate
1.5% (2014 est.)
Labor Force
196,900 (2013 est.)
Labor Force by Occupation
Agriculture: 3%
Industry: 11%
Tourism: 49%
Other services: 37% (2011 est.)
Unemployment Rate
15.8% (2013 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
9.3% (2010 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 1%
Highest 10%: 22% (2007)
Budget
Revenues: $1.6 billion
Expenditures: $1.7 billion (2014 est.)
Public Debt
56.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
4.5% (31 December 2012)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$1.641 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Stock of Broad Money
$6.076 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$8.926 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$2.78 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$874.3 million (31 December 2014 est.)
Debt External
$16.35 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
1 (2010 est.)
