Bahamas
Updated: Oct 3, 2022
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Country Name
The Bahamas or officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
Location
The islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, The Dominican Republic, and Haiti northwest. And northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands and to the southeast of the United States of America (closer to Florida).
Capital
Nassau.
Reason for Naming the country
The word "Bahamas" is derived from the Spanish word ‘Baja Mar' which means ‘low tide' or ‘shallow water or sea'.
Flag
The flag of the Bahamas was adopted on July 10, 1973. The national flag of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas contains a black triangle on the hoist side of the flag with three horizontal bands of blue & yellow colors.
The yellow color represents the shining sun together with other major natural resources that are found on land.
The blue color represents the water that surrounds the country, the black color represents the “force”, “strength” and “power” of the Bahamian people while the triangle itself symbolizes their “determination and enterprising nature” that is used to cultivate the copious natural resources found on the land and in the sea.
Language
English is the national and official language of the Bahamas. Bahamians use British English in their communication, publication of government and official records, mass media production, education, and business or other commercial transactions. Bahamian creole is a language in the English creole family, widely used as a natural language among the Bahamians, also about 25% of the Bahamian population speaks Haitian Creole. Haitian Creole is an Indo-European French-based creole language.
Religion
Most of the population is Christian, The majority of the population belongs to Protestant denominations such as Methodism, Adventism, Pentecostalism, Baptist churches, and Anglicanism. 14% of the Bahamian population belongs to the Roman Catholic church. There are also significant Greek Orthodox populations in the Bahamas. Smaller religious communities in the Bahamas are Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baha’i, Jewish, and African Shamanism. A small number of people in the Bahamas identify as Rastafari. A small number of residents practice Hinduism and other South Asian religions. Obeah, a version of voodoo, is practiced by a small percentage of Bahamians and Haitians. This version of voodoo is normally practiced by those living in the Family Islands.
Currency
Bahamian Dollar (BSD).
Time Zone
-05:00 GMT.
-04:00 GMT (Daylight Saving Time).
Government Regime
Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
Climate
The climate of the Bahamas is moderate in summer and winter; its climate is a mild tropical sea climate throughout the year. In the summer, the temperature rises to 29 °C and in the winter it reaches 22 °C, but may sometimes suffer from floods due to currents Coming from the sea in the summer and autumn. The best time to visit the Bahamas is the dry season, from late November to mid-April. However, on the north-western islands, from December to March the temperature is often not high enough. From May to October, the weather is hot and humid, and thunderstorms can be intense, although the sun is still frequent. In summer, the month of July is preferable because there's a decrease in the rains and because hurricanes are less likely than in August.