Bahamas

Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Bahamian dollar (ISO code: BSD)
* Central bank discount rate: 5.25% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 5.5% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $1.255 billion (31 December 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $4.637 billion (31 December 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Bahamas: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	5 150 	5 528 	5 659 	5 912 	5 942 	6 032 	6 509 	6 876 	7 234 	
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Bahamas: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	29.304	27.396	 	 	 	 	 	34.706	36.440	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Bahamas: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	16.869	16.952	16.249	15.013	15.164	15.658	16.958	18.623	18.456	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Bahamas: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	15.411	14.989	15.321	15.606	16.811	16.932	17.164	17.247	17.964	
Debt to revenue (years) 	1.737 	1.616 	 	 	 	 	 	1.864 	1.974 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Bahamas on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Bahamas
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries