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Bahamas

Quick Facts: The Economy of the Bahamas

Gross domestic product (GDP*): $11.4 bil- lion (2013 est.) GDP per capita: $32,000 (2013 est.) Inflation: 1% Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land Agriculture (2% of GDP): citrus fruits, veg- etables, poultry Services (91% of GDP): tourism, banking, government Industry (7% of GDP): tourism, banking, oil bunkering, maritime industries, trans- shipment, salt, rum, aragonite, phar- maceuticals

Foreign trade (2014): Exports: $960 million: crawfish, aragonite, crude salt, polystyrene products Imports: $3.245 billion: machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals Currency exchange rate: $1 Bahamian = U.S. $1 (fixed rate)

*GDP = the total value of goods and services produced in one year. Figures are 2014 estimates unless otherwise

indicated. Sources: CIA World Factbook 2014.

Conchs are caught for local consumption. Fresh fish are a locally con- sumed food product as well. The major export of the fishing industry is lobster. Beer and rum are manufactured on New Providence and exported to other countries. Salt and petrochemicals are also manufactured in the Bahamas for the export market. The pharmaceutical industry contributes a growing share to the country’s gross domestic product. Changes for Workers Unemployment has been a chronic problem in the Bahamas. In the late 1990s, as the global economy was strong, unemployment decreased dramatically,