Every figure below carries its named source and year. The Eco Index scores twelve pillars on the same scale everywhere; seven are measured from published data with fixed thresholds, five are assessed from the named sources.
The Bahamas at a Glance.
The score, and the four numbers that set the tone. 12 equally-weighted pillars, every pillar sourced.
Compare with:
Renewable power
1%
of electricity
Food imported
20%
of merchandise imports · ~US$1,102m a year
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
Facts That Surprise People About the Bahamas.
The numbers and firsts that change how you see the Bahamas, the sobering and the remarkable. Every one is dated and linked to its source.
SoberingHealth
Almost half of adults live with obesity
WHO estimates that about 47% of adults aged 18 and over in the Bahamas were living with obesity in 2022 (age standardised). Among women the figure is about 55%.
SoberingHealth
One in five adults dies early from NCDs
A 30 year old in the Bahamas had a 20.4% chance in 2021 of dying before 70 from heart disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic lung disease. In Canada the figure was 9.7%.
SoberingEnvironment
The strongest hurricane on record to hit
Hurricane Dorian made landfall in September 2019 as the strongest hurricane in modern records to strike the Bahamas. Damage was estimated at 3.4 billion US dollars, and more than 75% of homes on Abaco were damaged.
RemarkableNature
The world's first land and sea park
Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, created in 1958, is described by the Bahamas National Trust as the first land and sea park in the world. No fishing, shelling or conching of any kind is allowed inside it.
Source: Bahamas National Trust, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park · 1958
RemarkableNature
Flamingos back from the edge
Inagua National Park holds the largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos in the world, around 70,000 birds. Hunting once pushed them close to extinction, and protection brought them back over about forty years.
Source: Bahamas National Trust, Inagua National Park · 2024
RemarkableNature
More blue holes than anywhere on earth
Andros has the highest concentration of blue holes in the world. Blue Holes National Park protects 22 inland blue holes.
Source: Bahamas National Trust, Blue Holes National Park · 2024
The History of the Bahamas.
Bahamian living heritage centres on Junkanoo, the national cultural festival, a street parade brought by enslaved Africans in the early nineteenth century, who used their three-day holiday to recreate festivals from home. Its towering costumes of cardboard and crepe paper are built in workshops called shacks, and UNESCO inscribed it in 2023.
Where the name comes from
The name is thought to come from the Lucayan Taíno language, though some historians trace it to the Spanish bajamar, 'shallow water', for the banks around the islands. This is according to Encyclopaedia Britannica and Den Store Danske.
The land itself: long, flat coral banks and low rounded hills, nowhere far above the sea. Its high point is a rise near Old Bight on Cat Island, 64 m. Source: national mapping and survey records.
Where it starts
The Lucayan archipelago
The Lucayan people were the first inhabitants of the archipelago. A study of their skulls shows they were related to groups from Hispaniola and Jamaica rather than to the people of Cuba, a finding that helps clarify the wider picture of how the Caribbean islands were settled.
How it got here
Independence in 1973
The Bahamas became fully independent from the United Kingdom in 1973, and the United States formally recognised the new state on 10 July that year.
The timeline
Before 1492
First settlement.
A study of Lucayan skulls finds that the Lucayan people were related to groups from Hispaniola and Jamaica, not to the inhabitants of Cuba. Source
1492
European landfall.
Columbus makes landfall in these islands on his first voyage and meets the Lucayans, the Arawak-speaking people believed to have been the first inhabitants. Source
1509
The islands are emptied.
By about 1509 the Lucayans are gone, killed by disease and by forced labour in the gold mines of Cuba and Hispaniola and the pearl fisheries of Cubagua and Margarita. The islands stay empty for the next hundred years. Source
1648 to 1718
Wrecking, salt and pirates.
About seventy settlers from Bermuda and England reach Eleuthera in 1648 and live by salvaging wrecks and exporting hardwoods, ambergris and salt. Under the Lords Proprietors the islands fall into lawlessness, home to pirates such as Blackbeard, until the first royal governor, Woodes Rogers, arrives in 1718. Source
1834
Abolition.
Emancipation takes effect across the British Caribbean on 1 August 1834. It comes with an apprenticeship system that binds freed people to work for their former owners, planned for six years but cut back to four. Slave owners receive £20 million in compensation. Source
1973
Independence.
The Bahamas gains full independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, and the United States recognises it on 10 July that year. Source
Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Florida Museum of Natural History · Scientific Reports, Faces Divulge the Origins of Caribbean Prehistoric Inhabitants · Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation, Bahamas · US Department of State, Office of the Historian, The Bahamas · Ross et al., Faces Divulge the Origins of Caribbean Prehistoric Inhabitants, Scientific Reports (2020)
Nature and Biodiversity in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas is the strongest protector in the region and it has the best origin story. 34.6 per cent of land was protected in 2024, nearly double Jamaica's, and 7.7 per cent of territorial waters, the only island here above one per cent. There are more than 30 national parks and reserves across 16 islands, managed by the Bahamas National Trust.
Is wild Bahamas protected? 34.6% of the land is, already past the 30% target for 2030
How protected is nature in Bahamas?
Forest cover50.94%
Terrestrial protected area34.6%
Marine protected area7.7%
40 listed as threatened.
Found only here. Bahama oriole, found only on Andros; Bahama nuthatch; Bahama swallow
The watchlist
ThreatenedHawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (turtle).
ThreatenedGreat hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray).
ThreatenedBrain coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedHamlet (Epinephelus striatus) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedRed Cave Shrimp (Barbouria cubensis) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedMillepora complanata Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedBrain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
What is still here, and what is gone?
Tap a species for the honest status.
Closest to being lost, by name
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Bahamas. GBIF holds 40 verified occurrence records.
Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Bahamas. GBIF holds 31 verified occurrence records.
Brain coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Bahamas. GBIF holds 52 verified occurrence records.
Hamlet (Epinephelus striatus)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Bahamas. GBIF holds 157 verified occurrence records.
Species named here are drawn from GBIF occurrence records for Bahamas filtered to the IUCN Red List threatened categories. Species are listed where GBIF holds occurrence records for them in this country. Record counts are not published here because the figure cannot be reproduced from a public GBIF query.
Who is putting it back
National park, mapped and named in the open record for Bahamas. OpenStreetMap.
National park, mapped and named in the open record for Bahamas. OpenStreetMap.
National park, mapped and named in the open record for Bahamas. OpenStreetMap.
Water and Ocean in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas manufactures most of the capital's drinking water from the sea. The Water and Sewerage Corporation states that its reverse osmosis plant provides 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that it no longer barges water into the capital. That barging is worth knowing about, because it lasted about 35 years.
Reverse osmosis desalination, thin freshwater lenses on limestone, and Andros
Cleanest water: Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
How much fresh water does the Bahamas have, per person?
1,761 m³
Bahamas
1,000 m³
the UN “water scarce” line
FAO AQUASTAT does not publish a water withdrawal series for the Bahamas. The islands draw on a thin freshwater lens over limestone and on desalination, both of which are highly exposed to storm surge and saltwater intrusion. Source: FAO AQUASTAT, which records no figure for this country.
What are the rules on Bahamas beaches?
·Tap water: Varies.
✓Plastic rules: Single use plastics from Jan 2020, including biodegradable bags and balloon releases.
✕Solo travel: rated take care on the record for this destination.
✕Marine protection: 8% of the sea is protected. The 30x30 pledge for 2030 is not met yet.
Named on the open map: Farquharson Beach, Gilliam Bay Beach, Grotto Beach, Lochabar Beach, White Road Beach. That is 5 named beaches in the public record for Bahamas, each one a place you can look up before you go. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
93.7%
of people have at least basic sanitation
93.7% of people here use at least a basic toilet not shared with other households (2019, World Bank / WHO UNICEF JMP). No figure is published for how much of that waste is safely treated, so the share reaching the ground or the water untreated is unknown.
How is the sea around Bahamas doing?
One cross-section, every answer measured.
Surface
What the coast carries
Swimming pigs at Big Major Cay, Exuma (year-round). Turtle nesting May–October. Andros has the world's largest concentration of blue holes.
Nearshore
Protected water
7.7% of territorial waters are protected, against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Cleanest
Where the water is cleanest
Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.
The record
Measured
The Bahamas manufactures most of the capital's drinking water from the sea. The Water and Sewerage Corporation states that its reverse osmosis plant provides 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that it no longer barges water into the capital.
The Bahamas scored 79 out of 100 on the Ocean Health Index in its 2025 assessment, above the global average of 72, and ranked 29th of 220 coastal regions. The index team says it is no longer updating scores, so the 2025 figures may be the last.
Sea protected
8%
Against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Threatened species
102
Mammals, birds, fish and higher plants on the IUCN list.
Is the tap water safe in Bahamas?
The Water and Sewerage Corporation, a wholly government owned body set up under a 1976 Act, says a reverse osmosis plant that turns sea water into fresh water supplies 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that this water meets the World Health Organization's guidelines for safe drinking water. It says it monitors and tests the supply at points across the system, that older pipes can carry rust and sediment, and that it will test private supplies for a fee. Its statement covers the capital only. On other islands, on private wells or after a storm, boil or filter water unless you know where it comes from.
Seaweed on the beaches. Sargassum is now reaching Bahamian beaches. The University of South Florida, which tracks the seaweed by satellite, reported in July 2025 that most Caribbean and Atlantic regions had reached their highest recorded amounts in June 2025, and that inundations were being reported around most Caribbean islands. In September 2026, after what its chairman called an extremely high volume of seaweed, the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority began a pilot clean up at Montagu Beach and Western Esplanade in Nassau, with the contractor Anchor Forestry Green Waste Recycling Management turning the seaweed into mulch and compost for farmers.
When is the best time to visit Bahamas? Tap your month.
Tap your month.
How much fresh water does Bahamas actually have?
Nature renews about 1,761 cubic metres of fresh water per person per year here. That ranks the Bahamas 79 of 208 countries measured, putting it in the drier half of the world. The UN treats anything under 1,000 cubic metres as water scarce, and this is above that line. World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT.
FAO AQUASTAT · WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme · World Bank Open Data · Ocean Health Index, Bahamas region page · Ocean Health Index, Global scores · Water and Sewerage Corporation, FAQ · Water and Sewerage Corporation, About us · The Nassau Guardian, Parks and Beaches Authority launches sargassum cleanup program (4 September 2026) · University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab, Outlook of 2025 Sargassum blooms, bulletin of 1 July 2025 · CIA World Factbook (archived 2025), Bahamas, The: Environment, water resources and withdrawal
Food and Drink in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas imports nearly 90 per cent of its food, at an annual cost of around US$1 billion, according to the US Department of Commerce. The government wants farming and fisheries to make up a larger share of the economy.
Where does the food in Bahamas come from?
20.0% imported
about US$1,102m a year
On the plate: Roots and tubers (cassava, sweet potato), corn, pigeon peas, pumpkin, cabbage, tomato and peppers, fruit (banana, mango, pineapple, citrus, papaya, avocado). (, conch, ) is the dietary staple.
2 of 10
bites are imported
The island buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$1,102m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 20% of everything the Bahamas buys in from abroad is food, roughly 2 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2024, World Bank). Farming itself is 0.5% of the economy and 1.3% of the land is agricultural, of which 0.8% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
What is killing people in the Bahamas? The imported diet.
Cause of death, and the diet behind it.
Non-communicable diseases, all combined59.8%
Diabetes8.9%
No current national count has been published. The most recent official figure we found dates from November 2012, when Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez told a diabetic foot symposium that Princess Margaret Hospital carried out an average of 100 lower limb amputations a year between 2002 and 2006, and 165 below the knee amputations in 2002 alone. He said the true total is higher because Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama and Doctors Hospital were not counted. Source: The Tribune.
Adults living with overweight or obesity. 75.8%.
Can the Bahamas feed itself?
0.8%
Arable land
1.3%
Agricultural land
1,900
Farmers
19,768
Arable acres
0.5%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Eleuthera pineapples; annual Gregory Town Pineapple Festival
Feeding itself
This is the starkest figure in our whole Caribbean coverage, and it is verified twice over, once by the US Department of Commerce and once by a serving Bahamian minister on the record. The Bahamas imports nearly 90 per cent of its food, at a cost of around US$1 billion a year.
Certification
There is very little soil to farm. Agricultural land is 1.3 per cent of the land area and agriculture is 0.51 per cent of GDP, both among the lowest in the region, because the islands are limestone.
Water for crops
The Bahamas manufactures most of the capital's drinking water from the sea. The Water and Sewerage Corporation states that its reverse osmosis plant provides 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that it no longer barges water into the capital.
Why the organic number looks like that. Certified-organic farmland is not separately reported for the Bahamas, and that is a certification gap rather than proof nothing is grown cleanly. What the official land record does show: 1.3% of the country is agricultural land and 0.8% is arable (2023, World Bank). Certification is paid for per farm per year by a foreign body, which prices out smallholders, so the organic number reads worse than the practice.
What actually grows here
SugarcaneGrapefruitsVegetablesBananasTomatoesTropical fruitsOrangesCoconutsMangoes/guavas
The food that already fits
The plant-based kitchen here is not an import. By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Bahamas are sugarcane, pomelos and grapefruits, bananas and tomatoes (FAO, FAOSTAT crop production, 2024). That is what the land itself puts on a plate.
Buy direct where residents buy: Eleuthera Island Farm, Chiccharney Farms, Down Too Earth Adventure Farm, Hearty Mow Farmlands Stand, Eleuthera Hill-Top Farms, Mashamba. Every one is a farm shop we have checked and listed ourselves, so the money goes to the grower rather than the importer. The checked list
Checked kitchens from the directory: Sweet Spot Cafe to Sweet Spot Cafe is a 100% plant based restaurant in Harbour Island, Bahamas. See its verified sustainability r; NewLife Natural Vegetation Cell Food to NewLife Natural Vegetation Cell Food is a 100% plant based restaurant in Nassau, Bahamas. See its verified sus. Every kitchen listed here is checked for how plant-based the menu really is before it earns its place.
Is this grown in the Bahamas?
Tap a food for the honest answer.
RootsCornPigeon peasPumpkinCabbageTomato
Climate and Energy in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023. Per-person emissions are about 7.4 tonnes of CO2, high for the region and tied to fuel imports, tourism and cooling demand across many islands. The government has set renewable targets for the late 2020s and 2030s and some solar is being added, but progress has been slow and the grid remains overwhelmingly fossil-based. As a highly climate-vulnerable archipelago still reliant on fossil fuels, it sits in the lower band.
What powers the Bahamas?
Renewable 0.9%Fossil 99.1%
Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) is the country's only state owned electric utility, governed by a board appointed by the government. It succeeded the Bahamas Electric Corporation, a public corporation created by the Electricity Act of 1956. BPL serves all the major islands except Grand Bahama, about 100,000 customers, from 30 generating plants in 25 island locations, almost all diesel, with 438 MW of installed capacity and transmission lines of up to 132 kV. Electricity providers are regulated by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), which in June 2026 fined BPL US$29,662 for late reporting of major outages on Crooked Island and Abaco in late 2025, suspending collection for twelve months.
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
3.64 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.7 tonnes
The worst it ever got
8.8 tonnes
The grid
The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023. Per-person emissions are about 7.4 tonnes of CO2, high for the region and tied to fuel imports, tourism and cooling demand across many islands.
Pollution
The Environmental Protection (Control of Plastic Pollution) Act 2019 came into force on 1 January 2020, banning the import, distribution, manufacture, possession, sale, supply or use of scheduled single use plastic food ware including polystyrene cups and plates, plastic cutlery and straws. Businesses had until 30 June 2020 to clear stock, and only by charging between 25 cents and one dollar for it.
Water stress
The Bahamas manufactures most of the capital's drinking water from the sea. The Water and Sewerage Corporation states that its reverse osmosis plant provides 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that it no longer barges water into the capital.
What pollutes most here
1The grid The share of electricity still generated from fossil fuel.99.5%
2Industry Cruise tourism.named
3Air Modelled annual mean against a WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.2.5
4On the record The Environmental Protection (Control of Plastic Pollution) Act 2019 came into force on 1 January 2020, banning the import, distribution, manufacture, possession, sale, supply or use of scheduled single use plastic food ware including polystyrene cups and plates, plastic cutlery and straws.
What has the Bahamas promised on climate?
Electricity renewable today0.5% (2021)
Land protected, against a 30% target34.6% by 2025
Sea protected, against a 30% target7.7% by 2025
Measured on delivery, 0.5% of electricity is already renewable (2021, World Bank), so 99.5% of the grid is still to be converted. The pledge on file is measured here against what has actually been delivered, not taken on its own (UNFCCC NDC Registry, CBD Kunming-Montreal Target 3).
The biggest line item
One return flight against a whole year of living.
A resident's entire year3.64 t CO2e
Safe-climate budget, per year2 t CO2e
Singapore return, economy3.08 t CO2e
Sydney return, economy2.75 t CO2e
Johannesburg return, economy2.28 t CO2e
Dubai return, economy2.24 t CO2e
Frankfurt return, economy1.37 t CO2e
How much CO2 does flying to the Bahamas emit?
Tap where you would fly from. One return flight, economy.
Firsts on climate finance. The Bahamas holds parametric disaster insurance with CCRIF, the regional catastrophe insurer. Its largest payout came after Hurricane Dorian in September 2019: US$11.5 million under the tropical cyclone policy and US$1.3 million under the excess rainfall policy. Further payouts followed Irma in 2017, Isaias in 2020, and Imelda and Melissa in October 2025, the last two worth about US$1.35 million together. CCRIF records about US$14.9 million in total paid to The Bahamas between June 2007 and October 2026.
AI and Data Centres in the Bahamas.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in the Bahamas.
Data centres
1
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
0.9 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in the Bahamas?
Almost everything a machine here consumes is burned fossil fuel.
Renewable 0.9%Fossil 99.1%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 0.5% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it, so the same figure that decides this country's climate score also decides the footprint of the AI running inside it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. Bahamas has 1 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, concentrated in Nassau (1), alongside 1 internet exchange (Ninja-IX Bahamas). Named sites include Secure Shore Data Center.
Where the cables land. 21 landing points · Alice Town, Cat Island, Caves Point, Clarence Town
Economy and Tourism in the Bahamas.
5% residents to 95% visitors across a year. 7,250,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 403,033 people who live here (2025, World Bank / UN Tourism).
Where a visitor dollar goes in Bahamas
1,795k
Visitors a year
4.5
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is the Bahamas?· for every $100 the Bahamas earns in a year, it owes…
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · the 2021 peak
$ 91The worst year on the IMF record. The Bahamas owed $91 for every $100 it earned.
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2021signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · today
$ 72What is owed now, for every $100 of national income (2026).
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · projected 2031
$ 62The IMF's own forecast has this falling to $62 by 2031.
IMF World Economic Outlook projection, 2031signed, the forecast
For every $100 the Bahamas earns in a year, it owes $72 (2026, IMF World Economic Outlook). The interest on that is paid before schools, clinics or coastline get their turn.
Where does a tourist dollar actually go in the Bahamas?
Play one tourist dollar around the board. Every square is a measured fact from this page.
START!
1
GO: a visitor lands
$100 goes on the table. 7,250,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 403,033 residents, 18.0 visitors for every resident (World Bank / UN Tourism).
$100 in play2
The bed
Who owns the largest places to stay in the Bahamas is not published in the records we can check, so this square is left open rather than guessed. Where a listing names its owner, it is shown in the ownership table below.
not published3
The plate
Food is 20% of everything the Bahamas imports (2024, World Bank), so a large part of every restaurant bill is paid to a supplier abroad. Eating what the land here actually grows, sugarcane, grapefruits, vegetables, bananas, tomatoes, tropical fruits, oranges, coconuts, mangoes/guavas, keeps that money with the grower.
sails in4
The power
99.5% of the electricity is fossil (2021, World Bank). Lighting, cooling and hot water are paid for largely in imported fuel.
burns away5
What actually stays
Of the two parts of a visitor's bill that can be measured here, the plate and the power mostly leave the Bahamas. Choosing locally grown food is the part of that a visitor can actually control.
less than you think6
Pay the bank first
The Bahamas owes $72 for every $100 it earns (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). The interest is paid before anything else on this board.
$72 per $1007
A spread hand
The largest single export, mineral fuels and oils, is 24.6% of the total (2023, UN Comtrade). No one shock can take the whole board.
top export 24.6%8
Community chest
Tourism earns 59.6% of everything the Bahamas makes from exports (2020, World Bank / UN Tourism). That is how much of the economy depends on the game continuing.
59.6% of exports9
The flight
Getting here is usually the biggest single line on the bill. From Singapore a return economy seat is 3.08 t CO2, on the UK Government's published conversion factors. It is the one part of the trip this board cannot reduce.
3.08 t CO210
Back to GO
The economy turns over about US$17 billion a year (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). Every lap of this board is a choice about how much of it stays.
US$17bnGDPUS$15.8bn
Agriculture, share of GDP0.5%
Visitors a year1,794,500
Visitors per resident4.5
Residents~403,033
Agriculture
Farming is 0.5% of the economy. This is the starkest figure in our whole Caribbean coverage, and it is verified twice over, once by the US Department of Commerce and once by a serving Bahamian minister on the record.
Natural materials
The Bahamas has the one thing no other island here has: a UNESCO designation resting on the craft itself. Nassau joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2014, on the strength of Junkanoo and straw work.
Energy
The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023. Per-person emissions are about 7.4 tonnes of CO2, high for the region and tied to fuel imports, tourism and cooling demand across many islands.
Who owns the biggest hotels in the Bahamas?
By rooms · company records and press.
The FarmOwnership not publishednot published
Tiamo ResortOwnership not publishednot published
Small Hope Bay Lodge · ~22 roomsIndependentnot published
Visitors, over time
20156,112k
20166,265k
20176,136k
20186,622k
20197,250k
20201,794k
International tourism receipts run at about US$1.01 billion in 2020 (World Bank / UN Tourism). That is 59.6% of everything the country earns from exports.
How much of your money actually stays here?
Tap the holiday you are planning.
Visiting the Bahamas, whoever you are.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Five swaps that move your money back on-island
1. Eat where the country eats Choose kitchens cooking what the land here grows, sugarcane, grapefruits, vegetables, bananas, tomatoes, tropical fruits, oranges, coconuts and mangoes/guavas, over an imported menu. The checked list
2. Book with a local operator Never the lobby desk. The margin on a tour is the part that stays. Eco tours
3. Stay somewhere locally owned Ownership decides where the room rate books. Eco stays
4. Use the transport residents use Small plane or mail boat between the Out Islands, on loose schedules
5. Buy the craft, not the souvenir Natural-materials work made here pays the maker directly; imported gifts pay a shipping line.
Swipe
First time here
The Bahamas is seven hundred islands, and almost all of the interesting ones are not Nassau. Andros, the largest, is mostly forest, blue holes and creeks, with the world's third largest barrier reef along its edge and barely any traffic.
Best time: December to April is dry, sunny and cooler. Summer is hotter and wetter, and hurricane season runs June to November. Bonefishing and diving are best in the calmer months either side of winter.
Getting around
Small plane or mail boat between the Out Islands, on loose schedules
Transport is where the fare either stays or leaves.
Eating here
The everyday plate that actually grows here is sugarcane, grapefruits, vegetables, bananas, tomatoes, tropical fruits, oranges, coconuts and mangoes/guavas. Ordering those keeps the money with the grower and cuts the imported share of the meal.
Eating what the country grows is the cheapest way to cut the import bill.
Good to know
Water is expensive and finite, especially on the Out Islands, so conserve it and refill rather than buying cases.
Nearly nine tenths of the food arrives by ship, so come here for the sea rather than for the soil, and we will say that plainly rather than dress it up.
Blue holes connect directly to the freshwater lens, so no sunscreen before swimming in one. Out Island travel runs on small planes and mail boats with loose schedules, so build in slack. And bring your own bag: the plastics ban covers biodegradable bags too.
Rate my hotel. Tap yours for the honest verdict.
Ownership from company records and press.
Who owns the big hotels
The FarmOwnership not published
Tiamo ResortOwnership not published
Small Hope Bay LodgeIndependent · 22 rooms
None of the 3 properties listed here publishes who ultimately owns it, so no claim is made either way. Ownership is what decides how much of a room rate stays in the country, which is why we show it when a listing states it.
Society and Governance in the Bahamas.
How well is the Bahamas actually run?
Governance, measured · World Bank WGI
Four measured answers, none of them opinion. Averaged across corruption control, delivery and accountability, the Bahamas scores 68 out of 100 (2024, World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators). That is a state that generally does what it says it will do, which is what makes a climate pledge worth reading.
What is daily life in Bahamas really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
TransportAirWaterWastePower
✓How you get around Small plane or mail boat between the Out Islands, on loose schedules
Made in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas has the one thing no other island here has: a UNESCO designation resting on the craft itself. Nassau joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2014, on the strength of Junkanoo and straw work. Every step of processing done at home is value that stops leaving the country.
What Bahamas actually sells the world
The single biggest thing Bahamas sells the world is mineral fuels and oils, 24.6% of all exports in 2023 (about US$0.17 billion, UN Comtrade). The next four are printed books and newspapers at 19.6%, ships and boats at 18.1%, fish and seafood at 9.6%, plastics at 6.7%.
Made now · natural materials
Folk Art in 2014
Worked in Bahamas from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
On the strength of Junkanoo
Worked in Bahamas from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Dried
Worked in Bahamas from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Cured
Worked in Bahamas from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Buys in · 7.4% of imports
Machinery and mechanical appliances
Bahamas imported US$0.31 billion of machinery and mechanical appliances in 2023, 7.4% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 6.2% of imports
Electrical machinery and electronics
Bahamas imported US$0.26 billion of electrical machinery and electronics in 2023, 6.2% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 5.4% of imports
Vehicles
Bahamas imported US$0.23 billion of vehicles in 2023, 5.4% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 4.0% of imports
Works of art and antiques
Bahamas imported US$0.17 billion of works of art and antiques in 2023, 4.0% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
The maths for an entrepreneur. the Bahamas produces about US$16 billion a year, which is roughly US$39,284 per person (2024, World Bank). Farming is 0.5% of that, while food is 20% of everything the country imports. The country buys in more food than its own farms contribute to the economy, and every point of that gap is a business someone could build here rather than ship in.
See the verified makersCulture in the Bahamas.
Junkanoo masquerade parade
The national cultural festival, brought by enslaved Africans in the early nineteenth century who used their three-day holiday to recreate festivals from home. Parades feature towering costumes of cardboard and crepe paper. UNESCO inscribed it in 2023.
1800s
Rake-and-scrape
Bands of carpenter’s saw, skin drum and accordion, dating to the 1800s, play the old Goombay songs and accompany the Bahamian quadrille and heel and toe polka.
Goombay music
The historic name for Bahamian secular music, built on the goatskin drum. In the old ring dances the drummer called out Gimbey, from gumbay, a West African word for a large drum, to start the song.
Obeah ancestral spiritual practice
A Caribbean practice that almost certainly began in Africa and persists today, more privately. It rests on the belief that good and evil, illness and cure, come from spirits.
Bush medicine
The use of local medicinal plants, a practice long tied in the Bahamas to obeah.
Ring-play
A circle dance of West African roots, with one dancer in the centre while the players clap and the drummer calls the song. Children’s ring-play games have their own songs, known across the Caribbean.
Does Bahamas protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. Bahamian living heritage centres on Junkanoo, the exuberant masquerade street parade of goatskin drums, cowbells, brass and whistles staged on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Rake-and-scrape, played on a carpenter's saw, goatskin drum and accordion, is the islands' foundational folk sound, alongside goombay. Ancestral traditions carried from West and Central Africa endure in Obeah spiritual practice and bush medicine, and older ring-play and quadrille survive in the family islands.
Who it belongs to. Junkanoo was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 5 December 2023, the country's first inscription. The Bahamas government calls Junkanoo the national cultural festival, and in the country's own case to UNESCO the festival was traced back more than two centuries, its rhythms rooted in Africa. Costumes are built in community workshops known as Junkanoo shacks, which University of The Bahamas research describes as the places where groups gather for months of a season to assemble them.
Only here. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, established in 1958, was the first land and sea park in the world, and the Bahamas National Trust credits it with shaping marine protected areas globally. Inagua holds the world's largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos, around 70,000 birds. Andros has the highest concentration of blue holes in the world..
The Future of the Bahamas.
Three futures for the Bahamas, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: Nassau Public Library & Museum (Nassau), Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation (Nassau), Museum of Junkanoo (Nassau), Heritage Museum (Nassau), Bahamas Maritime Museum (City of Freeport). OpenStreetMap.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
World Bank open data, recorded series
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 50.9% to 50.9% across 29 recorded years.
How much climate pollution per person?
CO2 per person moved from 3.7 t to 3.64 t across 29 recorded years.
How many people visit?
Tourist arrivals moved from 3,239k to 1,794k across 25 recorded years.
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 13.3% to 34.6% across 12 recorded years.
How many people still farm?
Farm workforce moved from 4.34% to 0.77% across 30 recorded years.
How much sea is protected?
Protected sea moved from 0.2% to 7.7% across 12 recorded years.
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 1% to 1.3% across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it urbanising?
Urban population moved from 80.7% to 81.3% across 30 recorded years.
Is the air getting cleaner?
Air pollution moved from 9.2 µg/m³ to 5.28 µg/m³ across 28 recorded years.
Is water getting scarcer?
Fresh water per person moved from 2,322 m³ to 1,761 m³ across 27 recorded years.
Is diet-related disease rising?
Adult overweight moved from 52.1% to 75.8% across 27 recorded years.
Who has power?
Electricity access moved from 100% to 100% across 29 recorded years.
Is income rising?
GDP per person moved from 11,375 to 39,455 across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it growing?
Population moved from 301k to 403k across 30 recorded years.
How much land and sea is protected together?
Protected area, total moved from 0.5% to 8.3% across 12 recorded years.
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 71.4 yrs to 74.7 yrs across 29 recorded years.
How much does a hectare of cereal produce?
Cereal yield moved from 1,793 kg/ha to 7,737 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How much fertiliser goes on the land?
Fertiliser use moved from 33.3 kg/ha to 123 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How many people still live rurally?
Rural population moved from 19.3% to 18.7% across 30 recorded years.
How much goes on health?
Health spending moved from 3.8% to 6.3% across 23 recorded years.
How much forest is there in total?
Forest area moved from 5,099 km2 to 5,099 km2 across 30 recorded years.
How have agriculture emissions moved?
Agriculture emissions moved from 0.03 to 0.02 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have building emissions moved?
Building emissions moved from 0.23 to 0.39 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have electricity/heat emissions moved?
Electricity/Heat emissions moved from 0.86 to 1.29 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have energy emissions moved?
Energy emissions moved from 2.02 to 2.97 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have manufacturing/construction emissions moved?
Manufacturing/Construction emissions moved from 0.66 to 0.33 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have transportation emissions moved?
Transportation emissions moved from 0.25 to 0.92 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, organic farming at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: recorded series extended with no policy change
What the best case actually asks for
Lift organic farming
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Bahamas's record. There is very little soil to farm. Agricultural land is 1.3 per cent of the land area and agriculture is 0.51 per cent of GDP, both among the lowest in the region, because the islands are limestone.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift energy
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Bahamas's record. The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift food and farming
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Bahamas's record. This is the starkest figure in our whole Caribbean coverage, and it is verified twice over, once by the US Department of Commerce and once by a serving Bahamian minister on the record.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Government and Goals in the Bahamas.
Who is in charge of Bahamas now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 20 October 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
Philip Edward Davis
Prime Minister
Philip Edward Davis is the head of government of Bahamas, in office since 17 September 2021. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Public opinion, measured
Voice and accountability, the freedom to question government scores 69.3 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 69.5 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Control of corruption scores 69.1 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 72.9 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Political stability and absence of violence scores 83.5 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 84.0 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Rule of law scores 62.4 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 62.7 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Regulatory quality scores 54.0 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 52.8 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Philip Edward DavisPrime Minister
ParliamentLegislature, bicameral
Last election12 May 2026
Constitution1973
Government typeparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Bahamas national goals: what has been pledged, and how far it has got · each pledge measured against this country's own recorded delivery
2030
30% of land protected
✓ deliveredTarget 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by more than 190 parties in December 2022. Bahamas currently protects 34.6% of its land, which is 115% of the way to the pledge. Source
2030
30% of sea protected
✕ far behindThe marine half of the same 30x30 pledge. Bahamas currently protects 7.7% of its territorial waters, which is 26% of the way there. Source
2030
Paris Agreement pledge
on recordBahamas has a Nationally Determined Contribution lodged with the UNFCCC. The registry holds the current text, its target year and the sectors it covers. Source
Plastic policy
in forceSingle use plastics from Jan 2020, including biodegradable bags and balloon releases.
Grid, as it stands
0.5% renewableRecorded renewable share of electricity output, the number every energy pledge is measured against. Source
Plain Answers About the Bahamas.
The questions people actually type, answered in full sentences from the sourced data above.
Swipe
Is Bahamas sustainable?
Bahamas scores 62 out of 100 on the Throne Eco Index, across twelve equally weighted pillars. The Bahamas is seven hundred islands, and almost all of the interesting ones are not Nassau. Andros, the largest, is mostly forest, blue holes and creeks, with the world's third largest barrier reef along its edge and barely any traffic. The Out Islands run at village pace, where the food is what was caught or grown that morning and the nature is the whole point.
Is the water in Bahamas safe and plentiful?
The Bahamas manufactures most of the capital's drinking water from the sea. The Water and Sewerage Corporation states that its reverse osmosis plant provides 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that it no longer barges water into the capital. That barging is worth knowing about, because it lasted about 35 years.
Can Bahamas feed itself?
This is the starkest figure in our whole Caribbean coverage, and it is verified twice over, once by the US Department of Commerce and once by a serving Bahamian minister on the record. The Bahamas imports nearly 90 per cent of its food, at a cost of around US$1 billion a year. The reason is geological.
Is it easy to eat plant-based in Bahamas?
Nassau has two named produce outlets. Potter's Cay, under the Paradise Island bridge, is an open market selling fruit, vegetables, spices and preserves sourced largely from local farms, open daily. The BAIC Farmers Market on Gladstone Road, run by the agricultural corporation, sells Bahamian produce every Saturday from around 8am to 3pm, much of it brought in from the Family Islands.
How much of Bahamas is actually protected?
The Bahamas is the strongest protector in the region and it has the best origin story. 34.6 per cent of land was protected in 2024, nearly double Jamaica's, and 7.7 per cent of territorial waters, the only island here above one per cent. There are more than 30 national parks and reserves across 16 islands, managed by the Bahamas National Trust.
What wildlife is left in Bahamas?
The Bahama oriole is endangered on the IUCN Red List, downlisted from critically endangered in the 2021 assessment, and now found only on Andros. The Bahamas National Trust has put it at fewer than 300 left in the world, and early estimates of 141 to 254 individuals drove the IUCN listing, though later distance sampling in northern North Andros estimated substantially more within the study area. Its threats are unusually specific: lethal yellowing killing the introduced coconut palms it prefers for breeding, the arrival of the brood parasitic shiny cowbird, and clearance of native coppice.
Is Bahamas on clean energy?
The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023. Per-person emissions are about 7.4 tonnes of CO2, high for the region and tied to fuel imports, tourism and cooling demand across many islands. The government has set renewable targets for the late 2020s and 2030s and some solar is being added, but progress has been slow and the grid remains overwhelmingly fossil-based.
How polluted is Bahamas?
The Environmental Protection (Control of Plastic Pollution) Act 2019 came into force on 1 January 2020, banning the import, distribution, manufacture, possession, sale, supply or use of scheduled single use plastic food ware including polystyrene cups and plates, plastic cutlery and straws. Businesses had until 30 June 2020 to clear stock, and only by charging between 25 cents and one dollar for it. Two features make this the most interesting plastics law in the region.
Does recycling work in Bahamas?
Formal recycling in the Bahamas is minimal and still emerging, which is the honest position. Waste on New Providence goes to the Harold Road site, the former landfill, which suffered repeated large fires for years and was classed by PAHO as a partially controlled hazardous dumpsite. A private operator, Renew Bahamas, ran a materials recovery facility there from around 2014 before exiting.
Is the farming in Bahamas organic?
There is very little soil to farm. Agricultural land is 1.3 per cent of the land area and agriculture is 0.51 per cent of GDP, both among the lowest in the region, because the islands are limestone. The one genuine exception we found is The Farm on North Eleuthera, a very small cottage hotel built around a working organic farm with over 200 garden beds and a freshwater well, supplying its own kitchen and the owner's other hotels.
Are there natural materials and craft in Bahamas?
The Bahamas has the one thing no other island here has: a UNESCO designation resting on the craft itself. Nassau joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2014, on the strength of Junkanoo and straw work. The word is plait, pronounced plat.
Is there living culture in Bahamas?
Junkanoo was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 5 December 2023, the country's first inscription. The Bahamas government calls Junkanoo the national cultural festival, and in the country's own case to UNESCO the festival was traced back more than two centuries, its rhythms rooted in Africa. Costumes are built in community workshops known as Junkanoo shacks, which University of The Bahamas research describes as the places where groups gather for months of a season to assemble them.
What heritage does Bahamas keep alive?
Bahamian living heritage centres on Junkanoo, the exuberant masquerade street parade of goatskin drums, cowbells, brass and whistles staged on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Rake-and-scrape, played on a carpenter's saw, goatskin drum and accordion, is the islands' foundational folk sound, alongside goombay. Ancestral traditions carried from West and Central Africa endure in Obeah spiritual practice and bush medicine, and older ring-play and quadrille survive in the family islands.
So is the Bahamas actually green? The measured answer
What is working: land protected at 34.6%.
What is not: sea protected at 7.7% against a 30% mark, renewable electricity at 0.5% against a 100% mark.
How the Bahamas Ranks, region and world.
Where Bahamas sits on the Eco Index, against its Caribbean neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
How does Bahamas compare in Caribbean?
1Dominica72
2Belize70
4Jamaica67
5Grenada62
Scored Caribbean destinations, Eco Index.
The global top 10 of the 77 destinations scored
1Switzerland78
2France78
3Finland77
4Slovenia77
5Australia77
6Portugal75
7Germany75
8New Zealand75
9Italy73
10Spain73
Bahamas sits 54 of 77 at 62/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking
What is Bahamas particularly good at?
✓ Water, scored 4/5. The Bahamas manufactures most of the capital's drinking water from the sea. The Water and Sewerage Corporation states that its reverse osmosis plant provides 90 per cent of the water used in New Providence, and that it no longer barges water into the capital.
✓ Conservation, scored 4/5. The Bahamas is the strongest protector in the region and it has the best origin story. 34.6 per cent of land was protected in 2024, nearly double Jamaica's, and 7.7 per cent of territorial waters, the only island here above one per cent. There are more than 30 national parks and reserves across 16 islands, managed by the Bahamas National Trust.
✓ Wildlife, scored 4/5. The Bahama oriole is endangered on the IUCN Red List, downlisted from critically endangered in the 2021 assessment, and now found only on Andros. The Bahamas National Trust has put it at fewer than 300 left in the world, and early estimates of 141 to 254 individuals drove the IUCN listing, though later distance sampling in northern North Andros estimated substantially more within the study area. Its threats are unusually specific: lethal yellowing killing the introduced coconut palms it prefers for breeding, the arrival of the brood parasitic shiny cowbird, and clearance of native coppice.
Where does Bahamas score worst?
✕ Organic farming, scored 1/5. There is very little soil to farm. Agricultural land is 1.3 per cent of the land area and agriculture is 0.51 per cent of GDP, both among the lowest in the region, because the islands are limestone.
✕ Energy, scored 1/5. The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023. Per-person emissions are about 7.4 tonnes of CO2, high for the region and tied to fuel imports, tourism and cooling demand across many islands. The government has set renewable targets for the late 2020s and 2030s and some solar is being added, but progress has been slow and the grid remains overwhelmingly fossil-based. As a highly climate-vulnerable archipelago still reliant on fossil fuels, it sits in the lower band.
✕ Food and farming, scored 2/5. This is the starkest figure in our whole Caribbean coverage, and it is verified twice over, once by the US Department of Commerce and once by a serving Bahamian minister on the record. The Bahamas imports nearly 90 per cent of its food, at a cost of around US$1 billion a year.
A note from the lens of mother natureSwipe
Organic farming, 1/5
There is very little soil to farm. Agricultural land is 1.3 per cent of the land area and agriculture is 0.51 per cent of GDP, both among the lowest in the region, because the islands are limestone.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Bahamas's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Energy, 1/5
The Bahamas depends almost entirely on imported oil and gas for power, with renewables supplying under 1 per cent of electricity generation in 2023. Per-person emissions are about 7.4 tonnes of CO2, high for the region and tied to fuel imports, tourism and cooling demand across many islands.
Food and farming, 2/5
This is the starkest figure in our whole Caribbean coverage, and it is verified twice over, once by the US Department of Commerce and once by a serving Bahamian minister on the record. The Bahamas imports nearly 90 per cent of its food, at a cost of around US$1 billion a year.
The Bahamas Directory.
Everything on Hold The Throne that sits in Bahamas, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Bahamas
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Forest cover
50.9
World Bank, 2024.
Protected land
34.6
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
7.7
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable grid
0.48
World Bank, 2021.
CO2 per person
3.6 tonnes (2024)
World Bank, 2024.
Threatened species
40
Recorded figure, sourced on this page.
Control of corruption
69.1 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Government effectiveness
65.6 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Rule of law
62.4 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Political stability
83.5 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Voice and accountability
69.3 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Environmental Performance Index
45.0 / 100 · 68 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 68 of 177 countries assessed.
Ecosystem vitality
44.2 / 100 · 84 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 84 of 177 countries assessed.
Biodiversity and habitat
38.6 / 100 · 105 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 105 of 177 countries assessed.
Air quality
77.8 / 100 · 18 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 18 of 177 countries assessed.
Terrestrial biomes protected
82.6 / 100 · 44 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 44 of 177 countries assessed.
Marine habitat protected
11.6 / 100 · 73 of 111
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 73 of 111 countries assessed.
How the Bahamas Is Scored. The Throne Standard.
Every destination on the index is scored the same way, so a 4 in Barbados means exactly what a 4 means in Iceland. No self-declared data and no brochure claims are accepted. Seven pillars are scored from published measurements with the same fixed thresholds everywhere: energy (low-carbon share of electricity, 90% or more scores 5, 70% 4, 50% 3, 25% 2), conservation (land and sea protected), water (safe drinking water, wastewater treated, water stress), organic farmland, recycling, food import dependence and air quality. Where a measurement is not published for a place, that pillar keeps its source-assessed score and is labelled as such. Wildlife, culture, heritage, materials and plant-based eating have no comparable measurement and are assessed from the named sources. The Eco Index is the average of the twelve pillar scores multiplied by 20. Every figure on this page carries its named source and year, and the history on each page names what empire took as plainly as it scores the present.
The 12 pillars every destination is scored on, equally weighted
01
Water
Safe drinking water, wastewater treated and water stress. Measured.
02
Food & farming
How much of the import bill is food: whether the place feeds itself. Measured.
03
Plant-based
How easy it is to eat plant-based, from documented sources.
04
Organic
Certified organic share of farmland. Measured.
05
Conservation
Land and sea legally protected, against the 30 by 30 goal. Measured.
06
Wildlife
What survives, what is endemic, what is lost, from documented sources.
07
Materials
Local natural fibres and craft, from documented sources.
08
Pollution
Air quality (PM2.5, measured) and plastics and waste policy.
09
Recycling
Share of municipal waste recycled. Measured.
10
Energy
Low-carbon share of electricity, nuclear included. Measured.
11
Culture
Living culture and community-led visits, from documented sources.
12
Heritage
What the law keeps standing, from documented sources.
What each 0 to 5 pillar score means, in plain words
0
Absent
nothing verifiable exists
1
Failing
measurably going the wrong way
2
Weak
claims outrun delivery
3
Fair
real effort, mixed results
4
Strong
genuinely good, evidence named
5
Leading
world class, and the trend holds
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 103 sources across 44 institutions
World Bank16 FIGURES
- forest cover 50.9%, 2023
- Forest area (% of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2023 check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of land) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2025 check
- Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, 2025 check
- Renewable electricity output (% of total) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, 2021 check
- CO2 emissions per capita EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, 2024 check
- GDP (current US$) NY.GDP.MKTP.CD, 2024 check
- International tourist arrivals ST.INT.ARVL, 2020 check
- Agricultural land (% of land area) AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, 2023 check
- Arable land (% of land area) AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, 2023 check
- Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS, 2024 check
- Renewable internal freshwater per capita (m3) ER.H2O.INTR.PC, 2022 check
- Overweight prevalence, adults (%) SH.STA.OWAD.ZS, 2022 check
- Central government debt (% of GDP) GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS, 2024 check
- Population total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 check
- What a Waste 2.0 country-level dataset check
World Bank World Development Indicators12 FIGURES
- Food imports (% of merchandise imports), Bahamas (compiled from UN Comtrade), One useful lesson in reading statistics: food is only 19.96 per cent of Bahamian merchandise imports, the lowe check
- Food imports (% of merchandise imports), Bahamas (compiled from UN Comtrade) corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Bahamas (from UNEP-WCMC World Database on Protected Areas), 34.6 per cent of land was protected in 2024, nearly double Jamaica's, and 7.7 per cent of territorial waters check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Bahamas (from UNEP-WCMC World Database on Protected Areas) corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Bahamas (from UNEP-WCMC World Database on Protected Areas) corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Bahamas (from UNEP-WCMC World Database on Protected Areas) corroboration check
- Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total), Bahamas, As a highly climate-vulnerable archipelago still reliant on fossil fuels, it sits in the lower band. check
- Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total), Bahamas corroboration check
- Electricity production from oil, gas and coal sources (% of total), Bahamas corroboration check
- Government expenditure on education (% of GDP), Bahamas (source data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics), Public spending on education runs at 2.7% of GDP and 10.6% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment check
- Government expenditure on education (% of GDP), Bahamas (source data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics) corroboration check
- Government expenditure on education (% of GDP), Bahamas (source data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics) corroboration check
GBIF species service11 FIGURES
- IUCN Red List category for Eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill turtle), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (turtle). check
- IUCN Red List category for Eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill turtle) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill turtle) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Pristis pectinata (smalltooth sawfish), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray). check
- IUCN Red List category for Pristis pectinata (smalltooth sawfish) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Pristis pectinata (smalltooth sawfish) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Pristis pectinata (smalltooth sawfish) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Bahamas in GBIF occurrence data (coral). check
- IUCN Red List category for Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral) corroboration check
- IUCN Red List category for Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral) corroboration check
Bahamas National Trust6 FIGURES
Government of The Bahamas6 FIGURES
- Environmental Protection (Control of Plastic Pollution) Act 2019 check
- transformed landfill to start recycling check
- Music. check
- Overview of The Bahamas, Seven hundred islands, blue holes and the world's third largest barrier reef check
- Overview of The Bahamas corroboration check
- Overview of The Bahamas corroboration check
The Tribune (Nassau)4 FIGURES
- UNESCO adds Junkanoo to Intangible Cultural Heritage list, 6 December 2023, Junkanoo was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 5 check
- UNESCO adds Junkanoo to Intangible Cultural Heritage list, 6 December 2023 corroboration check
- UNESCO adds Junkanoo to Intangible Cultural Heritage list, 6 December 2023 corroboration check
- UNESCO adds Junkanoo to Intangible Cultural Heritage list, 6 December 2023 corroboration check
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC3 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Bahamas, 2025 (29.8%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, marine Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_MRN_MPA, Bahamas, 2025 (30.2%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_FRHWTR, Bahamas, 2025 (0%), country-reported check
Other published sources3 FIGURES
- Among the lowest; Turks and Caicos 1.05% and Suriname 0.45% are lower on agricultural land, and Aruba 0.04%, Curacao 0.28%, Turks and Caicos 0.35% and Cayman 0.45% are lower on agriculture's share of GDP check
- Creative Nassau (the Bahamian non-profit that made the application), Nassau joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Crafts and Folk Art in 2014, on the strength of check
- Creative Nassau (the Bahamian non-profit that made the application) corroboration check
FAO2 FIGURES
- FAOSTAT Production: Crops and livestock products, Americas bulk file (domain QCL), By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Bahamas are sugarcane, pomelos and grapefruits, bananas and tomatoes (F check
- FAOSTAT Production: Crops and livestock products, Americas bulk file (domain QCL) corroboration check
FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment2 FIGURES
The Tribune2 FIGURES
bahamas.com and SWOT1 FIGURE
- natural phenomena
CBD1 FIGURE
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3 check
Constitute Project1 FIGURE
- Bahamas (The) 1973 check
Creative Nassau1 FIGURE
- straw work check
Discover Bahamas1 FIGURE
- Androsia Batik of Andros Island. check
Endangered1 FIGURE
- BirdLife International 2021 assessment check
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide1 FIGURE
- Bahamas select plastic laws check
Eye Witness News1 FIGURE
- Minister Clay Sweeting on food security at Expo 2020 Dubai check
FAO GIEWS Country Brief1 FIGURE
- The Bahamas (agriculture and food imports) check
Grand Bahama Museum1 FIGURE
- plaiting and thatching check
IFES ElectionGuide1 FIGURE
- Bahamas elections and chambers check
IUCN Red List1 FIGURE
- Mongabay, threatened species ~40 (11 CR + 15 EN + 14 VU), 2019
National Art Gallery of The Bahamas1 FIGURE
- The Straw Paradox check
Our World in Data (Ember and Energy Institute)1 FIGURE
- Share of electricity from renewables, 2023. check
Our World in Data (Global Carbon Project)1 FIGURE
- CO2 emissions per capita, 2023. check
Price et al.1 FIGURE
- Bahama oriole population assessment check
Schaffer1 FIGURE
- Carr, Day and Pateman, Lucayan Taino burials from Preacher's Cave, Eleuthera check
Seminole Tribune1 FIGURE
- life in Red Bays check
The Bahamas Guide (Dept of Agriculture)1 FIGURE
- local staples
The Bahamian Project1 FIGURE
- plaiting on Long Island check
UN Comtrade1 FIGURE
- Bahamas annual HS exports by chapter, 2023, The largest single export, mineral fuels and oils, is 24.6% of the total (2023, UN Comtrade). check
UN Protocol and Liaison Service1 FIGURE
- Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 20 October 2026 check
UN Statistics Division, Energy Balances1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Bahamas, 2024 (0.47%), modelled estimate check
UNESCO1 FIGURE
- Junkanoo check
UNESCO Creative Cities Network1 FIGURE
- Nassau City of Crafts and Folk Art check
UNFCCC1 FIGURE
- NDC Registry check
Water and Sewerage Corporation1 FIGURE
- Government of The Bahamas check
WHO/UNICEF JMP1 FIGURE
- World Bank, drinking water 99.0% (at least basic), 2019
World Bank EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS1 FIGURE
- renewable electricity 0.5%, 2021
World Bank Open Data1 FIGURE
- agriculture, protected areas and trade indicators check