The best road to progress is freedom's road. - JFK
Texas
This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Bahamas, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Eighty-five percent of the Bahamian population identifies as being primarily of African heritage. About two-thirds of the population lives on New Providence Island (the location of Nassau), and about half of the remaining one-third lives on Grand Bahama (the location of Freeport).
The islands were sparsely settled and a haven for pirates until the late 18th century, when thousands of British Loyalists were given compensatory land grants following the American Revolution. Many new settlers were from the Southern United States and brought slaves with them to cultivate plantations. At the turn of the 20th century, the total population was 53,000.
School attendance is compulsory between the ages of five and 16. There are 158 public schools and 52 private schools in the Bahamas catering to more than 66,000 students. The College of the Bahamas, established in Nassau in 1974, provides programmes leading to associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees; the college is now converting from a two-year to a four-year institution.
Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (estimates):[7]
Age group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
179 850
188 540
368 390
100
0-4
16 670
15 660
32 330
8,78
5-9
16 400
15 090
31 490
8,55
10-14
14 990
14 730
29 720
8,07
15-19
15 170
15 320
30 490
8,28
20-24
14 780
15 250
30 030
8,15
25-29
13 090
13 780
26 870
7,29
30-34
12 780
13 000
25 780
7,00
35-39
13 100
13 720
26 820
7,28
40-44
13 480
14 480
27 960
7,59
45-49
12 890
13 860
26 750
7,26
50-54
11 760
12 570
24 330
6,60
55-59
8 670
9 570
18 240
4,95
60-64
6 030
6 830
12 860
3,49
65-69
4 260
5 080
9 340
2,54
70-74
3 030
3 860
6 890
1,87
75-79
1 800
2 480
4 280
1,16
80-84
586
1 747
2 333
0,63
85-89
243
873
1 116
0,30
90+
121
640
761
0,21
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0-14
48 060
45 480
93 540
25,39
15-64
121 750
128 380
250 130
67,90
65+
10 040
14 680
24 720
6,71
Ethnic groups
According to the 2010 census, the vast majority of the population identify as African (90.6%), or mixed African with other races (2.7%).[8] 5.1% of the population is European, 0.4% Asian and 0.2% East Indian. Native Bahamians are not a racially exclusive group; numerous Afro-Bahamians also have European ancestry but identify as Afro-Bahamian. According to a 2011 genetics study of the Bahamas, more than 75% of all Bahamian lineages have mixed African and European ancestry, in varying proportions.[9]
Baptist 35.1%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.4%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 1.6%, Buddhism 2%, other 0.7% [1]