Demographics of the Bahamas

Bahamas population pyramid in 2020

This is a demography 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.

Census population and average annual growth rate
YearPop.±% p.a.
184526,491—    
185127,519+0.64%
186135,487+2.58%
187139,162+0.99%
188143,521+1.06%
189147,565+0.89%
190153,735+1.23%
191155,944+0.40%
192153,031−0.53%
193159,828+1.21%
194368,846+1.18%
195384,841+2.11%
1963130,220+4.38%
1970168,812+3.78%
1980209,505+2.18%
1990255,049+1.99%
2000303,611+1.76%
2010351,461+1.47%
2022399,314+1.07%
Source:[1]

Ninety percent of the Bahamian population identifies as being primarily of African ancestry. 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 5 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.

Demographics of Bahamas, data of FAO, year 2005; number of inhabitants in thousands

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2013) (Because of rounding, totals are not in all cases the sum of the respective components.):[2]
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
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2019) (Data based on the 2010 Population Census.): [3]
Age group Male Female Total %
Total 186 480 198 860 385 340 100
0–4 14 910 14 150 29 060 7.54
5–9 14 290 14 070 28 360 7.36
10–14 15 800 16 100 31 900 8.28
15–19 15 860 16 230 32 090 8.33
20–24 15 760 15 890 31 650 8.21
25–29 15 040 14 980 30 020 7.79
30–34 12 960 13 530 26 490 6.87
35–39 12 980 14 410 27 390 7.11
40–44 13 490 14 670 28 160 7.31
45–49 13 630 15 020 28 650 7.43
50–54 11 970 13 170 25 140 6.52
55–59 10 670 12 000 22 670 5.88
60–64 7 370 8 900 16 270 4.22
65-69 4 870 5 950 10 820 2.81
70-74 3 200 4 090 7 290 1.89
75-79 2 020 2 890 4 910 1.27
80+ 1 660 2 810 4 470 1.16
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 45 000 44 320 89 320 23.20
15–64 129 730 138 800 268 530 69.69
65+ 11 750 15 740 27 490 7.13

Vital statistics

[4][5][6]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate[6] Infant mortality rate[7]
1935 64,000 2,000 1,121 879 31.3 17.5 13.7
1936 66,000 1,902 1,056 846 28.8 16.0 12.8
1937 67,000 2,084 914 1,170 31.1 13.6 17.5
1938 67,000 2,020 1,096 924 30.1 16.4 13.8
1939 68,000 2,040 1,066 974 30.0 15.7 14.3
1940 70,000 2,185 1,052 1,133 31.2 15.0 16.2
1941 71,000 2,312 920 1,392 32.6 13.0 19.6
1942 72,000 2,409 1,011 1,398 33.5 14.0 19.4
1943 70,000 2,502 1,043 1,459 35.7 14.9 20.8
1944 69,000 2,485 1,103 1,382 36.0 16.0 20.0
1945 71,000 2,174 1,326 848 30.6 18.7 11.9
1946 73,000 2,208 1,002 1,206 30.2 13.7 16.5
1947 74,000 2,415 987 1,428 32.6 13.3 19.3
1948 76,000 2,539 1,029 1,510 33.4 13.5 19.9
1949 77,000 2,646 1,052 1,594 34.4 13.7 20.7
1950 79,000 2,532 1,143 1,389 32.1 14.5 17.6
1951 80,000 2,739 963 1,776 34.2 12.0 22.2
1952 81,000 2,714 959 1,755 33.5 11.8 21.7
1953 83,000 3,056 903 2,153 36.8 10.9 25.9
1954 86,000 3,410 844 2,566 39.7 9.8 29.8
1955 89,000 2,844 857 1,987 32.0 9.6 22.3
1956 92,000 3,290 849 2,441 35.8 9.2 26.5
1957 96,000 3,126 764 2,362 32.6 8.0 24.6
1958 100,000 3,029 1,095 1,934 30.3 11.0 19.3
1959 104,000 3,154 1,000 2,154 30.3 9.6 20.7
1960 110,000 3,359 805 2,554 30.5 7.3 23.2
1961 115,000 3,734 1,024 2,710 32.5 8.9 23.6
1962 121,000 3,468 821 2,647 28.7 6.8 21.9
1963 127,000 4,584 1,030 3,554 35.8 8.0 27.8
1964 134,000 4,805 987 3,818 35.9 7.4 28.5
1965 140,000 4,439 1,098 3,341 31.7 7.8 23.9
1966 146,000 4,573 1,067 3,506 31.1 7.3 23.9
1967 153,000 4,275 1,212 3,063 27.9 7.9 20.0
1968 159,000 4,220 1,023 3,197 26.5 6.4 20.1
1969 164,000 4,306 1,097 3,209 26.1 6.6 19.4
1970 169,000 4,262 1,054 3,208 25.1 6.2 18.9
1971 174,000 5,334 948 4,386 30.7 5.4 25.2
1972 178,000 4,745 1,115 3,630 26.7 6.3 20.4
1973 181,000 4,419 1,109 3,310 24.3 6.1 18.2
1974 185,000 4,382 1,032 3,350 23.7 5.6 18.1
1975 189,000 4,033 1,106 2,927 21.3 5.9 15.5
1976 193,000 5,295 976 4,319 27.4 5.1 22.4
1977 197,000 4,871 1,067 3,804 24.7 5.4 19.3
1978 202,000 4,362 1,077 3,285 21.7 5.4 16.3
1979 206,000 4,809 1,211 3,598 23.3 5.9 17.5
1980 211,000 5,035 1,338 3,697 24.0 6.4 17.6
1981 215,000 5,251 1,127 4,124 24.4 5.2 19.2
1982 220,000 5,293 1,185 4,108 24.2 5.4 18.8
1983 225,000 5,280 1,104 4,176 23.6 4.9 18.6
1984 230,000 5,177 1,150 4,027 22.6 5.0 17.6
1985 235,000 5,584 1,341 4,243 24.0 5.8 18.2
1986 239,000 4,770 1,407 3,363 20.0 5.9 14.1
1987 243,000 4,331 1,376 2,955 17.9 5.7 12.2
1988 248,000 4,943 1,319 3,624 20.1 5.4 14.7
1989 252,000 4,971 1,459 3,512 19.9 5.8 14.0
1990 256,000 6,117 1,343 4,774 23.9 5.2 18.6
1991 261,000 6,192 1,335 4,857 23.7 5.1 18.6
1992 266,000 6,759 1,462 5,297 25.4 5.5 19.9
1993 271,000 6,674 1,493 5,181 24.6 5.5 19.1
1994 276,000 6,104 1,538 4,566 22.1 5.6 16.6
1995 280,000 6,253 1,638 4,615 22.3 5.8 16.5 19.0
1996 284,000 5,913 1,537 4,376 20.8 5.4 15.4 18.4
1997 287,000 6,022 1,670 4,352 21.0 5.8 15.2 16.4
1998 290,000 5,880 1,800 4,080 20.3 6.2 14.1 14.0
1999 293,000 5,367 1,644 3,723 18.3 5.6 12.7 15.8
2000 298,000 5,287 1,825 3,462 17.8 6.1 11.6 14.8
2001 303,000 5,353 1,609 3,744 17.7 5.3 12.4 12.7
2002 309,000 5,216 1,827 3,389 16.9 5.9 11.0 16.7
2003 316,000 5,054 1,730 3,324 16.0 5.5 10.5 17.2
2004 322,000 5,154 1,655 3,499 16.1 5.1 11.0 17.3
2005 328,320 5,548 1,824 3,724 17.1 5.6 11.5 2.05 19.6
2006 333,060 5,296 1,730 3,566 16.0 5.2 10.8 1.93 18.1
2007 337,920 5,854 1,798 4,056 17.5 5.4 12.1 2.14 17.6
2008 342,830 5,480 1,863 3,617 16.2 5.5 10.7 2.00 17.9
2009 347,780 5,348 1,981 3,367 15.6 5.7 9.9 2.03 21.1
2010 351,461 5,049 2,023 3,026 14.4 5.8 8.6 1.94 19.8
2011 357,750 5,000 2,127 2,873 14.0 5.9 8.1 1.69 16.2
2012 362,590 4,345 1,937 2,408 12.0 5.3 6.7 1.76 19.1
2013 367,430 3,935 2,062 1,873 10.7 5.6 5.1 1.73 22.7
2014 372,380 4,155 2,132 2,023 11.3 5.8 5.5 1.69 19.4
2015 373,630 4,253 2,243 2,010 11.5 6.1 5.4 1.57 20.6
2016 378,040 4,093 2,288 1,805 11.0 6.1 4.9 1.50 16.0
2017 382,460 4,017 2,372 1,645 10.7 6.3 4.4 1.42
2018 386,870 4,286[8] 2,491 11.2[8] 6.4
2019 391,260 4,221[8] 2,639 11.0[8] 6.7
2020 395,640 4,316[8] 3,016 11.1[8] 7.6
2021 400,000 3,618[8] 3,649 9.2[8] 9.1
2022 3,300[8] 8.3[8]

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.13 years. Country comparison to the world: 107th

male: 73.2 years female: 79.14 years (2022 est.)

Period Life expectancy in

Years

Period Life expectancy in

Years

1950–1955 60.0 1985–1990 70.2
1955–1960 62.0 1990–1995 71.1
1960–1965 63.7 1995–2000 71.7
1965–1970 65.2 2000–2005 73.2
1970–1975 66.6 2005–2010 74.3
1975–1980 67.9 2010–2015 75.1
1980–1985 69.1

Source: UN World Population Prospects[9]

miljoenjaar501001502002503003504001920194019601980200020202040populationBahamas Population
View source data.
%year051015202530192019401960198020002020natural growthBahamas Natural Growth
View source data.

Ethnic groups

African descent 90.6%, White 4.7%, mixed 2.1%, other 1.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2010 est.) note: data represents population by racial group

Languages

English is the official language of the Bahamas and is the primary language of government, education and public life.[10] In everyday speech, however, many Bahamians use a range of local varieties often referred to locally as “Bahamian dialect”, which linguists describe as involving both Bahamian English and an English-lexifier creole, Bahamian Creole (BahC), existing along a continuum rather than as fully separate “either/or” codes.[11] One overview estimate places the number of speakers of Bahamian Creole at around 250,000.[12]

In historical perspective, Bahamian English have been shaped both by long-standing ties to British English through colonization and by unusually close links with the United States. American influence (via mass media, tourism, education, and mobility) has been repeatedly noted in educated usage, while Bahamian Creole shows particularly strong North American connections (including links to creole varieties of the coastal American South and migration-era transmission).[11]

Language diversity in the modern Bahamas is also affected by immigration. Haitian migration since the 1960s has brought Haitian Creole and French into wider use, and Haitian Creole is widely spoken within Haitian communities in the Bahamas.[11] A 2005 migration study prepared for the International Organization for Migration by The College of The Bahamas documented extensive use of "Creole" in fieldwork with Haitian migrants (including Creole-language interview instruments and high reported Creole speaking ability among respondents).[13]

Religion

Main article: Religion in the Bahamas

In the 2010 census, the three principal religious denominations were Baptist, Anglican and Roman Catholic.[14] In the 2022 census, the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) reported a shift: the three largest groups were Baptist, Anglican and non-denominational (tabulated in the census tables within Other Christian Denomination (including non-denominational groups)), with Roman Catholic ranking fourth among the major denominations.[15]

Religious affiliation in the Bahamas, 2010 and 2022 censuses[14][15]
Denomination / affiliation 2010 census (number) 2010 (%) 2022 census (number)[16] 2022 (%) Change (pp)[17]
Baptist 122,500 34.9 135,875 34.1 -0.7
Anglican 48,006 13.7 47,456 11.9 -1.7
Other Christian denominations (including non-denominational groups) 41,214 11.7 35,296 8.9 -2.9
Roman Catholic 42,287 12.0 34,749 8.7 -3.3
Pentecostal 31,358 8.9 31,971 8.0 -0.9
Seventh-day Adventist 15,441 4.4 17,502 4.4 0.0
Church of God (including Church of God of Prophecy) 6,732 1.9 19,663 4.9 +3.0
Methodist 12,512 3.6 10,996 2.8 -0.8
Brethren 5,781 1.6 5,823 1.5 -0.2
Jehovah's Witnesses 3,762 1.1 4,225 1.1 0.0
Assemblies of God 2,397 0.7 3,722 0.9 +0.3
African Methodist Episcopal Church — — 1,043 0.3 —
Presbyterian 728 0.2 916 0.2 0.0
Lutheran 376 0.1 501 0.1 0.0
Greek Orthodox 447 0.1 356 <0.1 0.0
Latter-day Saints 301 <0.1 182 <0.1 0.0
Rastafarian 790 0.2 1,139 0.3 +0.1
Islam (Muslim) 306 <0.1 336 <0.1 0.0
Hindu 428 0.1 296 <0.1 0.0
Judaism (Jewish) 191 <0.1 190 <0.1 0.0
Baháʼí Faith 65 <0.1 70 <0.1 0.0
Other non-Christian religions 228 <0.1 1,813 0.5 +0.4
None 6,561 1.9 24,677 6.2 +4.3
Atheist — — 293 <0.1 —
Not stated 9,050 2.6 19,075 4.8 +2.2

References

  1. ^ "2000 Round of Population and Housing Census Data Analysis Sub-project: The Bahamas" (PDF). Caricomstats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  2. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  3. ^ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  4. ^ "United Nations : Demographic Yearbooks". Unstats.unorg. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Department of Statistics of the Bahamas" (PDF). bahamas.gov.bs. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Demographic Profile of the Bahamas" (PDF). Caricomstats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Infant (Under One Year) Deaths, Bahamas, 1995-2016" (PDF). Bahamas Ministry of Health. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "LIVE BIRTHS, BAHAMAS 1993-2022" (PDF). bahamas.gov.bs. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 26, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  9. ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  10. ^ "About The Commonwealth of The Bahamas". The Embassy of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the Kingdom of Belgium. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The Bahamas). Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b c Hackert, Stephanie (2022). "The epicentre model and American influence on Bahamian Englishes" (PDF). World Englishes. 41 (3): 361–376. doi:10.1111/weng.12583. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Survey chapter: Bahamian Creole". APiCS Online (Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures). Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  13. ^ Haitian Migrants in The Bahamas 2005 (PDF) (Report). International Organisation for Migration; Prepared by The College of The Bahamas. September 2005. pp. 51, 81. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  14. ^ a b 2010 Census of Population and Housing: First Release Report (PDF) (Report). Department of Statistics (The Bahamas). August 2012. pp. 11, 79–81. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  15. ^ a b 2022 Census of Population and Housing: 2022 Census Population Highlights and Other Census Data Highlights (1st Release) (PDF) (Report). Bahamas National Statistical Institute. 12 February 2025. pp. 11–12, 84–87. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  16. ^ The 2022 census tables also list some affiliations separately (e.g., African Methodist Episcopal Church and atheist) that were not shown as separate categories in the 2010 religion table, and some labels (e.g., Church of God (including Church of God of Prophecy)) may not be strictly comparable across censuses.
  17. ^ Percentages in the table are calculated from total population counts in each census year (351,461 in 2010; 398,165 in 2022).
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_The_Bahamas