Economic overview: The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. A slowdown in the expansion of the tourism sector - especially stopover travel from Europe - led to a reduction in the country's GDP growth rate in 1995, down to an estimated 2% from 3.5% in 1994. The construction sector benefited from hotel rehabilitation and the government's ongoing housing development program. Earnings from exports of vegetable and citrus production have been decreasing since 1993 but are expected to increase in 1996 due to storm damage to crops in Florida. The overall growth prospects through 1996 will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued income growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visits.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.8 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $18,700 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 35% services: 62% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1994)
Labor force: 136,900 (1993) by occupation: government 30%, tourism 40%, business services 10%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $665 million
expenditures: $725 million, including capital expenditures of $94
million (FY95/96 est.)
Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe