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.
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.
Structure of the population
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% 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 0.21Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 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
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% 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 1.16Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 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
Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Crude Migration change (per 1000)Total fertility rateInfant mortality rate 1935 64,0002,0001,121 87931.317.513.7 1936 66,0001,9021,056 84628.816.012.8 17,5 1937 67,0002,084 9141,17031.113.617.5 -2,6 1938 67,0002,0201,096 92430.116.413.8 -13,8 1939 68,0002,0401,066 97430.015.714.3 0.4 1940 70,0002,1851,0521,13331.215.016.2 12.4 1941 71,0002,312 9201,39232.613.019.6 -5.5 1942 72,0002,4091,0111,39833.514.019.4 -5.5 1943 70,0002,5021,0431,45935.714.920.8 -49.5 1944 69,0002,4851,1031,38236.016.020.0 -34.5 1945 71,0002,1741,326 84830.618.711.9 16.3 1946 73,0002,2081,0021,20630.213.716.5 10.9 1947 74,0002,415 9871,42832.613.319.3 -5.9 1948 76,0002,5391,0291,51033.413.519.9 6.4 1949 77,0002,6461,0521,59434.413.720.7 -7.7 1950 79,0002,5321,1431,38932.114.517.6 7.7 1951 80,0002,739 9631,77634.212.022.2 -9.7 1952 81,0002,714 9591,75533.511.821.7 -9.4 1953 83,0003,056 9032,15336.810.925.9 -1.8 1954 86,0003,410 8442,56639.79.829.8 5,1 1955 89,0002,844 8571,98732.09.622.3 11.5 1956 92,0003,290 8492,44135.89.226.5 6.1 1957 96,0003,1267642,36232.68.024.6 17.1 1958 100,0003,0291,0951,93430.311.019.3 20.7 1959 104,0003,1541,0002,15430.39.620.7 17.8 1960 110,0003,359 8052,55430.57.323.2 31.3 1961 115,0003,7341,0242,71032.58.923.6 19.9 1962 121,0003,468 8212,64728.76.821.9 27.7 1963 127,0004,5841,0303,55435.88.027.8 19.4 1964 134,0004,805 9873,81835.97.428.5 23.7 1965 140,0004,4391,0983,34131.77.823.9 19 1966 146,0004,5731,0673,50631.17.323.9 17.2 1967 153,0004,2751,2123,06327.97.920.0 25.8 1968 159,0004,2201,0233,19726.56.420.1 17.6 1969 164,0004,3061,0973,20926.16.619.4 11.1 1970 169,0004,2621,0543,20825.16.218.9 10.7 1971 174,0005,334 9484,38630.75.425.2 3.5 1972 178,0004,7451,1153,63026.76.320.4 2.1 1973 181,0004,4191,1093,31024.36.118.2 -1.6 1974 185,0004,3821,0323,35023.75.618.1 3.5 1975 189,0004,0331,1062,92721.35.915.5 5.7 1976 193,0005,295 9764,31927.45.122.4 -1.7 1977 197,0004,8711,0673,80424.75.419.3 1 1978 202,0004,3621,0773,28521.75.416.3 8.5 1979 206,0004,8091,2113,59823.35.917.5 1.9 1980 211,0005,0351,3383,69724.06.417.6 6.1 1981 215,0005,2511,1274,12424.45.219.2 -0.6 1982 220,0005,2931,1854,10824.25.418.8 3.9 1983 225,0005,2801,1044,17623.64.918.6 3.6 1984 230,0005,1771,1504,02722.65.017.6 4.1 1985 235,0005,5841,3414,24324.05.818.2 3.1 1986 239,0004,7701,4073,36320.05.914.1 2.6 1987 243,0004,3311,3762,95517.95.712.2 4.3 1988 248,0004,9431,3193,62420.15.414.7 5.5 1989 252,0004,9711,4593,51219.95.814.0 1.9 1990 256,0006,1171,3434,77423.95.218.6 -3 1991 261,0006,1921,3354,85723.75.118.6 0.6 1992 266,0006,7591,4625,29725.45.519.9 -1.1 1993 271,0006,6741,4935,18124.65.519.1 -0.6 1994 276,0006,1041,5384,56622.15.616.6 1.5 1995 280,0006,2531,6384,61522.35.816.5 -2.2 19.0 1996 284,0005,9131,5374,37620.85.415.4 -1.3 18.4 1997 287,0006,0221,6704,35221.05.815.2 -4.7 16.4 1998 290,0005,8801,8004,08020.36.214.1 -3.8 14.0 1999 293,0005,3671,6443,72318.35.612.7 -2.5 15.8 2000 298,0005,2871,8253,46217.86.111.6 5.2 14.8 2001 303,0005,3531,6093,74417.75.312.4 4.1 12.7 2002 309,0005,2161,8273,38916.95.911.0 8.4 16.7 2003 316,0005,0541,7303,32416.05.510.5 11.7 17.2 2004 322,0005,1541,6553,49916.15.111.0 7.6 17.3 2005 328,3205,5481,8243,72417.15.611.5 7.72.0519.6 2006 333,0605,2961,7303,56616.05.210.8 3.41.9318.1 2007 337,9205,8541,7984,05617.55.412.1 2.3 2.1417.6 2008 342,8305,4801,8633,61716.25.510.7 3.62.0017.9 2009 347,7805,3481,9813,36715.65.79.9 4.32.0321.1 2010 351,4615,0492,0233,02614.45.88.6 1.91.9419.8 2011 357,7505,0002,1272,87314.05.98.1 9.51.6916.2 2012 362,5904,3451,9372,40812.05.36.7 6.61.7619.1 2013 367,4303,9352,0621,87310.75.65.1 8.11.7322.7 2014 372,3804,1552,1322,02311.35.85.5 7.81.6919.4 2015 373,6304,2532,2432,01011.56.15.4 -2.11.5720.6 2016 378,0404,0932,2881,80511.06.14.9 6.81.5016.0 2017 382,4604,0172,3721,64510.76.34.4 7.2 1.47 2018 386,8704,2862,491 1,79511.26.4 4.6 1.81.55 2019 391,2604,2212,639 1,58211.06.7 47.21.51 2020 395,6404,3163,016 1,30011.17.6 3.3 7.81.53 2021 400,0003,6183,649-319.29.1-0.1 111.26 2022 3,3008.31.15
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.)
PeriodLife expectancy in YearsPeriodLife expectancy in Years1950–195560.01985–199070.21955–196062.01990–199571.11960–196563.71995–200071.71965–197065.22000–200573.21970–197566.62005–201074.31975–198067.92010–201575.11980–198569.1 Source: UN World Population Prospects
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. 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. One overview estimate places the number of speakers of Bahamian Creole at around 250,000.
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).
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. 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).
Religion
In the 2010 census, the three principal religious denominations were Baptist, Anglican and Roman Catholic. 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.
+ Religious affiliation in the Bahamas, 2010 and 2022 censuses Denomination / affiliation 2010 census (number) 2010 (%) 2022 census (number)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. 2022 (%) Change (pp)Percentages in the table are calculated from total population counts in each census year (351,461 in 2010; 398,165 in 2022). 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
External links – Commonwealth of The Bahamas Department of Statistics The Bahamas profile – Caribbean Community Statistics