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1 [1] (June 2, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedmr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congress onal Research Service Updated June 2, 2021 The Bahamas: An Overview Political and Economic Environment The Bahamas, a Caribbean nation of some 700 islands off the southeast coast of the United States, has been a stable parliamentary democracy since its independence from the United Kingdom (UK) in 1973. The country's bicameral legislature has a 39-seat House of Assembly directly elected for five-year terms and a 16-member appointed Senate. Since independence, two political parties have alternated in power, the center-left Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and the center-right Free National Movement (FNM). The PLP was formed in 1953 as an opposition party to the United Bahamian Party (UBP), which governed the Bahamas when the country was under British rule. In 1967, the PLP won control of the government and oversaw the country's independence from the UK. It ruled continuously from 1967 until 1992 under the leadership of Lynden Pindling, commonly referred to as the father of the nation. The FNM was formed in 1971 by former members of the UBP and dissidents from the PLP. Under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham, the FNM won the 1992 general elections, governing until 2002. The PLP returned to power in 2002 under the leadership of Perry Christie, lost in 2007 to the FNM, still led by Hubert Ingraham, and won again in 2012, with Perry Christie as prime minister. Current Prime Minister Hubert Minnis led the FNM to victory in the May 2017 elections, capturing 35 House of Assembly seats, compared to 4 for the PLP. The country's stagnant economy, along with rising crime and controversies associated with the Chinese-financed Baha Mar resort in the capital of Nassau, led to the PLP's thrashing at the polls. The country's next national elections are due by May 2022. Since 2019, the Bahamas has faced two major challenges: recovery and reconstruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian that struck in September 2019, and response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Hurricane Dorian caused widespread damage to the northwestern Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, with 74 confirmed deaths and many more missing. An Inter-American Development Bank-led assessment estimated $3.4 billion in damages and losses. The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant public health and economic impact on the Bahamas. As of June 1, 2021, the Bahamas reported 226 deaths from the virus, equivalent to a mortality rate of 59 per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University. The procurement and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has been slow compared to some countries in the region. According to the New York Times vaccination tracker, 2.2% of the population was fully vaccinated as of June 1. The Bahamas received its first batch of vaccines in early March as a donation from India, and it also has procured vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility, a mechanism developed by global health organizations to facilitate equitable vaccine distribution. The government has been working to secure additional vaccines from manufacturers. Figure 1. MaD of the Bahamas Source: CRS. The Bahamas at a Glance Population: 385,000 (2020, IMF est.) Area (square miles): 5,359, slightly smaller than Connecticut (CIA) GDP (current prices): $11.3 billion (2020 est., IMF) GDP Growth (constant 2019, 1.2%; 2020, -16.3% est.; prices): 2021, 2.0% projected (IMF) Per Capita GDP (current $29,221 (2020 est., IMF) prices): Life Expectancy: 73.9 years (2019, UNDP) Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF); Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The pandemic-related economic shutdown resulted in an economic contraction of more than 16% in 2020, one of the most severe in the Caribbean, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF projects economic ess.qo

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