$1 - 1.00 (February 1997;
fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

@The Bahamas:Communications

Telephones: 119,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
domestic : totally automatic system; highly developed
international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3
coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 200,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 60,000 (1993 est.)

@The Bahamas:Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 2,450 km
paved: 1,406 km
unpaved: 1,044 km (1995 est.)

Ports and harbors: Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau

Merchant marine:
total: 988 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,690,478
GRT/37,428,826 DWT
ships by type: bulk 176, cargo 205, chemical tanker 41, combination
bulk 7, combination ore/oil 23, container 56, liquefied gas tanker 21,
oil tanker 184, passenger 47, refrigerated cargo 150, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 53, short-sea passenger 11, vehicle carrier 14
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 46 countries
among which are Norway 157, Greece 146, UK 128, US 69, Denmark 51,
Sweden 34, Finland 32, Belgium 29, Japan 27, and Monaco 27; Bahamas
owns 10 additional ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 256,379 DWT that
operate under Panamanian and Cypriot registry (1996 est.)

Airports: 54 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total : 47
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 17 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 7 (1996 est.)

Military

Military branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only),
Royal Bahamas Police Force

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: NA

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males : NA

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $20 million (FY95/96)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.8% (FY95/96)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for
US and Europe; banking industry vulnerable to money-laundering
______________________________________________________________________

BAHRAIN

@Bahrain:Geography

Location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi
Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
tot