Editing The Bahamas (section)

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of the Bahamas}}
[[File:Bahamas population.svg|thumb|right|Demographics of Bahamas, data of [[FAO]]; number of inhabitants in thousands]]
The Bahamas had a population of {{UN_Population|Bahamas}} at the 2018 Census, of which 25.9 per cent were 14 or under, 67.2 per cent 15 to 64 and 6.9 per cent over 65. It has a population growth rate of 0.925 per cent (2010), with a birth rate of 17.81/1,000 population, death rate of 9.35/1,000, and net migration rate of −2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html#top Country Comparison "Total fertility rate"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028133713/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html#top |date=28 October 2009 }}, [[CIA World Factbook]].</ref> The [[infant mortality rate]] is 23.21 deaths/1,000 live births. Residents have a life expectancy at birth of 69.87 years: 73.49 years for females, 66.32 years for males. The total fertility rate is 2.0 children born/woman (2010).<ref name="cia.gov"/> The latest official estimate (as at 2022) is 400,516.

The most populous islands are [[New Providence]], where [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], the capital and largest city, is located;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/NEW%20PROVIDENCE/!ut/p/b1/vZTJcqMwFEW_JR-QIGaxFIMx8yTGjQsbQ8Bm8ATGX9-ke5PuqiSbTqSVqo7effdK9YiMSIisy8e6yq913-XHt3PGbWigWggx0FJZwAEtdE3k8mvKIVkiJhKcUne51yZV88vBuzbhNK-ukiWp1VZUDUe8lw8PNTGlR7pQ1pcbHgvhFt6cq4GvTTYWvt5Xrh3wMZXbB5iu-tJkbdvE-0zvt8JmL9hnuBPO2RG45d1PW2DKkL0lM5IcGFlhtA435LCbTaO-aSN7fT0q2i1vgrMQnjy_Qfk9ULvW2hWpeDLlOCu0Tpl9bXKO7n6HrutL1zEoL3Xv4j09LYbTxTD4YCHwVR5_7n8EMODrPLNPkbcKv4HPWvy0gkER6QLw7wAcAaCRAPkB6QFokwQmEsBsgmYetMfh4TdgvluyQtlbBMA2BDg8hzZe2VYRkIGsmySOTItPpwA7d2ymICiwW0R-KCL5BLvI_VfQobCwCEokZ4QsCADz3YIq68AlAh67iKWA6pA_LUj_aKSq64Bvd_jXp2G8__-GOpHV2_Zl2rUv4AUKHMnykBEgBxgG8kTUpBwrX7RJUfyNnpLm5cQPXlVpdXjRqnwlthBrh-ShJ1UDXS_NRURHo90WTK-iajZnD6aLn8szT52wDZmpbNzcv2TCTqIb0zcDOhxVlSr0uDcbiWKUalyv8k470XSp3lgszgd_q2-d4cZlbTIIrtkOdL-fWdVYSdVGEToQ29cDeYz31EOIc7JlqHMWdWLJ5sLZsBOr9m1-Ml5x1w5FUTCyWtVrmVqGFaZ4RYaSJjMKku96Lo3wWROhXCeHahlR9rpv98TQjobJ-etH8m7v0dMvgIXGSg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title=NEW PROVIDENCE|publisher=Government of the Bahamas|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605025124/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/NEW%20PROVIDENCE/!ut/p/b1/vZTJcqMwFEW_JR-QIGaxFIMx8yTGjQsbQ8Bm8ATGX9-ke5PuqiSbTqSVqo7effdK9YiMSIisy8e6yq913-XHt3PGbWigWggx0FJZwAEtdE3k8mvKIVkiJhKcUne51yZV88vBuzbhNK-ukiWp1VZUDUe8lw8PNTGlR7pQ1pcbHgvhFt6cq4GvTTYWvt5Xrh3wMZXbB5iu-tJkbdvE-0zvt8JmL9hnuBPO2RG45d1PW2DKkL0lM5IcGFlhtA435LCbTaO-aSN7fT0q2i1vgrMQnjy_Qfk9ULvW2hWpeDLlOCu0Tpl9bXKO7n6HrutL1zEoL3Xv4j09LYbTxTD4YCHwVR5_7n8EMODrPLNPkbcKv4HPWvy0gkER6QLw7wAcAaCRAPkB6QFokwQmEsBsgmYetMfh4TdgvluyQtlbBMA2BDg8hzZe2VYRkIGsmySOTItPpwA7d2ymICiwW0R-KCL5BLvI_VfQobCwCEokZ4QsCADz3YIq68AlAh67iKWA6pA_LUj_aKSq64Bvd_jXp2G8__-GOpHV2_Zl2rUv4AUKHMnykBEgBxgG8kTUpBwrX7RJUfyNnpLm5cQPXlVpdXjRqnwlthBrh-ShJ1UDXS_NRURHo90WTK-iajZnD6aLn8szT52wDZmpbNzcv2TCTqIb0zcDOhxVlSr0uDcbiWKUalyv8k470XSp3lgszgd_q2-d4cZlbTIIrtkOdL-fWdVYSdVGEToQ29cDeYz31EOIc7JlqHMWdWLJ5sLZsBOr9m1-Ml5x1w5FUTCyWtVrmVqGFaZ4RYaSJjMKku96Lo3wWROhXCeHahlR9rpv98TQjobJ-etH8m7v0dMvgIXGSg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Grand Bahama]], home to the second largest city of [[Freeport, Bahamas|Freeport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/GRAND%20BAHAMA/!ut/p/b1/vZTLjpswFIafZR6ggwFjnKUJCcPN3BNggyBkuAVIQgYYnr5U6mJaqdNNp7bO4ki_zqf_95GZmAmZuEvHqkgfVd-llx99jBIeKCYhEJuKABBQA9sgtvjCWazAHJnQj7hZ7tVJUd3XMjrOeqAasTelwNnTmgyDcD8_9grNottoZzjcowyOOe5K4iTbsr70vJ7H-WY-swNU4sBKfV95PTQBSoUjEEueGiZIMHqI5dkT091WJq_fMjEB8l1dvG4sy2Zx8by8WXDTmL1g6D6iub-bvA1rnG-3vpDIRSOS0itHjW086pq3q-pfThcjk8o8gRIMsbOQp6fVbLSaBX84BPw9i_hTCQQ_BZ8golUgfpjgHwBQWUBcj3UApizjMyGAiVe_X9VldV6DWfN8k6dLNIOAtcygC2jQggfdsoPscKAB3LBIlPq7d-o7C80zOz-4gURkawaN9zvQ4vzNCtyySA8E4AH41UBFsPCakejbROCAYrH_G8j_10gV2wJf7vCXpYHOv39DjYmrrH2eTu0zeMYbxAoihhuMAIRYZA51hAR5UKfdzk20iDWONAfS4JSnoFKnmyu12FebcNHCosa2F1-LturjNuav8qmAqa5N_TzP97e3VkwPXZ6dzRGBuQoVJ3EonNatrIZ-bsfRk9vtUOc2GTqY3Ctk9JEIOf6I9i4XI05_hEkT26PNqaPOow5SK-3BUU3R49EAORDuu6QatksbVTZHRjHj9OYmpWz1Ul6wJruxKByuCBI3i9R31bpoiINngeC1ChsXj_GlHmepLQmUzSeGvvTtmbm2o4FczH64fLF-Lt8BcHa2Bg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title=GRAND BAHAMA|publisher=Government of the Bahamas|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605024513/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/GRAND%20BAHAMA/!ut/p/b1/vZTLjpswFIafZR6ggwFjnKUJCcPN3BNggyBkuAVIQgYYnr5U6mJaqdNNp7bO4ki_zqf_95GZmAmZuEvHqkgfVd-llx99jBIeKCYhEJuKABBQA9sgtvjCWazAHJnQj7hZ7tVJUd3XMjrOeqAasTelwNnTmgyDcD8_9grNottoZzjcowyOOe5K4iTbsr70vJ7H-WY-swNU4sBKfV95PTQBSoUjEEueGiZIMHqI5dkT091WJq_fMjEB8l1dvG4sy2Zx8by8WXDTmL1g6D6iub-bvA1rnG-3vpDIRSOS0itHjW086pq3q-pfThcjk8o8gRIMsbOQp6fVbLSaBX84BPw9i_hTCQQ_BZ8golUgfpjgHwBQWUBcj3UApizjMyGAiVe_X9VldV6DWfN8k6dLNIOAtcygC2jQggfdsoPscKAB3LBIlPq7d-o7C80zOz-4gURkawaN9zvQ4vzNCtyySA8E4AH41UBFsPCakejbROCAYrH_G8j_10gV2wJf7vCXpYHOv39DjYmrrH2eTu0zeMYbxAoihhuMAIRYZA51hAR5UKfdzk20iDWONAfS4JSnoFKnmyu12FebcNHCosa2F1-LturjNuav8qmAqa5N_TzP97e3VkwPXZ6dzRGBuQoVJ3EonNatrIZ-bsfRk9vtUOc2GTqY3Ctk9JEIOf6I9i4XI05_hEkT26PNqaPOow5SK-3BUU3R49EAORDuu6QatksbVTZHRjHj9OYmpWz1Ul6wJruxKByuCBI3i9R31bpoiINngeC1ChsXj_GlHmepLQmUzSeGvvTtmbm2o4FczH64fLF-Lt8BcHa2Bg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Racial and ethnic groups===
According to the 99 per cent response rate obtained from the race question on the 2010 Census questionnaire, 90.6 per cent of the population identified themselves as being [[Afro-Bahamians|Black]], 4.7 per cent [[White Bahamians|White]] and 2.1 per cent of a [[Mixed ethnicity|Mixed]] (African and European).<ref name="soencouragement.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.soencouragement.org/forms/CENSUS2010084903300.pdf|title=2010 Census of Population and Housing|author=The Commonwealth of the Bahamas|quote=In 1722 when the first official census of the Bahamas was taken, 74% of the population was European or native British and 26% was [[African diaspora|African]] or mixed. Three centuries later, and according to the 99% response rate obtained from the race question on the 2010 Census questionnaire, 90.6% of the population identified themselves as being Afro-Bahamian, about five per cent (4.7%) Euro-Bahamian and two per cent (2%) of a mixed race (African and European) and (1%) other races and (1%) not stated.|pages=10 and 82|date=August 2012|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408090115/http://www.soencouragement.org/forms/CENSUS2010084903300.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Three centuries prior, in 1722 when the first official census of the Bahamas was taken, 74 per cent of the population was native European and 26 per cent native African.<ref name="soencouragement.org"/>
[[File:Gary White Visits Local Schools - Bahamas.JPG|thumb|[[Afro-Bahamians|Afro-Bahamian]] children at a local school]]
Since the colonial era of plantations, [[African diaspora|Africans]] or Afro-Bahamians have been the largest ethnic group in the Bahamas, whose primary ancestry was based in [[West Africa]]. The first Africans to arrive to the Bahamas were freed slaves from [[Bermuda]]; they arrived with the [[Eleutheran Adventurers]] looking for new lives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aiafla.org/upload_documents/CaribbeanCountriesResourceGuide.pdf|title=Caribbean Countries Resource Guide|website=aiafla.org|access-date=23 November 2020|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427004153/http://www.aiafla.org/upload_documents/CaribbeanCountriesResourceGuide.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Haitians|Haitian]] community in the Bahamas is also largely of African descent and numbers about 80,000. Due to an extremely high immigration of Haitians to the Bahamas, the Bahamian government started deporting illegal Haitian immigrants to their homeland in late 2014.<ref>Davis, Nick (20 September 2009), [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8257660.stm "Bahamas outlook clouds for Haitians"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630073227/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8257660.stm |date=30 June 2015 }}, BBC.</ref>

[[File:Bahamas 1988 (644) New Providence Creative Learning Preschool, Nassau (25181400074).jpg|thumb|[[White Bahamian]]s on the island of New Providence]]
The white Bahamian population are mainly the descendants of the [[Puritan|English Puritans]] and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|American Loyalists]] escaping the [[Revolutionary War (United States)|American Revolution]] who arrived in 1649 and 1783, respectively.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120805113249/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bhswgw/land.htm The Names of Loyalist Settlers and Grants of Land Which They Received from the British Government: 1778–1783]".</ref> Many Southern Loyalists went to the [[Abaco Islands]], half of whose population was of European descent as of 1985.<ref>Christmas, Rachel J. and Christmas, Walter (1984) ''Fielding's Bermuda and the Bahamas 1985''. Fielding Travel Books. p. 158. {{ISBN|0-688-03965-0}}</ref> The term ''white'' is usually used to identify Bahamians with Anglo ancestry, as well as some light-skinned Afro-Bahamians. Sometimes Bahamians use the term ''[[Conch (people)|Conchy Joe]]'' to describe people of Anglo descent. Generally, however, Bahamians self-identify as white or black along the lines similar to the distinction made in the US.<ref name="The Lesser-Known">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TGSgT2SyH0C|title=The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction|editor1=Schreier, Daniel|editor2=Trudgill, Peter|editor3=Schneider, Edgar W.|editor4=Williams, Jeffrey P.|page=162|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139487412|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801101604/https://books.google.com/books?id=-TGSgT2SyH0C|url-status=live}}</ref>

A small portion of the Euro-Bahamian population are [[Greek Bahamians]], descended from [[Greece|Greek]] labourers who came to help develop the sponging industry in the 1900s.<ref>Johnson, Howard (1986), "'Safeguarding our traders': The beginnings of immigration restrictions in the Bahamas, 1925–33", Immigrants and Minorities, 5 (1): 5–27,</ref> They make up less than 2 per cent of the nation's population, but have still preserved their distinct [[Greek Bahamians|Greek Bahamian]] culture.<ref>Johnson 1986</ref><ref>Crain, Edward E. (1994), Historic architecture in the Caribbean Islands, University Press of Florida</ref>

Other ethnic groups in the Bahamas include Asians and people of Spanish and Portuguese origin.<ref>[https://minorityrights.org/country/bahamas/ Bahamas – World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples]</ref>

===Religion===
{{Further|Religion in the Bahamas}}
{{Pie chart
| thumb=right
| caption=Religion in the Bahamas (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/bahamas#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015|title=Religion in Bahamas|website=Pew Global Religious Futures|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-date=16 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016214732/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/bahamas#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
| label1=[[Protestant]]
| value1=80
| color1=White
| label2=[[Roman Catholic]]
| value2=14.5
| color2=Yellow
| label3=Other Christian
| value3=1.3
| color3=Blue
| label4=Unaffiliated
| value4=3.1
| color4=Grey
| label5=Other religion
| value5=1.1
| color5=Black
}}

The islands' population is predominantly [[Christians|Christian]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> [[Protestant]] denominations collectively account for more than 70 per cent of the population, with [[Baptists]] representing 35 per cent of the population, [[Anglicans]] 15 per cent, [[Pentecostals]] 8 per cent, [[Church of God (Holiness)|Church of God]] 5 per cent, [[Seventh-day Adventists]] 5 per cent and [[Methodists]] 4 per cent. There is also a significant [[Roman Catholic]] community, which accounts for about 14 per cent.<ref name=us>{{citation-attribution|1=United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. [http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108512.htm Bahamas: International Religious Freedom Report 2008] }}</ref>

[[Jews]] in the Bahamas have a history dating back to the Columbus expeditions, where [[Luis de Torres]], an interpreter and member of Columbus' party, is believed to have been [[secretly Jewish]]. Today, there is a small community with about 200 members, according to census data, although higher estimates place this figure at 300.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas Virtual Jewish History Tour|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bahamas-virtual-jewish-history-tour|website=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102150957/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bahamas-virtual-jewish-history-tour|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas' Jewish community has a small but steady presence|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jj-opinion-gurinsky-bahamas-jewish-community-20190918-20190909-aww2u23jija7bet32nlpd764ji-story.html|website=Sun Sentinel|date=9 September 2019|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202034129/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jj-opinion-gurinsky-bahamas-jewish-community-20190918-20190909-aww2u23jija7bet32nlpd764ji-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Census">{{cite web|title=Population & Census|url=https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Key%20Statistics/Social%20Statistics/Population%20and%20Census/!ut/p/b1/vZDJkqJAEIafpR_ApliE8kghIsqOsl0IBATZN4Gup5-e5TCXHi8TnXnKiC_jy_yJgPCIoInmRxZNj7aJqp9zwIYmAqat7Gge7kUG8CzDc2hr0RLDEi7hOT6z7hl5OciX0M4T6ToKgmeSEqJU4PvKoTIipN33EZDTU7hjpSJtnvMw56kac0V66XAylk8Mn8OuzXnnbFNRppiN1UCpz3VHqdEUmXI-y2yHSidMtZpubvRGoNm1b4ago1i9gfrotaVQgoH31QiasJlRj3gDFUNW3UxytkkdcXL8OJpboWNlWu7cqjqX8KPvvXbMsRxmo8HGIUw_jHp5e_t83P98HHxRPHiVy-_9LwBwoF7nGvxCaCCpPM9AVbo4AMgk4C2bNIFOU3-Af534Lwk4kK8AivA_Ae7LMyFLXAgPMKFdfHQyLrFVYEtTr0_SFlsMSoC1snG1a3VWE4lUFXcBynWZMFLGgl_VwlLV5GgkjnVF_L4uVS16JeS-Wagz3y0kv1v43ZEy_z_SExE8bvX7Etfv4J2BDENBkgY7iuO2EBJO4bM7IZNXUbbu26C_0n1EieCqHEz3Fgn61tNNwb74ZYo3m9mf3HwNXBWP3B7B9nkMxMiuy1JXGbJnTlMsZltkQUU818WZMgc70DBlHzRUnKxWuVFgEe2xKCJvut9pOT-6T72aaOnUgS4-DHnLDUv2mMu9HD5jHempcad3RcN5Cc9w7t2SHGPexJbPJrkbrZOC8RGumIu6_qIHbWDUYsWRA7fiQkj2mfO0HZ2ODQm1ur-0yjYzDUrkLzB2HjBSR-NBaMe2Tomuns8Ka4l37e9m3n4Am6UKZw!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|website=bahamas.gov|year=2011|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202034130/https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Key%20Statistics/Social%20Statistics/Population%20and%20Census/!ut/p/b1/vZDJkqJAEIafpR_ApliE8kghIsqOsl0IBATZN4Gup5-e5TCXHi8TnXnKiC_jy_yJgPCIoInmRxZNj7aJqp9zwIYmAqat7Gge7kUG8CzDc2hr0RLDEi7hOT6z7hl5OciX0M4T6ToKgmeSEqJU4PvKoTIipN33EZDTU7hjpSJtnvMw56kac0V66XAylk8Mn8OuzXnnbFNRppiN1UCpz3VHqdEUmXI-y2yHSidMtZpubvRGoNm1b4ago1i9gfrotaVQgoH31QiasJlRj3gDFUNW3UxytkkdcXL8OJpboWNlWu7cqjqX8KPvvXbMsRxmo8HGIUw_jHp5e_t83P98HHxRPHiVy-_9LwBwoF7nGvxCaCCpPM9AVbo4AMgk4C2bNIFOU3-Af534Lwk4kK8AivA_Ae7LMyFLXAgPMKFdfHQyLrFVYEtTr0_SFlsMSoC1snG1a3VWE4lUFXcBynWZMFLGgl_VwlLV5GgkjnVF_L4uVS16JeS-Wagz3y0kv1v43ZEy_z_SExE8bvX7Etfv4J2BDENBkgY7iuO2EBJO4bM7IZNXUbbu26C_0n1EieCqHEz3Fgn61tNNwb74ZYo3m9mf3HwNXBWP3B7B9nkMxMiuy1JXGbJnTlMsZltkQUU818WZMgc70DBlHzRUnKxWuVFgEe2xKCJvut9pOT-6T72aaOnUgS4-DHnLDUv2mMu9HD5jHempcad3RcN5Cc9w7t2SHGPexJbPJrkbrZOC8RGumIu6_qIHbWDUYsWRA7fiQkj2mfO0HZ2ODQm1ur-0yjYzDUrkLzB2HjBSR-NBaMe2Tomuns8Ka4l37e9m3n4Am6UKZw!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Muslims]] also have a minority presence. While some slaves and free Africans in the colonial era were Muslim, the religion was absent until around the 1970s, when it experienced a revival. Today, there are about 300 Muslims.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jamaa' Ahlus Sunnah Bahamas (Jamaat-ul-Islaam Bahamas)|url=http://jamaa-ahlussunnah-bahamas.com/history.html|website=Jamaa' Ahlus Sunnah Bahamas|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202034134/http://jamaa-ahlussunnah-bahamas.com/history.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Census" />

There are also smaller communities of [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]], [[Hindus]], [[Rastafari]] and practitioners of traditional African religions, such as [[Obeah]].<ref name="Census" />

===Languages===
The [[official language]] of the Bahamas is English. Many people speak an [[English-based creole languages|English-based creole language]] called [[Bahamian Creole|''Bahamian dialect'']] (known simply as "dialect") or "Bahamianese".<ref name="Hackert">{{cite web|url=http://clu.uni.no/icame/ij34/ICE_Age2_3.pdf|title=ICE Bahamas: Why and how?|editor=Hackert, Stephanie|publisher=University of Augsburg|pages=41–45|year=2010|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203163201/http://clu.uni.no/icame/ij34/ICE_Age2_3.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Laurente Gibbs, a Bahamian writer and actor, was the first to coin the latter name in a poem and has since promoted its usage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eleutheranews.com/?p=2963|title=SWAA students have accomplished Bahamian playwright, actor and poet Laurente Gibbs as Guest Speaker|editor=Staff|date=27 February 2013|publisher=Eleuthera News|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203031725/http://eleutheranews.com/?p=2963|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0-7-0WNpxkC|title=Preserving Our Heritage: Language Arts, an Integrated Approach, Part 1|last=Collie|first=Linda|pages=26–29|year=2003|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=9780435984809|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427050617/https://books.google.com/books?id=I0-7-0WNpxkC|url-status=live}}</ref> Both are used as [[wikt:autoglossonym|autoglossonym]]s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZkeAAAAQBAJ|title=The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Volume 1|editor1=Michaelis, Susanne Maria|editor2=Maurer, Philippe|editor3=Haspelmath, Martin|editor4=Huber, Magnus|pages=127–129|year=2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=9780199691401|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426220543/https://books.google.com/books?id=NZkeAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Haitian Creole]], a [[French-based creole languages|French-based creole language]] is spoken by Haitians and their descendants, who make up of about 25% of the total population. It is known simply as ''Creole''<ref name="cia.gov"/> to differentiate it from Bahamian English.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Book Review: Urban Bahamian Creole: System and Variation|editor=Osiapem, Iyabo F.|year=2006|journal=Journal of English Linguistics|doi=10.1177/0075424206292990|volume=34|issue=4|pages=362–366|s2cid=144817997}}</ref>

===Education===
{{main|Education in the Bahamas}}
According to 2011 estimates, 95 per cent of the Bahamian adult population are literate.

The [[University of the Bahamas]] (UB) is the national higher education/tertiary system. Offering baccalaureate, masters and associate degrees, UB has three campuses, and teaching and research centres throughout the Bahamas. The University of the Bahamas was chartered on 10 November 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2017|title=About Us|work=University of The Bahamas |url=https://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/|url-status=live|access-date=26 April 2021|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426015037/https://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/}}</ref>