The Bahamas is a country in North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, with about 403,000 people (2025) and an area of 13,880 square kilometres. Its capital is Nassau, and it has no land borders.
By Team Geography·Last reviewed
Flag of the BahamasThe Bahamas in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.
13,880 km² (5,359 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 156th largest of 195.
Population density
29 people per km²
Land neighbours
None. It has no land borders with another country.
Official name
Commonwealth of the Bahamas
UN status
Member state
Capital coordinates
25.08° N, 77.35° W Nassau, Natural Earth.
No land borders
The Bahamas shares no land border with another country. Its nearest neighbours are across the sea, as the map above shows.
From the Geography app
The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of the Bahamas's 5, in full.
PLACELens 1 of 5
Seven hundred islands scattered across the shallows
The Bahamas stretches across roughly 700 islands and 2,400 cays spread over 250,000 square kilometers of ocean, yet the total land area is only about 14,000 square kilometers. Most of the territory is shallow turquoise bank, not solid ground. The archipelago begins just 80 kilometers east of Florida and arcs southeast toward Haiti and Cuba, sitting on the Great Bahama Bank where water depth rarely exceeds a few meters.
More on Great Bahama Bank
A vast underwater limestone platform where the sea averages only 10 meters deep. It creates the turquoise shallows that define the Bahamas and separates the islands from the deep Atlantic to the east.
4 more lenses on the Bahamas in the app
STORY A Black-majority nation shaped by the Atlantic slave trade
NOW Tourism is the economy, and climate change is the threat
NOW An offshore financial center under global pressure
THREAD Eighty kilometers from Florida, a world away in sovereignty
Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.
Compare the Bahamas with another country
Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.
Common questions
What is the capital of the Bahamas?
The capital of the Bahamas is Nassau. Nassau lies at about 25.1 degrees north and 77.3 degrees west. The Bahamas is in North America, in the region often called Central America and the Caribbean. It is home to about 403,000 people.
What is the population of the Bahamas?
About 403,000 people live in the Bahamas, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 171st most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 13,880 square kilometres, that is about 29 people per square kilometre.
What countries border the Bahamas?
None. The Bahamas has no land borders with any other country. It is surrounded by sea, so every neighbour of the Bahamas is across the water. It lies in North America, in the region often called Central America and the Caribbean.
How big is the Bahamas?
The Bahamas covers 13,880 square kilometres, or about 5,359 square miles. That makes it the 156th largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 403,000 gives a density of 29 people per square kilometre.
The Bahamas is a country in North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, with about 403,000 people (2025) and an area of 13,880 square kilometres. Its capital is Nassau, and it has no land borders.
Capital
Nassau
Continent
North America
Region
Central America and the Caribbean
Population
403,033 2025, World Bank. 171st of 195.
Area
13,880 km² (5,359 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 156th largest of 195.
Population density
29 people per km²
Land neighbours
None. It has no land borders with another country.
Official name
Commonwealth of the Bahamas
UN status
Member state
PLACE · from the Geography app
Seven hundred islands scattered across the shallows
The Bahamas stretches across roughly 700 islands and 2,400 cays spread over 250,000 square kilometers of ocean, yet the total land area is only about 14,000 square kilometers. Most of the territory is shallow turquoise bank, not solid ground. The archipelago begins just 80 kilometers east of Florida and arcs southeast toward Haiti and Cuba, sitting on the Great Bahama Bank where water depth rarely exceeds a few meters.
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/bahamas/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
Geography · Country report
Bahamas
NameDate
Draw the flag
Colour the Bahamas on the map, then fill in what you find.
Capital
Continent
Population
Area
Languages
Currency
Neighbours
Landmarks
Rivers or mountains
Three things I learned
1
2
3
One question I still have
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Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/bahamas/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
