American Way of Life
The Bahamian way of life is very much influenced by that of the United States. This influence is particularly noticeable among the younger generation in terms of language, clothing, music, food, and cultural references in general. For example, the large American fast-food chains are widely represented on the islands and hamburgers are increasingly replacing the traditional peas'n'rice. Another aspect of this cultural proximity is that young Bahamians with special sporting facilities can easily benefit from scholarships to study in the United States.
British Education
The Bahamian education model is largely based on the British system (uniforms as a bonus from school to high school!), and young people benefit from a solid education. School is compulsory until the age of 16; for higher education, the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau has a nursing school, while the University of the West Indies has a campus in Nassau and another in Freeport, as well as branches on various neighbouring islands. No fewer than 14 English-speaking Caribbean nations share the administration of the university, which has students from all these states on each campus. The Bahamas has made a specialty of teaching hotel management and tourism. For other courses, most of the young people, benefiting from agreements and scholarships, have to go to Great Britain and Canada. Once they graduate, many of them return to their native islands.
Employment: services in the lead
About 90% of the country's GDP comes from services, and this industry now accounts for the bulk of local employment. Tourism alone employs half of the country's workforce, followed by the finance sector, the country's second largest economic player after tourism. The main centres of activity are concentrated in Nassau, Paradise Island, and Freeport to a lesser extent; the Atlantis complex alone, with its 8,000 employees, ranked as the country's second largest employer, just after the Government, until the arrival of the Baha Mar complex... In 2019, the unemployment rate stood at 9.63%. Following the Covid-19 crisis, it exploded to over 25% before starting a sharp decline the following year (21.5%) which is expected to continue.
Local employment is encouraged by fairly strict measures: the Bahamas is the most demanding Caribbean country in terms of entry requirements, and work permits for foreign nationals are particularly difficult to obtain.The family, a pillar
Family is a core value in the Bahamas. On the Out Islands in particular, nicknamed the "Family Islands", the family remains the nucleus of society. However, its structure has changed significantly over the generations. Access to higher education in Nassau and abroad has led some young people to move away from the family nucleus and settle there at the end of their studies to begin their professional careers. Others, on the contrary, choose to stop at the end of compulsory schooling or to return to their native island after their studies, and start a family in their early twenties. Unfortunately, it is quite common for these early relationships to end in divorce a few years later, so that today there are quite a few single-parent families. In the end, therefore, while the family bond is still strong, it is not uncommon to find families with mother in Long Island, father in Abaco, son in Nassau and daughter in Canada.
Homosexuality
Like the neighboring Caribbean islands, the Bahamas does not excel in the area of LGBT rights: no civil unions for same-sex couples, no adoption allowed, and no law penalizing discrimination based on sexual orientation. As everywhere, homosexuality exists, but it is not seen or talked about. If the Rainbow Alliance of the Bahamas supports the Bahamian homosexual community, don't expect to find gay friendly establishments.
Place of the woman
Bahamian women are well integrated in the social life of the Bahamas, they mostly occupy positions in tourism, hotel industry and services, where they are sometimes the majority. Often better educated than men, they are the lifeblood of the country.
But behind this daily life, some inequalities persist in legal matters, especially in terms of inheritance: they still do not have the same right as men to pass on citizenship to their spouses of foreign origin. Leading women of all political persuasions continue to push for a change in the constitution and a revision of laws to incorporate equality into these rules, but much remains to be done.Bush medicine
Bush medicine - traditional medicine - has been practiced by Bahamians for centuries. African traditions are at the origin of this special knowledge that invaded the islands during the period of slavery and which is still widely transmitted from mother to daughter today. The people of Cat Island owe their reputation for longevity to their knowledge and regular use of the plants that everyone has in their garden. More than a hundred are thus listed on the islands for their therapeutic effects.
Social protection
The Bahamians take advantage of the NIB, National Insurance Board. Launched in 1972, the purpose of this organization is to manage and administer the national social security program, officially in operation since October 7, 1974. Its major role is to cover citizens through benefits in the event of illness, disability, occupational injury, maternity, retirement or any other source of involuntary loss of income. It is the equivalent of our French Social Security system: a monthly contribution is deducted from the gross salary of employees; it can be supplemented by a private mutual insurance company according to the employer's choice and policy.
