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The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, an independent state in the West Indies, consisting of 700 islands and islets and nearly 2400 cays and rocks, extend for about 750 miles from a point southeast of Palm Beach, Florida, to a point off the eastern tip of Cuba. Only about 40 of the islands are inhabited. New Providence is economically the most important of the group and contains more than half of the Bahamas' total population. The capital of the islands is Nassau, on New Providence. Tourism represents about 50% of the gross national product and because of favorable tax laws, the Bahamas have become an international banking center. The Islands comprise an area of approximately 5,350 square miles and a population of roughly 255,000. An important tax haven in the early sixties, the Bahamas today show signs of a revitalised offshore11 financial services industry with 410 registered banks and trust companies, 24,000 international business companies, 54 insurance companies and a shipping registry with 1,400 vessels on the register.
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