The Bahamas boasts one of the oldest democracies in the hemisphere with an unbroken tradition of parliamentary democracy extending back to 1729. A former British colony, The Bahamas became an independent nation in 1973. The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as official Head of State.

The Bahamas has attracted the world's leading hotel and resort operations, banks, and trust companies by offering international investors an investor-friendly atmosphere, modern infrastructure, state of the art telecommunications, international airports, high calibre legal and accounting services, and an educated workforce.

English is the official language of the Bahamas, but facilities for multi-lingual translation are available in abundance.

Resident diplomatic representatives include those of China, United States of America, United Kingdom, Haiti, and Gambia. The Bahamas is further served by honorary consular representatives from Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda and Uruguay.