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The total population of The Bahamas is estimated at 323,000 in 2005, of which 90.0% live in urban areas. [1] Women represent 51.4% of the total population. [2] In the year 2004, 88,000 women were 15 to 49 years old, that is, around 54% of the total number of women. [3] During the period since 1970 to date, the average annual rate of population growth has declined substantially (Figure 1).
The most recent mortality data available from The Bahamas by sex, age and cause of death are for the year 1997. During the period 1995-1997 the estimated (crude) death rate remained stable among men and women (Figure 2).
The gross national income per capita (PPP value) was US$16,140 in 2002. [4] Data are not available as to the income ratio of the population with the 20% highest and the 20% lowest income. The entire population has access to sanitation services; access to improved water sources is quite high but remains better in urban than rural areas (Figure 3).
Among the population aged 15 years and over, literacy was 95.8% in 2005; male literacy was 95.0% and female literacy, 96.7%. [5] The gross enrollment rate for the primary, as well as the secondary level, was estimated to exceed 90% for both sexes (Figure 4).
In 2005, life expectancy at birth was 74.3 years for women and 67.9 years for men. [10] Recent demographic estimates found that both sexes continue to make gains in life expectancy and that the gap between men and women is sizeable: 6.3 more years for women than men in the 2005-2010 quinquennium (Figure 5).
In 2002, the estimated incidence rate of malignant neoplasms of female breast were quite high (see table).
n.a.= not applicable The prevalence of tobacco consumption in the population 13-15 years of age was 14% among women and 23% among men (2000). [11] Data are not available on obesity in the population 15 to 49 years old.
Age-specific death rates in 1997, due to all causes combined, were higher for males than females in each and every age group (Figure 6).
The infant mortality rate was 17.2 per 1,000 live births in 2003. [12]
When broad groups of causes of death were considered it was found that, in 1997, external causes of death were major causes of mortality in the age group 1 to 4 years and 5 to 14 years (Figure 7).
Among those 15 to 44 years of age, as well as the population aged 45 to 64 years, the male death rate due to external causes was over 4 times the female rate (Figure 8). However, at ages 45 to 64, male as well as female mortality due to diseases of the circulatory system, and to neoplasms, was considerably greater than that due to external causes (Figure 8). An important element of total mortality due to neoplasms, among men and women, is mortality due to malignant neoplasms of the digestive organs and peritoneum. At ages 45 to 64 years the male death rate due to this cause was 70 per 100,000 in 1997, and the female rate was 41. Malignant neoplasms of this site, together with those of uterus (23 per 100,000 women) and breast (46), contributed two-thirds of the total mortality due to neoplasms among women in this age group. [13] Ischemic heart disease, as well as cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, are major causes of death among adults 45 years and over of either sex, and especially adults 65 years and over (Figures 9 and 10). At ages 45 to 64, malignant neoplasms of uterus and breast, combined, account for roughly the same amount of female mortality as does diabetes mellitus; however, at ages 65 and over, cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus are far more important (Figures 9 and 10).
Accidents, suicide and homicide are all included in the grouping external causes of death . In The Bahamas, male death rates in 1997 due to each of these causes were several times greater than those for females (Figure 11).
In 2004 the total fertility rate in The Bahamas was 2.2 children per woman. [14] Adolescent pregnancy is one of several reproductive risk categories; [15] it constitutes a barrier that can prevent women from developing capabilities to help them achieve the resources necessary for their well-being. In The Bahamas, in 2004, 6% of adolescents 15 to 19 years old gave birth; among women 35 to 49 years, 2% gave birth to a child. [16] There were 2 maternal deaths in 2003. [17] After steep increases in the number of AIDS cases reported annually since the beginning of the epidemic, among men and women, a decreasing trend began around 1996 (Figure 12). In September 2005 there were 1,805 people under treatment with antiretroviral drugs; [18] the number of people 15 to 49 years needing such treatment is unknown. [19]
In 2003, 99.0% of all births were attended by trained personnel and 94.0% of pregnant women received at least one consultation for prenatal care, provided by a trained health worker. [20] Although this subject is an essential element in analyzing gender-based inequalities related to the participation of women and men in the health sector, the statistics that would allow such analyses are not currently available.
[1] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005. Washington, DC, 2005. [2] Based on: PAHO/AIS. Technical Information System. Table Generator. http://www.paho.org , 26 January 2006. [3] PAHO/GE. Gender, Health and Development in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005. Washington, DC, 2005. [4] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005 . Washington, DC, 2005. [5] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005 . Washington, DC, 2005. [6] PAHO/GE. Gender, Health and Development in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005. Washington, DC, 2005. [7] United Nations. Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw , 27 March 2006. [8] The source states that there was “accession,” not “ratification.” [9] United Nations. Population Policy Data Bank, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/doc , 27 March 2006. [10] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005 . Washington, DC, 2005. [11] PAHO/GE. Gender, Health and Development in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005. Washington, DC, 2005. [12] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005 . Washington, DC, 2005. [13] The data in this paragraph are from: PAHO/AIS. Technical Information System. Table Generator, http://www.paho.org (December 2005). [14] PAHO/GE. Gender, Health and Development in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005. Washington, DC, 2005. [15] Reproductive risk factors: mother’s age less than 20 years and over 34 years; birth interval less than 24 months; birth order greater than 3. [16] PAHO/GE. Gender, Health and Development in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005. Washington, DC, 2005. [17] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005 . Washington, DC, 2005. [18] PAHO/AI and National AIDS Program. [19] UNAIDS/WHO. [20] PAHO/AIS. Health Situation in the Americas. Basic Indicators 2005 . Washington, DC, 2005. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
