01Key Takeaways
- The Bahamas' exports totaled $700.6 million in 2023, up 22.0% from $574.2 million in 2022, a third consecutive year of growth.
- The USA was overwhelmingly the top destination, absorbing 80.2% of exports worth $562.17 million, with an unspecified Areas, nes grouping second at 18.7% ($131.33 million).
- Together, the USA and Areas, nes account for 99.0% of total export value, leaving barely 1% for the remaining eight named partners.
- Mineral fuels led all export categories at 24.6% of total value ($172.60 million), with printed materials second at 19.6% ($137.51 million).
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $537.3M | $339.3M | $543.4M | $574.2M | $700.6M |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $562.2M | 80.2% |
| 2 | Areas, nes | $131.3M | 18.7% |
| 3 | China | $1.6M | 0.2% |
| 4 | Jamaica | $945.5K | 0.1% |
| 5 | Japan | $763.0K | 0.1% |
| 6 | Netherlands | $691.2K | 0.1% |
| 7 | Germany | $584.3K | 0.1% |
| 8 | Canada | $436.2K | 0.1% |
| 9 | Italy | $388.1K | 0.1% |
| 10 | Finland | $284.9K | 0.0% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $172.6M | 24.6% |
| 2 | Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other Products of the Printing Industry; Manuscripts, Typescripts and Plans | $137.5M | 19.6% |
| 3 | Ships, Boats and Floating Structures | $126.9M | 18.1% |
| 4 | Fish and Crustaceans, Molluscs and other Aquatic Invertebrates | $67.5M | 9.6% |
| 5 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $46.7M | 6.7% |
| 6 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $41.1M | 5.9% |
| 7 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $31.5M | 4.5% |
| 8 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $16.5M | 2.3% |
| 9 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $12.2M | 1.7% |
| 10 | Toys, Games and Sports Requisites; Parts and Accessories thereof | $12.1M | 1.7% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
The Bahamas' Top Export Destinations in 2023
The Bahamas exported $700.6 million worth of goods in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks an increase of 22.0% over the $574.2 million recorded in 2022, a third consecutive year of growth. The United States was overwhelmingly the largest destination for the Bahamas' exports, absorbing 80.2% of the total, worth $562.17 million.
A grouping the dataset records as Areas, nes, covering destinations that are not broken out individually, ranked second at 18.7% ($131.33 million). China followed at a distant 0.2% ($1.56 million), and every remaining partner in the top ten, Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Finland, individually accounts for well under 0.15% of the total. Together, the top three destinations made up 99.2% of total export value.
The USA and the Areas, nes grouping alone account for close to 99% of everything the Bahamas ships abroad, leaving essentially nothing measurable for the remaining eight named partners combined. That is among the most extreme concentrations possible in a national export profile, reflecting the Bahamas' proximity to the US market and its role as a shipping and logistics point closely tied to American supply chains. Unlike partner rankings with a long tail of secondary countries each holding a modest but meaningful share, the Bahamas' export list drops from close to 19% at rank two to a small fraction of a percent by rank three, a cliff rather than a gradual taper. That structure leaves the Bahamas' overall export performance almost entirely dependent on demand conditions in the United States specifically, since even a modest shift in American purchasing would move the total far more than any change among the remaining partners combined.
Leading Export Categories
Mineral fuels, mineral oils, and related distillation products led all export categories in 2023, worth $172.60 million and accounting for 24.6% of total export value. Printed books, newspapers, and other products of the printing industry followed at 19.6%, worth $137.51 million, and ships, boats, and floating structures ranked third at 18.1% ($126.94 million).
Fish and crustaceans added 9.6% ($67.52 million), while plastics contributed 6.7% ($46.71 million). Salt, sulphur, and related earths and stone materials brought in 5.9% ($41.13 million), and machinery and mechanical appliances added 4.5% ($31.51 million). Electrical machinery contributed 2.3% ($16.46 million), iron or steel articles added 1.7% ($12.19 million), and toys, games, and sports requisites closed out the top ten at 1.7% ($12.07 million).
The Bahamas' top three categories, mineral fuels, printed materials, and ships and boats, form an unusual combination for a small island economy: fuel likely reflects the country's role as a bunkering and shipping refueling hub, printed materials point to specialized printing activity such as stamps and banknotes for export, and ships and boats reflects the country's marine and yacht services industry. Fish and crustaceans ranking fourth, meanwhile, is the category most closely associated with a traditional Bahamian export, tied to the country's well-known crawfish and conch fisheries.
Salt ranking sixth, worth $41.13 million, is a notable detail tied to a large-scale solar salt operation on the island of Inagua, one of the larger facilities of its kind in North America and a significant source of export revenue and employment for that specific island. The spread across fuel, printing, marine services, fisheries, and industrial salt production shows an export base built on several distinct, specialized niches rather than one dominant manufacturing or agricultural sector, even though none of the categories past the top three individually clears 10% of total export value. Toys, games, and sports requisites closing out the list at 1.7% is a small but distinct addition, pointing to at least some light manufacturing or re-export activity beyond the resource, marine, and printing niches that otherwise define the category ranking.
A Third Consecutive Year of Export Growth
The five-year trend shows exports dropping sharply in 2020 before recovering and climbing steadily. Exports moved from $537.27 million in 2019 to $339.26 million in 2020, then recovered to $543.42 million in 2021, climbed further to $574.24 million in 2022, and reached $700.60 million in 2023. That pattern points to three consecutive years of growth since the 2020 low, with the 2023 total now well above the 2019 starting point.
This pattern is consistent with the World Bank's WITS trade summary for the Bahamas, which confirms the USA's dominant role as the country's leading export destination alongside refined petroleum products, stamps and banknotes, and frozen rock lobster among the top exported goods. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.