Bahamas
Capital
Nassau
Territory
10,010km²
Population (2020)
393,248
GDP Total (2020)
11.25B USD
GDP Per Capita (2020)
28,608 USD
Icome Group
High income
Convention Implementation
Corruption Resilience
Convention Implementation
Score by thematic sections and measures
Anti-corruption conventions timeline
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|
Conventions
- IACAC - Inter-American Convention Against Corruption
- UNCAC - United Nations Convention against Corruption
- OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
Key events
- Signed
- Ratifed / acceded
- Review rounds
Convention Implementation Analysis
The Bahamas signed the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC) on June 2, 1998, and ratified it in March 9, 2000. It is a State Party to the Follow-Up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) since June 4, 2001. The country also acceded to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) on January 10, 2008. Accordingly, The Bahamas has undergone five rounds of review under MESICIC, and one round of review under the UNCAC review mechanism.
The Bahamas’s record in implementing its commitments to IACAC and UNCAC exhibits a number of successes and a few failures. With an overall score of 67.1, the measures adopted place the country at the middle point of compliance with international norms, surrounded by Uruguay (66.1), Honduras (66.6), Guatemala (67.2), and Nicaragua (67.9). Despite achieving lower success in regard to prevention (as is the case throughout the region) roughly half of all deficient measures, and a majority of unimplemented ones, are found within the section of criminalization and law enforcement. That being said, the degree of the Bahama’s progress in implementing its international commitments is generally lacking across all three sections, including international cooperation.
The prevention of corruption is prominently lacking, classified as “in progress” by their average score but with significant measures found to be unimplemented—the initiatives to encourage the participation of civil society—or deficient at core. The latter are the standards of conduct (26.6), the training of public officials (26.6), and actions to deter domestic and foreign bribery related to accounting regulations (29.7), transparency in government contracting (32.0), and the state of oversight bodies (33.6). Indeed, the majority of measures within this section are considered to be deficient or unimplemented. Only two measures are found to be in progress—the enforcement of standards of conduct (47.7) and the systems for registering asset and conflict of interests' declarations (50.8).
In terms of criminalization of acts of corruption and related offenses, the Bahamas shows mixed results. The country is found to have successfully implemented roughly half of all measures within this section, including those pertaining to active and passive bribery in the public sector, bribery in the private sector, embezzlement in the public and private sectors, money laundering, and the obstruction of justice, among others. On the other hand, a number of significant measures remain lacking. The country has not criminalized illicit enrichment, the passive bribery of foreign officials (as required by UNCAC), or the abuse of functions. Among the measures considered to be deficient, the Bahamas lacks sufficient protection of those who report acts of corruption (i.e., whistleblower protection) (32.0), criminalization of extended forms of involvement in the commission of corruption offenses such as participation and attempt (33.6), and liability of legal persons (34.4), all of which are classified as “core-deficient” as a result. Other measures remain in progress.
The Bahamas is found only partially compliant in its commitments to establish jurisdiction over the offenses covered by the conventions. The UNCAC review mechanism reports that “[e]extraterritorial jurisdiction is foreseen only for extradition purposes… [and] the Bahamas has not adopted the active or passive personality principles or established jurisdiction over offenses when the alleged offender is present in its territory and is not extradited.” On the other hand, the country’s active implementation of its commitments regarding international cooperation is a point worth highlighting, with most measures found fully implemented. Only one measure is found mostly unimplemented—the country’s efforts to support and pursue international technical cooperation (3.1).
Corruption Resilience
Score by indicator
Corruption Resilience score over the time
Analysis
In 2020, the Bahamas saw an increase in its social context indicator by 6.9 points from 2019, an indication of improving civil liberties and media freedom. Generally speaking, in the Bahamas, citizens' civil liberties and political rights are consistently respected. The Bahamas has also continually scored high in the social context indicator since 2010—barring a slight drop of 5.5 points in 2019. Media in the Bahamas is protected by the country's constitution, and freedom of association and belief remain respected throughout the country. In 2020, the Bahamas was a top performer in the Western Hemisphere with respect to the social context indicator, where the country ranked within the 75th percentile.
With respect to the quality of government indicators, in 2020, the Bahamas saw a decline in its score from the previous year by 5.19 points. The quality of government indicator has fluctuated over the years (2010 and 2020), where approximately +/- 2 change in the country's score has occurred. In 2020, the Bahamas was slightly above the Western Hemisphere average by 2.02 points (50.63), ranking the country within the 50th percentile. The Bahamas score for quality of governance is not optimal and this is largely attributed to the inclusion of the control of corruption variable. Concerning the Bahamas, corruption remains a problem for the country.
In 2020, the Bahamas saw a slight decrease in its rule of law indicator by 0.04 points, which is not a cause for concern. The country's rule of law score has slightly fluctuated over the decade, reaching a high of 62 in 2010 and a low of 52.48 in 2012. Compared to other countries in the Western Hemisphere, the Bahamas retains high rule of law indicator scores—consistently scoring above the regional indicator average for the last decade. This is primarily due to the Bahamian judicial system, which has been independent and free of interference from government officials and other powerful entities in the country (Freedom House Report, 2020).
The Bahamian business environment is assessed with a business stability indicator, which captures the regulatory environment, business and investment freedom, and property rights and rule-based governance that can impact private economic activity. In 2020, the Bahamas business stability indicator score increased by 2.42 points from the preceding year. Despite improvements in the country's business stability indicator in 2020, the country's score is slightly below the Western Hemisphere average score of 50.53 with a 0.54 points difference. The Bahamas business stability indicator has been decreasing approximately by 0.09 points each year between 2012 and 2016. In 2017 the country's score began to decrease approximately by 2.33 points from 2016 to 2018.
In 2020, the Bahamas violence and security indicator was 59.94, which decreased from the preceding year by 2.68 points. Despite the drop in the score, the Bahamas score for 2020 is still 4.9 points above the Western Hemisphere average score for the violence and security indictor. Over the decade, the Bahamas violence and security indicator fluctuated with approximately +/- 2 change in its score, and in 2016, the country had the highest score of the decade of 70.11.