Today, the city dominates the entire island. Many of them settled in Nassau and eventually came to outnumber the original inhabitants.Īs the population of Nassau grew, so did its populated areas. Nassau's modern growth began in the late eighteenth century, with the influx of thousands of Loyalists and their slaves to the Bahamas following the American War of Independence. The city was named in honour of William III of England, Prince of Orange-Nassau. Nassau is the site of the House of Assembly and various judicial departments and was considered historically to be a stronghold of pirates. Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for The Bahamas, is located about 16 km (9.9 mi) west of the city centre of Nassau, and has daily flights to and from major cities in Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It is the centre of commerce, education, law, administration, and media of the country. Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of the 2022 census of the Bahamas reported a population of 296,522 for New Providence, 74.26% of the country's population. It is located on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas.
Nassau ( / ˈ n æ s ɔː/ NASS-aw) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas.
