Bahamas

According to ALLCITYCODES.COM, the area code for the Bahamas is 242. It is located in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), and is one of the countries in the NANP system that makes international calls to and from other countries. The 242 code is used to make calls within the Bahamas, as well as making international calls to and from other countries in the NANP system. The country has a number of landline operators such as BTC, Aliv, Cable Bahamas, Digicel, and IslandCom, all of which offer competitive rates for local, regional, and international calls. In addition to landlines, there are several mobile networks in the Bahamas such as BTC (GSM/UMTS/LTE), Aliv (GSM/UMTS/LTE), Cable Bahamas (GSM/UMTS/LTE), Digicel (GSM) and IslandCom (GSM). Customers can purchase prepaid sim cards from any of these providers in order to make calls to local numbers or international numbers within the NANP system. All of these networks offer competitive rates for both local and international calls. For those who need to make international calls from the Bahamas outside of the NANP system, there are several third-party service providers that offer competitive rates on making such calls. These include International Call Cards (ICC), which allow customers to purchase calling minutes at a discounted rate; World Phone Card International Calling Services; VoIP services such as Skype; prepaid calling cards; or through VoIP apps like Viber or Whatsapp. The politics of the Bahamas takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Bahamas has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1973 and achieved full internal self-government in 1964. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state as represented by an appointed Governor-General who acts on her behalf and advises on issues of importance to The Bahamas. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General upon the majority party’s nomination; he or she, in turn, appoints a Cabinet which must be approved by Parliament. The country has seen several different political parties over its history, with most being short lived due to internal disputes or lack of support from voters. Currently, there are two main political parties: The Free National Movement (FNM) and Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). Both parties have held office at different times throughout history, with each party having its own platform and policies regarding economic development and social reforms. Generally speaking, both parties are committed to maintaining strong ties with other Commonwealth countries as well as improving relations with other nations around the world. PROEXCHANGERATES: Features public policy of Bahamas.