Inagua is a constituent republic of Lucaya Region.
| Inagua Republic | |
|---|---|
| Islands of Great and Little Inagua | |
| Constituent Republic of Vekllei | |
 |
|
| Part of the Lucaya Region | |
| The salt ponds hold the largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos in the world, and over 80,000 birds nest there. | |
| Population | 12,308 |
| Demographics |
45% Afro-Bahamian 40% Lucayan Loyalists 15% Caribbean mixed
|
| Economy | Plantations & spices Energy & minerals, Fisheries & shipping |
| Produces | Salt, Fish, Lobster, Shellfish, Mangoes |
| Working week | 18.5 hours |
| Specialisation | Agriculture, Land & Sea |
| Accession | 2023, as part of the Bahamas Federation |
| Area | 1,679 km² |
| Capital | Rake |
| Languages | English, Lucayan Creole |
The Inagua Republic is a constituent republic of the Commonwealth on the southern periphery of the Lucayan archipelago, south of Yabaque and 90km north of Haiti. It comprises the two islands of Great and Little Inagua, and is the southernmost republic of the Lucaya Region. Both are flat and dry, and are covered in scrub and cactus. They are ringed by shallow banks that have wrecked many ships throughout history. The island is best known in the Commonwealth for its flamingos.
In the interior of Great Inagua is Lake Windsor, a hypersaline lake of nearly 20,000 hectares held back from the sea by a narrow limestone ridge, and one of the great bird sanctuaries of the Americas. The salt ponds scattered around it hold the largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos in the world, and over 80,000 birds nest there. All visitors are impressed by their pink masses, which can be seen even from passing aeroplanes. Inagua National Park protects the lake and its wetlands. It is closed while the birds are breeding.
Inaguans are descended from the Bermudian rakers who worked the ponds in season from the 1600s, and from the Loyalist families who arrived after the American Revolution. Haitians have crossed from the south steadily since the 19th Century and make up much of the rest. Inaguans are not just salt workers, however – they are well-off for so remote a republic, and are famous in Lucaya for the exotic foreign luxuries in their houses, all of them obtained through the Commonwealth export licensing scheme. Fishing is a common pastime, and the cooking owes a lot to Haiti.
The Inaguan economy is industrial and municipal, and its major employers are all institutions of Commonwealth government. Salt has been raked from the ponds since the 1600s, and the Morton Salt Company held the works for most of the 20th Century before they were municipalised. Today they cover over 5,000 hectares of evaporation ponds, are harvested by machine and employ only a few dozen technical staff. A lot of the salt goes north to Kala and Helvasia for winter roads, and the rest is used in chemical processing and water treatment across the Commonwealth. Commonwealth Oil runs the Chrome Refinery Complex, and Commonwealth Laboratories keeps a marine research station on the northeast coast that farms conch and spiny lobster. The National Equatorial Training School takes recruits of the Commonwealth Police College through desert survival exercises in conditions found nowhere else in the Caribbean. Young or ambitious Inaguans study at Inagua Technical University, the constituent school of CUWI for the salt industry, or relocate elsewhere in Lucaya.
The capital of Rake sits on the southwest corner of Great Inagua, where a natural harbour shelters it from the prevailing winds. It was known as Matthew Town until federalisation. Nearly all Inaguans live there, numbering about 12,000 in total, in low stone houses with thick walls and small windows that keep them cool through the worst of the summer. It is a neat and pretty town with a centre shaded by large trees. There is a severe shortage of fresh water on the island, and so a desalination plant and rainwater catchment supply it, and a lot of households keep a kitchen garden and chickens besides. The Mango Railway runs from Rake to the salt works and the national park, a ferry leaves twice a week for Caicos, and there is a small airport with a gravel runway.
Little Inagua, off the north coast, is uninhabited and fringed by reefs, and is a reserve for nesting seabirds and hawksbill turtles. Apart from a lighthouse keeper’s cottage, the only building on it is a Littoral Service station that watches the Crooked Island Passage. The goats introduced centuries ago still run wild across its scrub.
Climate
Hot and dry year-round. Receives less than 700mm of rain annually, making it among the driest places in the Caribbean. Hurricanes occasionally pass nearby but rarely hit directly.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 29° 20° 29° 20° 29° 20° 30° 21° 31° 23° 32° 24° 33° 25° 33° 24° 33° 24° 32° 23° 31° 22° 29° 21°
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 29° 20° 29° 20° 29° 20° 30° 21° 31° 23° 32° 24° Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 33° 25° 33° 24° 33° 24° 32° 23° 31° 22° 29° 21°
Public Holidays
- New Year’s Day 1 Jan
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Whit Monday
- Commonwealth Day 1 May
- Emancipation Day First Mon in Aug
- Republic Day Second Mon in Oct
- Christmas Day 25 Dec
- Boxing Day 26 Dec
- Molasses
- Sugar
- Great Inagua Lake: Massive interior lake and bird sanctuary, home to the largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos.
- Morton Salt Works: Vast salt pans using solar evaporation to produce over a million tons of salt annually for the Commonwealth.
- Commonwealth Laboratories Marine Station: Research facility studying Caribbean marine ecosystems and sustainable fisheries.
- Little Inagua: Uninhabited island reserve accessible only by permit, with wild goats and seabird colonies.
- Agriculture, Land & Sea 16.7%
- Education 10.1%
- Healthcare 9.1%
- Domestic 8.5%
All 19 groups
Hide table
- Agriculture, Land & Sea 16.7%
- Education 10.1%
- Healthcare 9.1%
- Domestic 8.5%
| Occupation | Share | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Land & Sea | 16.7% | 2,530 |
| Education | 10.1% | 1,540 |
| Healthcare | 9.1% | 1,380 |
| Domestic | 8.5% | 1,280 |
| Skilled Trades & Construction | 8.1% | 1,230 |
| Government & Civil Administration | 5.6% | 850 |
| Arts & Media | 5.6% | 850 |
| Industry | 5.3% | 810 |
| Transport | 4.8% | 730 |
| Retail, Distribution & Logistics | 4.5% | 680 |
| Security & Defence | 4.5% | 680 |
| Sport & Recreation | 3.3% | 500 |
| Economic Planning | 3.1% | 470 |
| Hospitality & Participatory Trades | 2.6% | 400 |
| Science & Research | 2.0% | 310 |
| Law & Justice | 2.0% | 300 |
| Information & Communications | 1.9% | 290 |
| Energy & Resources | 1.4% | 210 |
| Religious & Ceremonial | 1.0% | 150 |
Register estimates of posts located in the republic, rounded; figures under 50 suppressed. Includes 100 posts held by non-residents.