Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Beautiful By Nature"
Anthem: "God Save the Queen" National song: "This Land of Ours"[1]
Location of  Turks and Caicos Islands  (circled in red) in the Caribbean  (light yellow)
Status	British Overseas Territory
Capital	Cockburn Town
Largest city	Providenciales
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups	88% Afro-Caribbean 8% Caucasian 4% mixed and East Indian
Demonym(s)	Turks and Caicos Islander
Government	Dependency under constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor	John Freeman
• Deputy Governor	Anya Williams
• Premier	Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson
• UK government minister[a]	Baroness Anelay
Legislature	House of Assembly
Area
• Total	616.3 km2 (238.0 sq mi)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2012 census	31,458 [2]
• Density	80/km2 (207.2/sq mi)
Currency	United States dollar (USD)
Time zone	UTC−4 (AST)
Date format	dd mm yyyy (AD)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1‑649
ISO 3166 code	TC
Internet TLD	.tc
Website www.gov.tc

The Turks and Caicos Islands are two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea, near the Bahamas. The islands lie southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola. Cockburn Town, the capital since 1766, is in the Grand Turk Island about 1,042 kilometres (647 mi) east-southeast of Miami, United States.

The islands have a total land area of 616.3 square kilometres (238.0 sq mi).^[b] and they are on a tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[7]

The government of Great Britain is also the ruler of the Turks and Caicos, but that ruler always acts through a governor. There are local elections for premier (similar to a president). Government offices are in the Grand Turk Island.

The two island groups are in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas, north of Hispaniola, at 21°45′N 71°35′W / 21.750°N 71.583°W / 21.750; -71.583. The Caicos Islands are separated by the Caicos Passage from the closest Bahamian islands, Mayaguana and Great Inagua.

The eight main islands and more than 299 smaller islands have a total land area of 616.3 square kilometres (238.0 sq mi),^[b] consisting primarily of low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamps and 332 square kilometres (128 sq mi) of beach front. The weather is usually sunny and relatively dry, but hurricanes are frequent during summer. The islands have limited natural fresh water resources; private cisterns collect rainwater for drinking. The primary natural resources are spiny lobster, conch and other shellfish.

The Turks Islands are separated from the Caicos Islands by Turks Island Passage, which is more than 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) deep,^[8] The islands form a chain that goes from north to south.

There are only two inhabited islands, and these are:

• Grand Turk. Here is the capital city, Cockburn Town, of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and all government offices are here. There is an international airport.
• Salt Cay. It is the second largest of the Turks Islands. The main income used to be salt, but now it is tourism.

The inhabited islands of the group are:

• North Caicos is the largest island in the country.
• Middle Caicos is the second largest island in the country.
• South Caicos, or The Big South, is the fishing capital of the country.
• Providenciales, or more commonly known as "Provo". In this island is the "Providenciales International Airport" and there are many holiday resorts. A large coral reef is situated to the north of the island.
• Ambergris Cay
• Pine Cay
• Parrot Cay

Turks and Caicos Islands features a relatively dry and sunny marine tropical climate^[3] with relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year. The temperature during summer rarely is over 33 °C (91 °F) and during winter rarely is below 18 °C (64 °F).

Eight of the thirty islands in the territory are inhabited, with a total population in 2012 of 31,458: 16,037 males and 15,421 females. The population density is 214 persons per square mile.

The official language of the islands is English and the population also speaks Turks and Caicos Islands Creole^[9] which is similar to Bahamian Creole.^[10] Due to its close proximity to Cuba and Hispaniola, large Haitian Creole and Spanish-speaking communities have developed in the territory due to immigration from Creole-speaking Haiti and from Spanish-speaking Cuba and Dominican Republic.^[10]

The people of Turks and Caicos was 72.8% Protestant (35.8% Baptists, 11.7% Church of God, 10% Anglicans, 9.3% Methodists, 6% Seventh-Day Adventists), 11.4% Catholics, 1.8% Jehovah's Witnesses, and 14% other.^[3]

This is a list of cities in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

• Blue Hills
• Bottle Creek
• Conch Bar
• Cockburn Harbour
• Cockburn Town
• Grace Bay Garden Loop, Turks and caicos island
• Balfour Town, Turks and Caicos Islands
• Whitby, Turks and Caicos Islands
• Kew, Turks and Caicos Islands
• Sandy Point, Turks and Caicos Islands
• Lorimers
• Bambarra, Turks and Caicos Islands

1. ↑ Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for the British Overseas Territories
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Different sources give different figures for the Islands' area. The CIA World Factbook gives 430 km²,^[3] the Statistics Division of the United Nations says 948 km²,^[4] and the Encyclopædia Britannica says "Area at high tide, 238 square miles (616 square km); at low tide, 366 square miles (948 square km)".^[5] A report by the Turks and Caicos Islands Department of Economic Planning and Statistics gives the same numbers as the Encyclopædia Britannica though its definitions are less clear.^[6]
3. ↑ Population data retrieved from the 2012 census

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turks and Caicos Islands.

• Turks and Caicos Islands website Archived 2009-04-18 at the Wayback Machine