List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the West Indies
This a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in the West Indies.
The West Indies can be taken to mean all the countries in and around the Caribbean Sea that lies within an area that stretches from Grand Bahama Island in the north to Curaçao in the south, and French Guiana in the east to Belize in the west. This is an expanse (mostly of ocean) which measures about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from north to south, and over 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres) from east to west.
Ignoring the Central and South American nations that border the Caribbean Sea (whose cultural and linguistic heritage sets their history out of the scope of the region) there is a total of thirteen independent or sovereign states and nine island groupings that remain dependencies in one form or another, to the nations of the United Kingdom, United States, France, and the Netherlands.[1]
Sovereign states[]
Most sovereign states in the West Indies (and one British dependency) are members of the Caribbean Community, which is an international organisation formed to promote regional integration and collaboration among its member states.
Note that Bermuda, is a member of the Caribbean Community, though the nation lies in the Atlantic Ocean, not in the West Indies.
Name (official name) | Flag | Capital | Currency[2] | Official languages | Area (km2) | Population[3][4] (2018) | GDP per capita (PPP) (US$)[5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antigua and Barbuda[6] | St. John's | East Caribbean dollar | English | 440 | 96,286 | 21,910 | |
The Bahamas (The Commonwealth of The Bahamas)[7] | Nassau | Bahamian dollar | English | 13,878 | 385,637 | 37,101 | |
Barbados[8] | Bridgetown | Barbadian dollar | English | 431 | 286,641 | 15,639 | |
Belize[9] | Belmopan | Belize dollar | English | 22,966 | 383,071 | 9,576 | |
Cuba[10] (Republic of Cuba) | Havana | Cuban peso | Spanish | 109,886 | 11,338,134 | 12,300 | |
Dominica (Commonwealth of Dominica)[11] | Roseau | East Caribbean dollar | English | 754 | 71,625 | 11,917 | |
Dominican Republic[12] | Santo Domingo | Dominican peso | Spanish | 48,442 | 10,627,141 | 18,413 | |
Grenada[13] | St. George's | East Caribbean dollar | English | 344 | 111,454 | 17,039 | |
Guyana[14] (Co‑operative Republic of Guyana) | Georgetown | Guyanese dollar | English | 214,970 | 779,006 | 17,359 | |
Haiti[15] (Republic of Haiti) | Port-au-Prince | Haitian gourde | French, Haitian Creole | 27,750 | 11,123,178 | 2,905 | |
Jamaica[16] | Kingston | Jamaican dollar | English | 10,991 | 2,934,847 | 9,762 | |
Saint Kitts and Nevis (Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis)[17] | Basseterre |
East Caribbean dollar | English | 261 | 52,441 | 26,438 | |
Saint Lucia[18] | Castries | East Caribbean dollar | English | 616 | 181,889 | 15,449 | |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[19] | Kingstown | East Caribbean dollar | English | 389 | 110,211 | 12,485 | |
Suriname[20] (Republic of Suriname) | Paramaribo | Surinamese dollar | Dutch | 163,821 | 575,990 | 15,845 | |
Trinidad and Tobago[21] (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) | Port of Spain | Trinidad and Tobago dollar | English | 5,131 | 1,389,843 | 26,176 |
Dependent territories[]
Montserrat is a member of both the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Community despite being a dependent nation of the United Kingdom. The island regions of Martinique, Guadeloupe and the BES islands are not included here because they are not technically dependent territories of the countries mentioned, instead being integrated areas of France and the Netherlands respectively.
Name | Country | Flag | Capital | Currency | Official languages | Area (km2) | Population[3][4] (2018) | GDP per capita (PPP) (US$)[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anguilla[22] | United Kingdom | The Valley | East Caribbean dollar | English | 91 | 14,731 | 12,200 (2008 est.) | |
Aruba[23] | Netherlands | Oranjestad | Aruban Florin | Dutch, Papiamento | 180 | 105,845 | 37,500 (2017 est.) | |
British Virgin Islands[24] | United Kingdom | Road Town | United States dollar | English | 153 | 29,802 | 34,200 (2017 est.) | |
Cayman Islands[25] | United Kingdom | George Town | Cayman Islands dollar | English | 264 | 64,174 | 71,549 (2018 est.) | |
Curaçao[26] | Netherlands | Willemstad | Netherlands Antillean guilder | Dutch, Papiamento, English | 444 | 162,752 | 24,479 (2019 est.) | |
Montserrat[27] | United Kingdom | Plymouth (de jure) Brades (de facto) |
East Caribbean dollar | English | 102 | 4,993 | 34,000 (2011 est.) | |
Puerto Rico[28] | United States | San Juan | United States dollar | Spanish, English | 9,104 | 3,039,596 | 34,518 (2019 est.) | |
Saint Barthelemy[29] | France | Gustavia | Euro | French | 22 | 7,267 | ||
Saint Martin[30] | France | Marigot | Euro | French | 54 | 31,530 | 19,300 (2005 est.) | |
Sint Maarten[31] | Netherlands | Philipsburg | Netherlands Antillean guilder | Dutch, English | 34 | 41,940 | 35,342 (2018 est.) | |
Turks and Caicos Islands[32] | United Kingdom | Cockburn Town | United States dollar | English | 616 | 37,665 | 29,253 (2019 est.) | |
United States Virgin Islands[33] | United States | Charlotte Amalie | United States dollar | English | 346 | 104,680 | 37,000 (2016 est.) |
The phrase "Caribbean countries"[]
Depending on the speaker and the context, the phrase "Caribbean countries" has a variety of meanings:[34] Such as these images show below
Caribbean countries in the strictest sense
Caribbean countries in a looser sense
Caribbean countries in the widest application of the phrase
See also[]
- Languages of the Caribbean
- West Indies
- List of Caribbean countries by population
- Hispanic America
- Ibero-America
- West Indies
- Greater Antilles
- Lesser Antilles
- Caribbean Free Trade Association
References[]
- ^ [Amerindians to Africans, (page one) published by Macmillan Caribbean http://www.macmillan-caribbean.com/home/Home.aspx] Archived April 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "List of currencies of the world with ISO-4217". countries-of the-world.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b ""World Population prospects – Population division"". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). population.un.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ "Real GDP per capita - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on Antigua and Barbuda
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on the Bahamas
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on Barbados
- ^ The World Factbook CIA account of Belize
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on Cuba
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on Dominica
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account of the Dominican Republic
- ^ "Central America and Caribbean: Grenada". The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "Guyana — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov.
- ^ "Central America :: Haiti — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov.
- ^ The World Factbook CIA account on Jamaica
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on Saint Kitts and Nevis
- ^ The World Factbook Cia account on Saint Lucia
- ^ The World Factbook Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- ^ The World Factbook CIA account of Suriname
- ^ The World Factbook CIA account of Trinidad and Tobago
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/anguilla/
- ^ "Aruba". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/british-virgin-islands/
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cayman-islands/
- ^ "Curacao". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/montserrat/
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-barthelemy/
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-martin/
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency)
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/turks-and-caicos-islands/
- ^ (Central Intelligence Agency) https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/
- ^ http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=caribbean (the meaning of the word "Caribbean")
- Caribbean-related lists
- Countries in the Caribbean
- Dependent territories
- Lists of countries in the Americas