Turks and Caicos Islands | |
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Motto: "Beautiful By Nature" | |
Anthem: "God Save the Queen" National song: "This Land of Ours"[1] | |
Status | British Overseas Territory |
Capital | Cockburn Town |
Largest city | Providenciales |
Official languages | English |
Ethnic groups | |
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. 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:
The inhabited islands of the group are:
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).
Climate data for Turks and Caicos Islands : Grand Turk | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 26 (79) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
28 (82) |
27 (81) |
29 (84) |
Average low °C (°F) | 22 (72) |
22 (72) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
24 (76) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 30 (1.2) |
30 (1.2) |
20 (0.8) |
30 (1.2) |
20 (0.8) |
50 (2.0) |
20 (0.8) |
40 (1.6) |
60 (2.4) |
70 (2.8) |
90 (3.5) |
80 (3.1) |
540 (21.4) |
Source: Weatherbase.com [1] |
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.
Island | Area (km²) |
2001 | 2012 ![c]style="background: #CCC;" class="unsortable"|Change 2001-2012 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Turks Islands | ||||
Grand Turk | 17.39 | 3,976 | 4,831 | 21.5% |
Salt Cay | 6.74 | 120 | 108 | -10% |
Caicos Islands | ||||
South Caicos | 21.21 | 1,063 | 1,139 | 7.1% |
Middle Caicos | 144.22 | 301 | 168 | -44.2% |
North Caicos | 116.43 | 1,347 | 1,312 | -2.6% |
Parrot Cay | 5.63 | 58 | 131 | 125.9% |
Providenciales | 122.20 | 13,021 | 23,769 | 82.5% |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 19,886 | 31,458 | 58.2% |
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.
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¹ Member of the community but not the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy. |
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