This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Caribbean.
In a general sense, the Caribbean can be taken to mean all the nations in and around the Caribbean Sea that lie within an area that stretches from The Bahamas in the north to Guyana in the south, and Suriname in the east to Belize in the west in a general sense. 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.
When the Central and South American nations that border the Caribbean Sea (many of which have a cultural and linguistic heritage that sets their history out of the scope of the region) are excluded, the Caribbean covers the same geographical area as the West Indies, containing a total of 16 sovereign states (general sense) and 12 island territories that remain dependencies in one form or another, to the countries of France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Sovereign states
Other than Cuba and the Dominican Republic, all other 14 sovereign states (general sense) (and one British Overseas Territory) in the Caribbean are member nations of the Caribbean Community, which is an international organisation formed to promote regional integration and collaboration among its member nations. Honduras, Belize, Guyana, and Surinam can be considered as part of the Caribbean.
Note that Bermuda is a member nation of the Caribbean Community, though the island nation lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, not in the Caribbean.
Other than 13 Caribbean island countries, four continental mainland countries, namely Honduras, Belize, Guyana, and Suriname, have also been included in the following table (by United Nations geoscheme).
Member state of the Caribbean Community only Member state of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesDependent territories
Montserrat is a member nation of both the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States despite being a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. San Andrés and Providencia; Guadeloupe and Martinique; the Caribbean Netherlands (BES islands); as well as the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela and Nueva Esparta; are not included here because they are not technically dependent territories of Colombia, France, the Netherlands, and Venezuela respectively, instead, they are integral parts of the countries abovementioned. Navassa Island, an uninhabited disputed territory administered by the United States and claimed by Haiti, is also excluded.
Member nation of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesThe phrase "Caribbean countries"
Depending on the speaker and the context, the phrase "Caribbean countries" can have a variety of meanings, such as those shown in the images below.
- Caribbean countries in the strictest sense
- Caribbean countries as defined by the United Nations geoscheme
- Caribbean countries in a general sense
- Caribbean countries in the widest application of the phrase
See also
- Caribbean Free Trade Association
- Greater Antilles
- Hispanic America
- Ibero-America
- Languages of the Caribbean
- Lesser Antilles
- List of Caribbean countries by population
- Lucayan Archipelago
- West Indies
References
- Amerindians to Africans (page one), published by Macmillan Caribbean 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.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- "Real GDP per capita – The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Bahamas, The". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Barbados". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Cuba". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Dominica". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Dominican Republic". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Grenada". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Haiti". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Jamaica". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Kitts and Nevis". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Lucia". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Anguilla". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Aruba". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: British Virgin Islands". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Cayman Islands". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Curacao". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Montserrat". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Puerto Rico". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Barthelemy". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Martin". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Sint Maarten". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Turks and Caicos Islands". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- "Central America and the Caribbean: Virgin Islands". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- The meaning of the word "Caribbean"
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Caribbean continental zone |
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N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies.
These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean, of which the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of the Netherlands. Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically. Disputed territories administered by Guyana. Disputed territories administered by Colombia. Bermuda is an isolated North Atlantic oceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally. |
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