List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Caribbean explained

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.^[1]

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. 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, three continental mainland countries, namely Belize, Guyana, and Suriname, have also been included in the following table (by United Nations geoscheme).

class=unsupportable	Flag !	Name (official name)	Capital	Currency^[2]	Official language(s)	Area (km^2)	Population	GDP per capita (PPP) (USD)^[3]
	Antigua and Barbuda^[4]	St. John's	East Caribbean dollar	English	440		21,910
	Bahamas (Commonwealth of The Bahamas)^[5]	Nassau	Bahamian dollar	English	13,878		37,101
	Barbados^[6]	Bridgetown	Barbadian dollar	English	431		15,639
	Cuba (Republic of Cuba)^[7]	Havana	Cuban peso	Spanish	109,886		12,300
	Dominica (Commonwealth of Dominica)^[8]	Roseau	East Caribbean dollar	English	754		11,917
	Dominican Republic^[9]	Santo Domingo	Dominican peso	Spanish	48,442		18,413
	Grenada^[10]	St. George's	East Caribbean dollar	English	344		17,039
	Haiti (Republic of Haiti)^[11]	Port-au-Prince	Haitian gourde	French, Haitian Creole	27,750		2,905
	Jamaica^[12]	Kingston	Jamaican dollar	English	10,991		9,762
	Saint Kitts and Nevis (Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis)^[13]	Basseterre	East Caribbean dollar	English	261		26,438
	Saint Lucia^[14]	Castries	East Caribbean dollar	English	616		15,449
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines^[15]	Kingstown	East Caribbean dollar	English	389		12,485
	Trinidad and Tobago (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago)^[16]	Port of Spain	Trinidad and Tobago dollar	English	5,131		26,176

Dependent 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.

class=unsupportable	Flag !	Name (official name)	Sovereign state	Capital	Currency	Official language(s)	Area (km^2)	Population	GDP per capita (PPP) (USD)https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/real-gdp-per-capita
	Anguilla^[17]	United Kingdom	The Valley	East Caribbean dollar	English	91		12,200 (2008 est.)
	Aruba (Country of Aruba)^[18]	Netherlands	Oranjestad	Aruban florin	Dutch Papiamento	180		37,500 (2017 est.)
	British Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands)^[19]	United Kingdom	Road Town	United States dollar	English	153		34,200 (2017 est.)
	Cayman Islands^[20]	United Kingdom	George Town	Cayman Islands dollar	English	264		71,549 (2018 est.)
	Curaçao (Country of Curaçao)^[21]	Netherlands	Willemstad	Netherlands Antillean guilder	Dutch English Papiamento	444		24,479 (2019 est.)
	Montserrat^[22]	United Kingdom	Plymouth (de jure) Brades (de facto)	East Caribbean dollar	English	102		34,000 (2011 est.)
	Puerto Rico (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)^[23]	United States	San Juan	United States dollar	English Spanish	9,104		34,518 (2019 est.)
	Saint Barthélemy (Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy)^[24]	France	Gustavia	Euro	French	22	7,267
	Saint Martin (Collectivity of Saint Martin)^[25]	France	Marigot	Euro	French	54	31,530	19,300 (2005 est.)
	Sint Maarten^[26]	Netherlands	Philipsburg	Netherlands Antillean guilder	Dutch English	34		35,342 (2018 est.)
	Turks and Caicos Islands^[27]	United Kingdom	Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)	United States dollar	English	616		29,253 (2019 est.)
	U.S. Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands of the United States)^[28]	United States	Charlotte Amalie	United States dollar	English	346		37,000 (2016 est.)

The phrase "Caribbean countries"

Depending on the speaker and the context, the phrase "Caribbean countries" can have a variety of meanings,^[29] such as those shown in the images below.

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

Notes and References

1. Amerindians to Africans (page one), published by Macmillan Caribbean
2. Web site: List of currencies of the world with ISO-4217. countries-of the-world.com. 24 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130713182113/http://www.countries-ofthe-world.com/world-currencies.html. 13 July 2013. dead.
3. Web site: Real GDP per capita – The World Factbook. 2021-03-21. www.cia.gov.
4. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
5. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Bahamas, The. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
6. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Barbados. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
7. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Cuba. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
8. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Dominica. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
9. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Dominican Republic. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
10. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Grenada. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
11. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Haiti. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
12. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Jamaica. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
13. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Kitts and Nevis. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
14. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Lucia. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
15. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
16. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
17. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Anguilla. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
18. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Aruba. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
19. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: British Virgin Islands. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
20. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Cayman Islands. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
21. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Curacao. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
22. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Montserrat. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
23. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Puerto Rico. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
24. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Barthelemy. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
25. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Saint Martin. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
26. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Sint Maarten. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
27. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Turks and Caicos Islands. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
28. Web site: Central America and the Caribbean: Virgin Islands. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 December 2022.
29. http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=caribbean The meaning of the word "Caribbean"