Turks and Caicos Islands

The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate Crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed, and the islands remain a British overseas territory. Grand Turk Island suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Land

948 sq km

Total

948 sq km

Water

0 sq km

2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.

tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry

389 km

Oceania

Highest point

Blue Hill on Providenciales and Flamingo Hill on East Caicos 48 m

Lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

21 45 N, 71 35 W

include eight large islands and numerous smaller cays, islets, and reefs; only two of the Caicos Islands and six of the Turks group are inhabited

0 sq km (2022)

Total

0 km

Agricultural land

1.1% (2023 est.)

Agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 1.1% (2023 est.)

Agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)

Agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)

arable land

1.05%

Forest

11.1% (2023 est.)

Other

87.9% (2023 est.)

No

two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti; note - although the Turks and Caicos Islands do not border the Caribbean Sea, geopolitically they are often designated as being Caribbean

Google Maps

https://goo.gl/maps/Ap5qN8qien6pT9UN6

OpenStreetMap

https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2186600

Central America and the Caribbean

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Territorial sea

12 nm

frequent hurricanes

spiny lobster, conch

eight of the thirty islands are inhabited; the island of Providenciales is the most populated, but the most densely populated is Grand Turk

Polynesia

low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps

UTC+13:00

number of time zones

1

0-14 years

20.4% (male 6,288/female 6,056)

15-64 years

73.2% (male 22,232/female 22,011)

65 years and over

6.4% (2024 est.) (male 1,869/female 1,983)

12.73 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Men married by age 18

5.1% (2020)

Women married by age 15

0% (2020)

Women married by age 18

23.3% (2020)

0.4% (2020 est.)

59.3% (2020 est.)

3.59 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

adult female

73 per 1,000

adult male

110 per 1,000

Elderly dependency ratio

8.7 (2024 est.)

Potential support ratio

11.5 (2024 est.)

Total dependency ratio

36.6 (2024 est.)

Youth dependency ratio

27.9 (2024 est.)

improved total

47.05%

Improved: rural

rural: 91.8% of population (2022 est.)

Improved: total

total: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)

Improved: urban

urban: 99.2% of population (2022 est.)

Unimproved: rural

rural: 8.2% of population (2022 est.)

Unimproved: total

total: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)

Unimproved: urban

urban: 0.8% of population (2022 est.)

Education expenditure (% GDP)

2.9% of GDP (2024 est.)

Education expenditure (% national budget)

9.8% national budget (2025 est.)

3 % of GDP

Black 87.6%, White 7.9%, mixed 2.5%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.7% (2006 est.)

0.83 (2025 est.)

Female

8.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Male

13.9 deaths/1,000 live births

neonatal

3 deaths/1,000 live births

Total

10.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

English (official)

languages

English, Samoan, Tokelauan

number of languages

3

Female

84.1 years

Male

78.5 years

Total population

81.3 years (2024 est.)

5,000 GRAND TURK (capital) (2018)

Female

36.1 years

Male

36.5 years

Total

36.6 years (2025 est.)

16 births/1,000 women 15-19

Adjective

none

Noun

none

8.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound for the Bahamas and the US

Female

30,050

Male

30,389

Total

60,439 (2024 est.)

1.73% (2025 est.)

Protestant 72.8% (Baptist 35.8%, Church of God 11.7%, Anglican 10%, Methodist 9.3%, Seventh Day Adventist 6%), Roman Catholic 11.4%, Jehovah's Witness 1.8%, other 14% (2006 est.)

improved total

33.91%

Improved: rural

rural: 97.7% of population (2022 est.)

Improved: total

total: 98.7% of population (2022 est.)

Improved: urban

urban: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)

Unimproved: rural

rural: 2.3% of population (2022 est.)

Unimproved: total

total: 1.3% of population (2022 est.)

Unimproved: urban

urban: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)

Female

14 years (2023 est.)

Male

15 years (2023 est.)

Total

14 years (2023 est.)

0-14 years

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over

0.94 male(s)/female

At birth

1.05 male(s)/female

Total population

1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

1.7 children born/woman (2025 est.)

Rate of urbanization

1.46% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Urban population

94.2% of total population (2023)

Daylight saving time

+1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November

Etymology

named after Sir Francis COCKBURN, who served as governor of the Bahamas from 1837 to 1844

Geographic coordinates

21 28 N, 71 08 W

Name

Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)

Time difference

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

see United Kingdom

History

several previous; latest signed 7 August 2012, effective 15 October 2012 (The Turks and Caicos Constitution Order 2011)

Abbreviation

TCA

alternative spellings

TK

Conventional long form

none

Conventional short form

Turks and Caicos Islands

Etymology

the Turks Islands are named after the Turk's cap cactus, which is native to the islands and appears on the flag and coat of arms; the name Caicos may derive from <em>caya hico</em>, a phrase meaning “string of islands” in the Lucayan (Arawak) language, or from the Spanish word <em>cayo</em>, meaning "rock"

FIFA code

TCA

local long form (eng)

Tokelau

overseas territory of the UK

Embassy

none (overseas territory of the UK)

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the governor from among members of the House of Assembly

Chief of state

King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Dileeni Daniel-SELVARATNAM (since 29 June 2023)

Election/appointment process

the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the governor appoints the leader of the majority party as the premier

Head of government

Premier Washington MISICK (since 19 February 2021)

<strong>description:</strong> blue with the UK flag in the upper-left quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the right half of the flag; the shield is yellow and displays a conch shell, a spiny lobster, and Turk's cap cactus

The flag of Tokelau features a yellow stylized canoe on a dark blue field sailing toward the Southern Cross constellation with four white five-pointed stars at the hoist side.

svg

https://flagcdn.com/tk.svg

parliamentary democracy

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU

Highest court(s)

Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and other judges, as determined by the governor); Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 2 justices)

Judge selection and term of office

Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges appointed by the governor in accordance with the Judicial Service Commission, a 3-member body of high-level judicial officials; Supreme Court judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65, but terms can be extended to age 70; Appeals Court judge tenure determined by individual terms of appointment

Note

<strong>note:</strong> appeals beyond the Supreme Court are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)

Subordinate courts

magistrates' courts

mixed system of English common law and civil law

Electoral system

mixed

Expected date of next election

2029

Legislative structure

unicameral

Legislature name

House of Assembly

Most recent election date

2/07/2025

Number of seats

21 (directly elected or appointed)

Parties elected and seats per party

PNP (16); PDM (2); independents (1)

Percentage of women in chamber

27.3%

Scope of elections

full renewal

Term in office

4 years

conch shell, Turk's cap cactus

People's Democratic Movement or PDM<br>Progressive National Party or PNP

Monday

18 years of age; universal

No

corn, beans, cassava (manioc, tapioca), citrus fruits; fish

Expenditures

$224.3 million (2017 est.)

Revenues

$247.3 million (2017 est.)

code

NZD

name

New Zealand dollar (NZD) [$]

Current account balance 2016

$247.081 million (2016 est.)

Current account balance 2017

$35.016 million (2017 est.)

Current account balance 2018

$172.709 million (2018 est.)

Note

<b>note:</b> balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

British Caribbean island territorial economy; GDP and its tourism industry hit hard by COVID-19 disruptions; major biodiversity locale; US dollar user; fossil fuel dependent; negative trade balance; increasing unemployment

<p>the US dollar is used</p>

Exports 2016

$741.173 million (2016 est.)

Exports 2017

$602.581 million (2017 est.)

Exports 2018

$826.824 million (2018 est.)

Note

<b>note:</b> balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

plastics, shellfish, carbonates, tobacco, garments (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Gabon 27%, USA 25%, Zimbabwe 17%, Czechia 8%, UAE 3% (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

net inflows

$44 million

Agriculture

0.4% (2024 est.)

Industry

9.3% (2024 est.)

Note

<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Services

72.6% (2024 est.)

$1.745 billion (2024 est.)

note

<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

$37,507

$1.72 billion

$36,760

Imports 2016

$438.041 million (2016 est.)

Imports 2017

$484.842 million (2017 est.)

Imports 2018

$544.219 million (2018 est.)

Note

<b>note:</b> balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

refined petroleum, cars, aluminum structures, furniture, plastic products (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

USA 73%, Dominican Republic 4%, Italy 3%, Japan 3%, China 2% (2023)

note

<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

9% (2024 est.)

note

<b>note:</b> annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

tourism, offshore financial services

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2020

2.3% (2020 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2021

5% (2021 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

8.5% (2022 est.)

Note

<strong>note:</strong> annual % change based on consumer prices

$1.77 billion

Note

<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022

$1.293 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023

$1.471 billion (2023 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024

$1.554 billion (2024 est.)

5.64%

Note

<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP growth rate 2022

14.1% (2022 est.)

Real GDP growth rate 2023

13.7% (2023 est.)

Real GDP growth rate 2024

5.6% (2024 est.)

$37,954

Note

<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

Real GDP per capita 2022

$28,200 (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$31,800 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2024

$33,400 (2024 est.)

Note

<b>note:</b> personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

Remittances 2021

0% of GDP (2021 est.)

Remittances 2022

0% of GDP (2022 est.)

Remittances 2023

0% of GDP (2023 est.)

Consumption

252.088 million kWh (2023 est.)

Installed generating capacity

94,000 kW (2023 est.)

Transmission/distribution losses

12.912 million kWh (2023 est.)

Electrification - rural areas

100%

Electrification - total population

99.9% (2022 est.)

Electrification - urban areas

100%

Fossil fuels

98.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

hydroelectric

0%

nuclear

0%

renewable

1.48%

Solar

1.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Refined petroleum consumption

3,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

0.8%

no local terrestrial TV stations; broadcasts from the Bahamas, multi-channel cable, and satellite TV available; state-run radio network operates alongside private broadcasters, with a total of about 15 stations

.tc

Percent of population

93.5% (2022)

TKCA 1ZZ

+690

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

9 (2022 est.)

Total subscriptions

4,000 (2021 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

110 (2004 est.)

Total subscriptions

25,085 (2004 est.)

9 (2025)

VQ-T

Left

By type

general cargo 1, other 2

Total

3 (2023)

Key ports

Cockburn Harbor, Grand Turk, Providenciales

Large

0

Medium

0

Ports with oil terminals

1

Size unknown

1

Small

0

Total ports

3 (2024)

Very small

2

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Refugees

8 (2024 est.)

From petroleum and other liquids

447,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

Total emissions

447,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

limited natural freshwater resources

1 % of total land area

1 % of total