The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands,two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population in 2023 was estimated by The World Factbook at 59,367,making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population. However,according to a Department of Statistics estimate in 2022,the population was 47,720.
Before European colonization,the Turks and Caicos Islands were inhabited by Taíno and Lucayan peoples. The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries,the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda,the Bahamas,and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973,the islands received their own governor,and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. In August 2009,the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections.
Cockburn Town is the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands,spreading across most of Grand Turk Island. It was founded in 1681 by salt collectors.
Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency,whereby as of August 9,2006 the Premier is the head of government,and of a multi-party system. The islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Turks and Caicos Islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Council.
The Progressive National Party is a political party in the Turks and Caicos Islands,currently led by Washington Misick. The PNP holds 14 of the 15 seats in the House of Assembly and has been the government since 20 Feb 2021.
Providenciales is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands,part of the Turks and Caicos Islands,a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of 98 km2 (38 sq mi) and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the third largest island in the Turks and Caicos in area,and is home to a large majority of the population of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos Islands. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the vice-regal representative of the head of state,His Majesty King Charles III. The Governor appoints the Premier and 5 members of the House of Assembly. The official residence of the governor is the Government House of Turks and Caicos Islands,located in Waterloo on the island of Grand Turk.
The Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the political leader and head of government. The post of premier is the equivalent to chief minister or prime minister in other British Overseas Territories. It is the highest political level that can be attained within the British colonial system. Prior to 2006,the position was known as the Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Derek Hugh Taylor is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who served as the 6th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 31 January 1995 to 15 August 2004. He is the former leader of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) party.
Charles Washington Misick is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who has been the 5th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands since 20 February 2021. He has been the leader of the Progressive National Party since 20 December 2016. He previously served as the 5th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 3 April 1991 to 31 January 1995,was Minister of Finance,Trade and Investment from 2012 to 2016 and Leader of the Opposition from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2016 to 2021. Misick has been a MHA for the All Island District since November 2012 and was previously an MHA for Grand Turk from 1991 to 1999.
Norman B. Saunders is a Turks and Caicos Islander former politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 4 November 1980 to 28 March 1985. Saunders is also the longest-serving Member of the House of Assembly in the Turks and Caicos Islands,nearing 50 years of service,the first Chief Minister to win back-to-back elections with a resounding 8-3 victories at the polls in 1980 and 1984,the only ever politician in the nation to win as an independent candidate,and the first leader of the opposition.
The House of Assembly is the legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The name of the house was changed from the Legislative Council of the Turks and Caicos Islands to its present name following the implementation of the new constitution on 9 August 2006.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association is the governing body of football in the Turks and Caicos Islands. They control the Turks and Caicos Islands national football team,the MFL League men's league,the Turks and Caicos FA Cup and the WFL League women's league.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are divided into five administrative districts,and the Island of Grand Turk;four of these are headed by District Commissioners,and Providenciales District is run by the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Premier in Providenciales. The Island of Grand Turk is directly administered by the TCI Government.
The Turks and Caicos Islands cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands in international cricket.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands' House of Assembly,the legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The current Speaker,Gordon Burton,was elected Speaker on 4 March 2021.
Henry Armstrong Eugene Saunders is a cricketer who plays for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Saunders is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium-fast. He was born at Grand Turk.
Carlton Urias Saunders is a former cricketer who played for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Saunders was a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born at Grand Turk.
The Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands,in its present form,was passed in 2011.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),which was confirmed to have reached the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 23 March 2020,and the first death occurred on 5 April. On 12 May,all cases were declared resolved,but on 20 June,new cases had been discovered. On 4 July 2021,all cases resolved again. On 8 July,new cases were discovered.
