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. 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 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]
Other than Cuba and the Dominican Republic, all other 14 sovereign states (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.
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.
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.
Depending on the speaker and the context, the phrase "Caribbean countries" can have a variety of meanings, [34] such as those shown in the images below.
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. Situated slightly north of the equator, over 90% of its territory is covered by rainforests, the highest proportion of forest cover in the world. Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. It is the smallest country in South America by both population and territory, with around 612,985 inhabitants in an area of approximately 163,820 square kilometers. The capital and largest city is Paramaribo, which is home to roughly half the population.
The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Americas and Atlantic Ocean. They have primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, with its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:
The economy of North America comprises more than 596 million people in its 24 sovereign states and 15 dependent territories. It is marked by a sharp division between the predominantly English speaking countries of Canada and the United States, which are among the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world, and countries of Central America and the Caribbean in the former Latin America that are less developed. Mexico and Caribbean nations of the Commonwealth of Nations are between the economic extremes of the development of North America.
The Commonwealth Caribbean is the region of the Caribbean with English-speaking countries and territories, which once constituted the Caribbean portion of the British Empire and are now part of the Commonwealth of Nations. The term includes many independent island nations, British Overseas Territories and some mainland nations.
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island countries and 19 dependencies in three archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago.
The United Nations geoscheme for the Americas is an internal tool created and used by the UN's Statistics Division (UNSD) for the specific purpose of UN statistics.
The Regional Security System (RSS) is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region with future expansion planned with South America.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guyana:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Suriname:
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic mainland British West Indies. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the country's largest city. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With a land area of 214,969 km2 (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and very high biodiversity. The country also hosts a part of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest in the world.
The Caribbean is a subregion of the Americas that includes the Caribbean Sea and its islands, some of which are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some of which border both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean; the nearby coastal areas on the mainland are sometimes also included in the region. The region is south-east of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and north of South America.
The economy of the Americas comprises more than 1 billion people in 35 different countries and 18 territories. Sometimes divided into the continents of North America and South America depending on the source, like other continents, the wealth between the states in the Americas varies considerably, with significant wealth inequality within nations. The difference in wealth across the Americas can be seen roughly between the economies of North America and South America, with the countries in the former significantly better off than those in the latter.