TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
(dependent territory of the UK)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 430 km2; land area: 430 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 389 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and
relatively dry
Terrain: low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps
Natural resources: spiny lobster, conch
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures;
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 98%
Environment: 30 islands (eight inhabited); subject to frequent
hurricanes
Note: located 190 km north of the Dominican Republic in the North
Atlantic Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 9,983 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991)
Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 14 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: no noun or adjectival forms
Ethnic divisions: majority of African descent
Religion: Baptist 41.2%, Methodist 18.9%, Anglican 18.3%,
Seventh-Day Adventist 1.7%, other 19.9% (1980)
Language: English (official)
Literacy: 98% (male 99%, female 98%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1970)
Labor force: NA; majority engaged in fishing and tourist
industries; some subsistence agriculture
Organized labor: Saint George's Industrial Trade Union
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Constitution: introduced 30 August 1976, suspended in 1986, and a
Constitutional Commission is currently reviewing its contents
Legal system: based on laws of England and Wales with a small
number adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas
National holiday: Constitution Day, 30 August (1976)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor, Executive Council
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1953),
represented by Governor Michael J. BRADLEY (since 1987);
Head of Government--Chief Minister Oswald O. SKIPPINGS (since
3 March 1988)
Political parties and leaders:
People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Oswald SKIPPINGS;
Progressive National Party (PNP), Dan MALCOLM and Norman SAUNDERS;
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Ariel MISSICK
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Legislative Council--last held on 3 March 1988
(next to be held NA);
results--PDM 60%, PNP 30%, other 10%;
seats--(20 total, 13 elected) PDM 11, PNP 2
Communists: none
Member of: CDB
Diplomatic representation: as a dependent territory of the UK, the
interests of the Turks and Caicos Islands are represented in the US by
the UK;
US--none
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag;
the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy is based on fishing, tourism, and offshore
banking. Subsistence farming--corn and beans--exists only on the Caicos
Islands, so that most foods, as well as nonfood products, must be
imported.
GDP: $44.9 million, per capita $5,000; real growth rate NA% (1986)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 12% (1989)
Budget: revenues $12.4 million; expenditures $15.8 million,
including capital expenditures of $2.6 million (FY87)
Exports: $2.9 million (f.o.b., FY84);
commodities--lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells;
partners--US, UK
Imports: $26.3 million (c.i.f., FY84);
commodities--foodstuffs, drink, tobacco, clothing;
partners--US, UK
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 9,050 kW capacity; 11.1 million kWh produced,
1,140 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: fishing, tourism, offshore financial services
Agriculture: subsistence farming prevails, based on corn and beans;
fishing more important than farming; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $100 million
Currency: US currency is used
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 121 km, including 24 km tarmac
Ports: Grand Turk, Salt Cay, Providenciales, Cockburn Harbour
Civil air: Air Turks and Caicos (passenger service) and Turks
Air Ltd. (cargo service)
Airports: 7 total, 7 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair cable and radio services; 1,446
telephones; stations--3 AM, no FM, several TV; 2 submarine cables; 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK