CARIBBEAN FACT

Anguilla

Low-lying coral island known for its many sandy beaches. The most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. A British dependency.
Population: 12,446 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: The Valley

Area: total: 102 sq km

Highest point: Crocus Hill 65 m

National Bird: Turtledove.

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbours and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbour. Good transport links with other islands makes Antigua a regional and international hub.
Population: 67,448 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Saint John's

Area: total: 443 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km

Highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m

Aruba

A flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit). Just 25 Km north of Venezuela.
Population: 70,441 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Oranjestad

Area: 193 sq km

Highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m

Bahamas

An archipelago of 700 islands and islets (of which around 30 are inhabited), the Commonwealth of the Bahamas attracts more than five times its population in tourists. The visitors are attracted by its magnificent mild climate, splendid beaches and beautiful forests. Strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba.
Population: 300,529 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Nassau

Area: 13,940 sq km

Highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m

Barbados

Barbados has seen tourism overtake the production and export of sugar as the island's main revenue earner. Easternmost Caribbean island
Population: 276,607 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Bridgetown

Area: 431 sq km

Highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Belize

Formerly known as British Honduras, Belize has more in common with the Caribbean island-states than with its Central American neighbours. . Only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean.
Population: 262,999 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Belmopan

Area: total: 22,966 sq km

Highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m

Bequia

Bermuda

Consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land, reclaimed and otherwise, was leased by US Government from 1941 to 1995.
Population: 63,960 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Hamilton

Area: total: 53.3 sq km

Highest point: Town Hill 76 m

Bonaire

Excellent diving, this is one of the 'ABC' islands off the coast of Venezuela.
Capital: Kralendijk

British Virgin Islands

Strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Population: 21,272 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Road Town

Area: total: 153 sq km

Highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Cayman Islands

Important location between Cuba and Central America.
Population: 36,273 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: George Town

Area: total: 262 sq km

Highest point: The Bluff 43 m

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is located in Central America, it is a small mountainous country noted for its rainforest.

Cuba

Largest island in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles. Cuba has survived more than 40 years of US sanctions intended to topple the government of Fidel Castro. Despite the US trade embargo a modest recovery has been made with the help of Canadian, European and Latin American investments, especially in tourism.
Population: 11,224,321 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Havana

Area: total: 110,860 sq km

Highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m

Curacao

Largest island of the Netherlands Antilles.
Capital: Willemstad

Dominica

Known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna. Much of Dominica is protected by an extensive natural park system; it's the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles. Several volcanic peaks, cones of lava craters and the Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world.
Population: 70,158 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Roseau

Area: total: 754 sq km

Highest point: Morne Diablatin 1,447 m

Dominican Republic

Shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti). Traditionally dependent on the export of sugar and other agricultural products, the DR has become the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. Tourism is the country's second most important source of foreign exchange, after sugar.
Population: 8,721,594 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Santo Domingo

Area: total: 48,730 sq km

Highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m

Grenada

Called 'The Spice Island' because of nutmeg and other spices it produces. The administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
Population: 89,211 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Saint George's

Area: total: 344 sq km

Highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m

Guadeloupe

A narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller, eastern Grande-Terre.
Population: 435,739 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Basse-Terre

Area: total: 1,780 sq km

Highest point: Soufriere 1,484 m

Guatemala

Guyana

The third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively. A largely forested country with spectacular waterfalls, distinctively large plants and trees and a thick tropical rainforest teeming with brilliantly-coloured birds, insects and a wide variety of mammals, Guyana is potentially a lucrative eco-tourist destination.
Population: 698,209 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Georgetown

Area: total: 214,970 sq km

Highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m

Haiti

Shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic.
Population: 7,063,722 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Area: total: 27,750 sq km

Highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Honduras

Jamaica

Strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal.
Population: 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Kingston

Area: total: 10,991 sq km

Highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

Magarita Island

Located about 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela.

Martinique

The island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants.
Population: 422,277 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Fort-de-France

Area: total: 1,100 sq km

Highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m

Montserrat

The island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes.
Population: 8,437

Capital: Plymouth

Area: total: 102 sq km

Highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m

Nevis

Part of the twin-island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis. Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island.
Capital: Charlestown

Area: 93 sq km

Puerto Rico

Important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north.
Population: 3,957,988 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: San Juan

Area: total: 9,104 sq km

Highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 m

Saba

Part of the Netherlands Antilles. Island is an extinct volcano, with lush vegetation but few beaches.
Population: 1,200

Highest point: Mount Scenery 887 m

St. Barts

One of the French Antilles islands, also known Saint-Barthelemy.
Population: 5,038

Area: 21 sq. km.

St. Eustatius

Also known as Statia. Part of the Netherland Antilles, island is dominated by the extinct volcano 'The Quill' at the southern end.
Population: 2,100

Capital: Oranjestad

St. Kitts

With coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond;. St Kitts and Nevis is heavily dependent on agriculture; however, tourism and a growing offshore financial industry are becoming increasingly important to the economy.
Population: 38,736 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Basseterre

Area: total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)

Highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

St. Lucia

The twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean.
Population: 160,145 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Castries

Area: total: 616 sq km

Highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m

St. Martin

Saint-Martin is devided between French Saint-Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten
Population: 28,500

Capitol: Marigot (French side) Philipsburg

Area: 52 sq. km.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The multi-island country of St Vincent and the Grenadines is a land of contrasts: the volcanic, mountainous St Vincent contrasting with the flat, mainly bare coral reefs of the Grenadines. . The administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; St. Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays.
Population: 116,394 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Kingstown

Area: total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)

Highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m

Suriname

Smallest independent country on South American continent; mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna that, for the most part, is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population, mostly along the coast.
Population: 436,494 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Paramaribo

Area: total: 163,270 sq km

Highest point: Juliana Top 1,230 m

Trinidad and Tobago

This two-island state enjoys a per capita income well above the average for Latin America thanks to its oil wealth, which in the early 1970s made it the third biggest exporter of petroleum in the western hemisphere. . Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt .

Population: 1,163,724 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Port-of-Spain

Area: total: 5,128 sq km

Highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m

Turks and Caicos

About 40 islands (eight inhabited)
Population: 18,738 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)

Area: total: 430 sq km

Highest point: Blue Hills 49 m

US Virgin Islands

Important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean.
Population: 123,498 (July 2002 est.)

Capital: Charlotte Amalie

Area: total: 352 sq km

Highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m