The Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...

(TCI) are a British Overseas Territory comprising two groups of tropical island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s north of the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

 in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Turks and Caicos Islands:

General reference

• Pronunciation
  International Phonetic Alphabet
  The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
  
  :
• Common English country name: The Turks and Caicos Islands
  Turks and Caicos Islands
  The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
  
  
• Official English country name: Turks and Caicos Islands
  Turks and Caicos Islands
  The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
  
  
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): None
• Demonym(s):
• Etymology
  Etymology
  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
  
  : Name of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• ISO country codes: TC, TCA, 796
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:TC
  ISO 3166-2:TC
  ISO 3166-2:TC is the entry for the Turks and Caicos Islands in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently no ISO 3166-2...
  
  
• Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
   country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .tc
  .tc
  .tc is the Internet country code top-level domain for Turks and Caicos Islands..tc has been used as a domain hack for Teen Challenge Manitoba..tc is a popular domain hack for Turkiye Cumhuriyeti . .tc...
  
  

Geography of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• The Turks and Caicos Islands are: A British overseas territory
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere
    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
    
     and Western Hemisphere
    Western Hemisphere
    The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
    
    
    • North America
      North America
      North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
      
       (though not on the mainland
      Mainland
      Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
      
      )
  • Atlantic Ocean
    Atlantic Ocean
    The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
    
    
    • North Atlantic Ocean
      • Caribbean
        Caribbean
        The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
        
         (West Indies)
  • Time zone
    Time zone
    A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
    
    : Eastern Standard Time
    Eastern Standard Time
    Eastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
    
     (UTC-05), Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04)
  • Land boundaries: none
    • High: Blue Hills
      Blue Hills, Turks and Caicos Islands
      Blue Hills are the highest point of Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory located in the Caribbean, with an altitude of 49 metres .-External links: , Maplandia.com....
      
       on the island of Providenciales
      Providenciales
      Providenciales is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The island has an area of and an approximate population of 15,542, making it the largest island in population and the third largest in area. It is served by the Providenciales International Airport...
      
       49 m (161 ft)
    • Low: North Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  • Coastline: North Atlantic Ocean 389 km
• Population of the Turks and Caicos Islands:
• Area of the Turks and Caicos Islands:
• Atlas of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Environment of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Climate of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Environmental issues in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Ecoregions in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Renewable energy in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Geology of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Protected areas of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Biosphere reserves in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • National parks of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Wildlife of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Flora of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Fauna of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    • Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    • Mammals of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Natural geographic features of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Islands of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Lakes of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Mountains of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Volcanoes in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Rivers of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Waterfalls of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Valleys of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• World Heritage Sites in the Turks and Caicos Islands: None

Ecoregions of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Administrative divisions of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Districts of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Districts of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  -Administrative Districts:The Turks and Caicos Islands are divided into six administrative districts , headed by District Commissioners :...
  
  

Districts of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Providenciales and West Caicos
• North Caicos
  North Caicos
  North Caicos is the second-largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. To the west, the Caicos Cays link to Providenciales. To the east, it is separated from Middle Caicos by Juniper Hole, a narrow passage that can accommodate only small boats.North Caicos has an area of 116.4 km² within the...
  
  
• Middle Caicos
  Middle Caicos
  Middle Caicos, also Grand Caicos, is the largest island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. To the west, it is separated from North Caicos by Juniper Hole, and to the east, from East Caicos by Lorimer Creek, both narrow passages that can accommodate only small boats.Middle Caicos has an area of 144.2...
  
  
• South Caicos and East Caicos
• Grand Turk
  Grand Turk
  Grand Turk may refer to:* Grand Turk * Grand Turk Island* Cem, a Turkish prince made famous by his extended captivity in the West* an informal western name for the Great Sultan of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty...
  
  
• Salt Cay
  Salt Cay
  Salt Cay is the name of several Caribbean islands:*Salt Cay, Bahamas*Salt Cay, Turks Islands*Salt Cay, British Virgin Islands*Salt Cay, U.S. Virgin Islands...
  
  
• Turks and Caicos Islands
  Turks and Caicos Islands
  The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
  
  

Demography of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Government and politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Main article: Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands

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...

• Form of government
  Form of government
  A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
  
  : parliamentary
  Parliamentary system
  A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
  
   representative democratic
  Representative democracy
  Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
  
   dependency
  Dependent territory
  A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
  
  
• Capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands: Cockburn Town

• Elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands are carried out at a national level, with the country divided into fifteen constituencies. Each constituency returns one member to the Legislative Council....
  
  

• Political parties in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Political scandals of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • 2009 Corruption scandal
• Taxation in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Branches of the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Executive branch of the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Head of state
  Head of State
  A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
  
  : Monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II
  • Monarch's representative: Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    Governor 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 overseas territory of Turks and Caicos Islands. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
    
    , Ric Todd
• Head of government
  Head of government
  Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
  
  : Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  This is a list of Chief Ministers and Premiers of the Turks and Caicos Islands.-Chief Ministers of the Turks and Caicos Islands:-Premiers of the Turks and Caicos Islands:...
  
  , Office suspended, powers delegated to Governor.
• Cabinet of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Legislative branch of the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly (unicameral)
  • Suspended, powers delegated to Governor

Judicial branch of the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Foreign relations of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Diplomatic missions in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Diplomatic missions of the Turks and Caicos Islands

International organization membership

The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands is a member of:

• Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) (associate)
• Caribbean Development Bank
  Caribbean Development Bank
  The Caribbean Development Bank is a financial institution which assists Caribbean nations in financing social and economic programs in its member countries...
  
   (CDB)
• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) (subbureau)
• Universal Postal Union
  Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
  
   (UPU)

Law and order in the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Capital punishment in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Crime in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Human rights in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • LGBT rights in the Turks and Caicos Islands
    LGBT rights in the Turks and Caicos Islands
    Homosexual acts are legal in the Turks and Caicos Islands, expressly legalized under the United Kingdom's Caribbean Territories Order, 2000.-See also:*British overseas territory*Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands*LGBT rights in the Americas...
    
    
  • Freedom of religion in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Law enforcement in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Military of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    : Queen Elizabeth II
    • Ministry of Defence of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Forces
  • Army of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Navy of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Air Force of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Special forces of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Military history of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Military ranks of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Local government in the Turks and Caicos Islands

History of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Main article: History of the Turks and Caicos Islands

History of the Turks and Caicos Islands

The official Turks and Caicos tourism website claims Columbus set foot on the island in 1492.The history of the Turks and Caicos Islands can be traced back to early European explorations of the Americas. The first recorded sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos Islands occurred...

, Timeline of the history of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Current events of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Economic history of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Military history of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Culture of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Architecture of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Cuisine of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Ethnic minorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Festivals in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Humor in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Languages of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Media in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• National symbols of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Coat of arms of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    Coat of arms of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    The coat of arms of the Turks and Caicos Islands was granted in 1965.The arms consist of a shield bearing a conch shell, lobster, and cactus on a yellow background. The dexter and sinister supporters are flamingos...
    
    
  • Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    The flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the canton. It was adopted on November 7, 1968. It is a defaced Blue Ensign; the yellow shield is taken from the territory's coat of arms and contains a conch...
    
    
  • National anthem of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• People of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Prostitution in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Public holidays in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Records of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Religion in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Religion in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  The majority of the population of the Turks and Caicos Islands are Christian. The CIA World Factbook states that as of 1990 40% were Baptist 16% Methodist, 18% Anglican, 12% Church of God, and 14% "other".- Anglicanism :...
  
  
  • Buddhism in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Christianity in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Hinduism in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Islam in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Judaism in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Sikhism in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• World Heritage Sites in the Turks and Caicos Islands: None

Art in the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Art in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Cinema of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Literature of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Music of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Television in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Theatre in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Sports in the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Football in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Football in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  The sport of football in the country of the Turks and Caicos Islands is run by the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association. The association administers the national football team, as well as the MFL League....
  
  

Economy and infrastructure of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 170th (one hundred and seventieth)

• Agriculture in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Banking in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • National Bank of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Communications in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Internet in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Companies of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Currency of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
  : Dollar
  • ISO 4217
    ISO 4217
    ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
    
    : USD

• Economic history of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Energy in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Energy policy of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Oil industry in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Mining in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Tourism in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Transport in the Turks and Caicos Islands

• the Turks and Caicos Islands Stock Exchange

Infrastructure of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• Health care in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Transportation in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Airports in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Rail transport in the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Roads in the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Water supply and sanitation in the Turks and Caicos Islands

See also

• Index of Turks and Caicos Islands-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of Turks and Caicos Islands-related topics
• Outline of geography
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  
• Outline of North America
• Outline of the United Kingdom
  Outline of the United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain, is a sovereign island nation located in the British Isles of Western Europe...
  
  

External links

• Turks and Caicos Weekly News
• Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands official website
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada - Turks and Caicos profile
• Turks and Caicos - CIA World Factbook
• Turks and Caicos Free Press
• Turks & Caicos Tourist Board
• VisitProvidenciales - Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Tourist Information

History

• History of the Turks And Caicos Islands
• Turks and Caicos History
• Turks and Caicos Islands Timeline of Significant Historical Events
• WorldStatesmen- Turks and Caicos Islands

Relationship with Canada

• CBC News Backgrounder - Canada and the Turks and Caicos