CARIBBEAN INFORMATION

AREA

The Caribbean is the 2,500,000-sq. km (965,000 sq. miles) of the Caribbean Sea and the countries in it. The nations making up the region have a surface area of 90,000 square miles. This region is bounded by the Greater Antilles (larger Caribbean islands) in the north, by the Lesser Antilles (smaller islands) in the east, by the coasts of Venezuela, Columbia and Panama in the south and by the eastern coasts of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and the Mexican Yucatan peninsula in the west. By this definition, countries such as the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands are not in the Caribbean as they are in the Atlantic . They are, however, considered part of the Caribbean for reasons of similar history and culture.  

POPULATION

The Caribbean region consists of 26 islands, with a total population of approximately 38 million people.  

LANGUAGES

Four main languages are spoken: English, Spanish, French and Dutch. Currently, University of the West Indies is conducting an initiative to have Creole included as one of the region’s main languages.  

NOTE:  Excerpt from the International Association of Caribbean Organization website