Turks and Caicos Travel Guide & Location Information

The Turks and Caicos Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom consisting of two groups of tropical island located in the Caribbean. The two island groups are in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas, north of Haiti, and 575 miles from Miami, at 21°45′N 71°35′W. The territory is geographically part of the Bahamas, but not politically. The thirty islands total 166 square miles (430 kmē), primarily of low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamps. The weather is usually sunny and relatively dry, but suffers frequent hurricanes. The islands have limited natural fresh water resources; private cisterns collect rainwater for drinking. The primary natural resources are spiny lobster and conch. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Turks and Caicos Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Eight of the thirty islands in the territory are inhabited, with a total population in mid-year-2000 of about 17,500. One-third of the population is under 15 years old, and only 4% are 65 or older. In 2000 the population was growing at a rate of 3.55% per year, with 14.46 migrants per 1,000 population and 25.65 births per 1,000 population, offset by 4.57 deaths per 1,000 population. The infant mortality rate was 18.66 deaths per 1,000 live births and the life expectancy at birth was 73.28 years (71.15 years for males, 75.51 years for females). The total fertility rate was 3.25 children born per woman. Ethnically, the vast majority of inhabitants are black. Two-fifths of them are Baptist, one-fifth Methodist, one-fifth Anglican, and less than 2% Seventh-day Adventist.

The economy of the Turks and Caicos is based on tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The United States was the leading source of tourists in 1996, accounting for more than half of the 87,000 visitors; another major source of tourists is Canada. Tourist arrivals had risen to 93,000 by 1998. Major sources of government revenue include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. The territory's gross domestic product was about $117 million (per capita $7700) in 1997, with a real growth rate of about 4% and an inflation rate of about 4%. The labour force totalled 4848 workers in 1990, one-third of whom work in government and one-fifth of whom work in agriculture and fishing; the rest are employed in tourism, financial, and other services. The unemployment rate is about 10%. The territory takes in revenues of $47 million against expenditures of $33.6 million and receives economic aid, $5.7 million in 1995. The territory's currency is the United States dollar.

The primary agricultural products include maize, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits, and fish. In 1993 the territory exported some $4.7 million (1993) of lobster, dried and fresh conch, and conch shells, primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom. The territory is an important trans-shipment point for South American narcotics destined for the United States.

The islands import food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, and construction materials, primarily from the United States and the United Kingdom. Imports totalled $46.6 million in 1993.

The islands have no significant railways, and 121 kilometres of highway, 24 km paved and 97 km unpaved. The territory's ports and harbours are on Grand Turk and Providenciales. The islands have seven airports. Four have paved runways, three of which are around 2000 meters long and one around 1000 meters long. Three have unpaved runways, two of which are around 1000 meters long and one significantly shorter.

A great many of the tourists who visit the islands are Canadian. Owing to this, the islands' status as a British colony, and historic trade links, some politicians in Canada and the Turks and Caicos have suggested some form of union between the two countries.

In 1973, Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Max Saltsman introduced the first failed attempt at consolidating the islands.

The idea was brought up again in 1986 by Progressive Conservative MP Dan McKenzie, but it was rejected by his party's caucus committee on external affairs in 1987. The committee, chaired by MP David Daubney, looked at immigration, banking, health care, and tourism issues in making its decision.

In 2004, Conservative MP Peter Goldring visited the Turks and Caicos to explore the possibility once more.

For the islands to join Canada as a full province would require amending the Canadian constitution, which is considered highly unlikely. The last new province, Newfoundland and Labrador, was brought into the country in 1949 by an act of British Parliament. Joining as a territory would be easier, as territories can be created by an act of federal law. In addition, its population of less than 20,000 people is considered insufficient for provincial status. However, this attitude may change should the territories of Yukon or Nunavut - both with about 30,000 people each - ever become provinces.

In 2004, the province of Nova Scotia voted to invite Turks and Caicos to join the province, should the islands ever become part of Canada. This would bypass the problems with admitting Turks and Caicos as a separate province.

In The Island by Peter Benchley, a band of latter-day pirates based on an isolated island in the Turks and Caicos prey on passing shipping.