The Caribbean, long referred to as the West Indies, includes more than 7,000 islands; of those, 13 are independent island countries, and some are dependencies or overseas territories of other nations. In addition, that large number includes islets (very small rocky islands); cay’s (small, low islands composed largely of coral or sand) and a few inhabited reefs: See Belize.
In geographical terms the Caribbean area includes the Caribbean Sea and all of the islands located to the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and Mexico, and to the north of South America. Some of its counted cay’s, islands, islets and inhabited reefs front the handful of countries that border the region.
The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are not considered a part of the Caribbean, however, we show them here because of their cultural, geographical and political associations with the Greater Antilles and other Caribbean Islands.
Anguilla
Antigua
Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Dutch Caribbean
French Caribbean
Grenada
Jamaica
Montserrat
Nevis
Puerto Rico
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos
US Virgin Islands
