Arctic Ocean (2001) | Turks and Caicos Islands (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 31.3% (male 3,466/female 3,345)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 7,398/female 6,690) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 394/female 453) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits; fish |
Airports | - | 8 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 430 sq km
land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands remain a British overseas territory. |
Birth rate | - | 21.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $47 million
expenditures: $33.6 million (1997-98 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 389 km |
Constitution | - | Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August 2006) |
Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands abbreviation: TCI |
Death rate | - | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | have received Haitians fleeing economic and civil disorder |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $4.1 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, offshore financial services, and fishing. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the leading source of tourists, accounting for more than three-quarters of the 175,000 visitors that arrived in 2004. Major sources of government revenue also include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 10.76 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 11.57 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Hills 49 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | limited natural fresh water resources, private cisterns collect rainwater |
Ethnic groups | - | black 90%, mixed, European, or North American 10% |
Exchange rates | - | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005)
head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003); note - the office of premier was created in the 2006 constitution cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly, and the attorney general elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed premier by the governor |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells |
Exports - partners | - | US, UK (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 21 45 N, 71 35 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | about 40 islands (eight inhabited) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials |
Imports - partners | - | US, UK (2006) |
Independence | - | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | - | tourism, offshore financial services |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4% (1995) |
International organization participation | - | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU |
Irrigated land | - | NA |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | - | 4,848 (1990 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | note: about 33% in government and 20% in agriculture and fishing; significant numbers in tourism, financial, and other services |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 2.33%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.67% (2005) |
Languages | - | English (official) |
Legal system | - | based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats by party - PNP 13, PDM 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 74.95 years
male: 72.69 years female: 77.32 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti |
Map references | Arctic Region | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) |
Nationality | - | noun: none
adjective: none |
Natural hazards | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | frequent hurricanes |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | spiny lobster, conch |
Net migration rate | - | 9.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
People - note | - | destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound for the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and the US |
Political parties and leaders | - | People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Floyd SEYMOUR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 21,746 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 2.722% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2003) |
Religions | - | Baptist 40%, Anglican 18%, Methodist 16%, Church of God 12%, other 14% (1990) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.073 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: fully digital system with international direct dialing
domestic: full range of services available; GSM wireless service available international: country code - 1-649; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 5,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1,700 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 0 (broadcasts received from The Bahamas; 2 cable television networks) (2003) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps |
Total fertility rate | - | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 10% (1997 est.) |