Disputes - international: have received Haitians fleeing economic and civil disorder
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 11,842
females age 16-49: 11,755
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 338
female: 342
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
Airports: 8
country comparison to the world: 162
Roadways: total: 121 km
country comparison to the world: 211
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 97 km
Ports and terminals: Cockburn Harbour, Grand Turk, Providenciales
Telephones - main lines in use: 3,700
country comparison to the world: 217
Telephones - mobile cellular: 25,100
country comparison to the world: 206
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; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic telecommunications submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Broadcast media: no local terrestrial TV stations, broadcasts from the Bahamas can be received and multi-channel cable and satellite TV services are available; government-run radio network operates alongside private broadcasters with a total of about 15 stations
Internet country code: .tc
Internet hosts: 72,591
country comparison to the world: 85
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.
Dependency status: overseas territory of the UK
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of the UK)
Constitution: Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution (Interim Amendment) Order 2009, S.I. 2009/701 - effective 14 August 2009 - suspended Ministerial government, the House of Assembly, and the constitutional right to trial by jury, and imposed direct British rule
Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law and civil law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Ethnic groups: black 87.6%, white 7.9%, mixed 2.5%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.7%
Languages: English (official)
Religions: Protestant 72.8% (Baptist 35.8%, Church of God 11.7%, Anglican 10%, Methodist 9.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%), Roman Catholic 11.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.8%, other 14%
Population: 46,335
country comparison to the world: 210
Median age: total: 30.9 years
male: 31.2 years
female: 30.6 years
Population growth rate: 3.17%
country comparison to the world: 6
Net migration rate: 17.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 4
Urbanization: urban population: 93% of total population
rate of urbanization: 1.6% annual rate of change
Major cities - population: GRAND TURK (capital) 6,000
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.26 years
country comparison to the world: 42
male: 76.53 years
female: 82.12 years
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman
country comparison to the world: 168
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 98%
People - note: destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound for the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and the US
Location: two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti
Geography - note: about 40 islands (eight inhabited)
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.
