Turks and Caicos Islands Geography - 2024

Location

two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti; note - although the Turks and Caicos Islands do not border the Caribbean Sea, geopolitically they are often designated as being Caribbean

Geographic coordinates

21 45 N, 71 35 W

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

total: 948 sq km

land: 948 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

389 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate

tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry

Terrain

low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps

Elevation

highest point: Blue Hill on Providenciales and Flamingo Hill on East Caicos 48 m

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

Natural resources

spiny lobster, conch

Land use

agricultural land: 1.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)

forest: 36.2% (2018 est.)

other: 62.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

0 sq km (2022)

Population distribution

eight of the thirty islands are inhabited; the island of Providenciales is the most populated, but the most densely populated is Grand Turk

Natural hazards

frequent hurricanes

Geography - note

include eight large islands and numerous smaller cays, islets, and reefs; only two of the Caicos Islands and six of the Turks group are inhabited