| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands |
| Capital: |
Grand Turk |
| Location: |
Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
21 45 N, 71 35 W |
| Area: |
total: 430 sq km
land: 430 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Hills 49 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
spiny lobster, conch |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Independence |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) |
| Constitution: |
introduced 30 August 1976; suspended in 1986; restored and revised 5 March 1988 |
| Legal
System; |
based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1953), represented by Governor Jim POSTON (since 16 December 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex officio members and five appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Council
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed chief minister by the governor |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Legislative Council (19 seats of which 13 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 24 April 2003 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PDM 53.8%, PNP 46.2%; seats by party - PDM 7, PNP 6; note - in by-elections held 7 August 2003, the PNP gained two seats for a majority of 8 seats; PDM now has 5 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Derek H. TAYLOR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
20,556 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 32.5% (male 3,396/female 3,277)
15-64 years: 63.8% (male 6,900/female 6,220)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 342/female 421) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 27.35 years
male: 28.08 years
female: 26.62 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: none
adjective: none |
| Ethnic groups: |
black 90%, mixed, European, or North American 10% |
| Religions: |
Baptist 40%, Methodist 16%, Anglican 18%, Church of God 12%, other 14% (1990) |
| Languages: |
English (official) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
5,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
1,700 (1999) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: fully digital system with international direct dialing
domestic: full range of services available
international: country code - 1-649; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
0 (broadcasts from The Bahamas are received; 2 cable television networks) (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.tc |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
NA |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 121 km
paved: 24 km
unpaved: 97 km (2000) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Grand Turk, Providenciales |
| Merchant marine: |
|
| Airports: |
8 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
