Caribbean

This article is about the group of islands. For the body of water surrounding them, see Caribbean Sea. For the Indigenous inhabitants of the Caribbean or people of Caribbean descent, see Caribbean people. For other uses, see Caribbean (disambiguation).
Caribbean
Area269,681 km2 (104,124 sq mi)
Population44,182,048[1][2]
Population density151.5/km2 (392/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsAfro-Caribbean, Latino or Hispanic, (Spanish, Portuguese, Criollo, Mestizo, Mulatto, Pardo, and Zambo), Indian, European, Chinese, Jewish, Arab, Amerindian, Javanese,[3] Hmong, Multiracial
ReligionsChristianity, Hinduism, Islam, Afro-American religions, Traditional African religions, Rastafari, Native American religions, Judaism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religions (incl. Confucianism and Taoism), Baháʼí, Kebatinan, Sikhism, Irreligion, others
DemonymCaribbean, West Indian
Countries16
Dependencies12
Languages
Time zonesUTC−05:00 to UTC−04:00
Internet TLDMultiple
Calling codeMultiple
Largest cities
UN M49 code029 – Caribbean
419 – Latin America and the Caribbean
019 – Americas
001 – World

The Caribbean (/ˌkærɪˈbiːən, kəˈrɪbiən/ KARR-ib-EE-ən, kə-RIB-ee-ən, locally /ˈkærɪbiæn/ KARR-ib-ee-an;[4] Spanish: el Caribe; French: les Caraïbes; Dutch: de Caraïben), is a subregion in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America to the west, and South America to the south, it comprises numerous islands, cays, islets, reefs, and banks. It includes the Lucayan Archipelago, Greater Antilles, and Lesser Antilles of the West Indies; the Quintana Roo islands and Belizean islands of the Yucatán Peninsula; and the Bay Islands, Miskito Cays, Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, and Corn Islands of Central America. It also includes the coastal areas on the continental mainland of the Americas bordering the region from the Yucatán Peninsula in North America through Central America to the Guianas in South America.[5][6]

Caribbean as seen from space at night, 2012
Caribbean as seen from space at night, 2012
  1. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ^ McWhorter, John H. (2005). Defining Creole. Oxford University Press US. p. 379. ISBN 978-0-19-516670-5.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference dce was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Engerman, Stanley L. (2000). "A Population History of the Caribbean". In Haines, Michael R.; Steckel, Richard Hall (eds.). A Population History of North America. Cambridge University Press. pp. 483–528. ISBN 978-0-521-49666-7. OCLC 41118518.
  6. ^ Hillman, Richard S.; D'Agostino, Thomas J., eds. (2003). Understanding the contemporary Caribbean. London, UK: Lynne Rienner. ISBN 978-1588266637. OCLC 300280211.