The Caribbean is a region of America consisting of the Caribbean Sea containing 700 islands and a number of states on the surrounding mainland. Not all islands are populated. But they all form a well-known tourist area with the clearest water and where you can completely relax. However, every island or other state on the mainland has its specialties.

Location of the Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America and north of South America. Some islands are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some border both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Isles, reefs and cays of the Caribbean

There are more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. Island arcs demarcate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea: The Greater Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago to the north and the Lesser Antilles and to the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles). They form the West Indies with the nearby Lucayan Archipelago (the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands), which are considered part of the Caribbean despite not bordering the Caribbean Sea. On the mainland, Belize, Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, Margarita Island, and the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, the Guayana region, and Amapá in Brazil) are often included because of their political and cultural ties to the region.

Organization of the Caribbean

Geopolitically, the islands of the Caribbean (West Indies) are often considered a region of North America, although they are sometimes included in Central America or left as a region of their own. They are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments and dependencies. From December 15, 1954 to October 10, 2010, there was a country known as the Netherlands Antilles, consisting of five states, all of which were under Dutch dependency. From January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962, there was also a short-lived political union called the West Indies Federation, which consisted of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then British subordinates.