A List of the Caribbean Countries and Dependencies With Maps

Thinking about going to the Caribbean? This tropical spot is nestled in the Americas, between the North and South American continents.

The Caribbean refers to a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands, and the surrounding coasts. The area is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and north of South America.

It includes thousands of islands, islets, reefs, and cays, many of which are grouped into island nations or territories.

What are the Caribbean countries and dependencies?

The Caribbean Sea is bounded by the coasts of Colombia, French Guiana (French territory), Guyana, Panama, Suriname and Venezuela.

On the west, we can see Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and parts of Mexico.

To the north are the Greater Antilles islands of the Cayman Islands (UK territory), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (US territory). These are the largest islands in the Caribbean Sea.

The Lesser Antilles consist of an island arc that extends from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are the sovereign nations located here.

The non-sovereign, dependent nations of Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Nueva Esparta, Puerto Rican (Spanish) Virgin Islands, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and the United States Virgin Islands are also located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean.

Caribbean countries and dependencies list

Below is a list of the Caribbean countries and dependencies, along with their capitals and locations. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands in the Lesser Antilles, while the Wayward Islands are the southern part of the island chain.

Although not geographically located in the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas is often considered part of the Caribbean region. The Bahamas consists of 700 islands located in the Atlantic Ocean. Turks and Caicos, to the southeast of the Bahamas, are another common misconception, as they are also found in the Atlantic.

Country/Dependency	Capital	Caribbean Region	Territory
Anguilla	The Valley	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Britain
Antigua and Barbuda	Saint John's	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Aruba	Oranjestad	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Netherlands
Barbados	Bridgetown	Atlantic
Bonaire	Kralendijk	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Netherlands
British Virgin Islands	Road Town	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Britain
Cayman Islands	George Town	Greater Antilles	Britain
Cuba	Havana	Greater Antilles
Curaçao	Willemstad	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Netherlands
Dominica	Roseau	Windward Islands, L Antilles
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	Greater Antilles
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela		Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Venezuela
Grenada	Saint George's	Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Guadeloupe	Basse-Terre	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	France
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	Greater Antilles
Jamaica	Kingston	Greater Antilles
Margarita	La Asunción	Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Martinique	Fort-de-France	Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles	France
Montserrat	Plymouth	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Britain
Puerto Rico	San Juan	Greater Antilles	United States
Saba	The Bottom	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Netherlands
Saint Barthélemy	Gustavia	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Saint Eustatius	Oranjestad	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Netherlands
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Saint Lucia	Castries	Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Saint Martin	Marigot	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	Netherlands
Sint Maarten	Philipsburg	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	Windward Islands, Lesser Antilles
Turks and Caicos	Cockburn Town	Atlantic	Britain
United States Virgin Islands	Charlotte Amalie	Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles	United States

The cultural significance of the Caribbean

Due to colonization by European powers (such as Spain, France, Britain, and the Netherlands) and the influence of African, Indigenous, and Asian cultures, the Caribbean is highly diverse in terms of language, culture, and traditions.

The Caribbean has a complex history, heavily influenced by European colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, and independence movements. Many islands in the Caribbean are now independent nations, though some remain territories of European or North American countries.

Latin American and Caribbean states

The United Nations divides the world into regional groups. One such region is known as the “Latin American and Caribbean states.” According to the United Nations, there are 33 Latin American and Caribbean state members.

The members of the United Nations are sovereign states, which means they are not controlled by another country. If you want to refer to Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, here are its members:

1. Antigua and Barbuda 
2. Argentina 
3. Bahamas 
4. Barbados
5. Belize 
6. Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 
7. Brazil 
8. Chile 
9. Colombia 
10. Costa Rica 
11. Cuba
12. Dominica
13. Dominican Republic 
14. Ecuador 
15. El Salvador 
16. Grenada 
17. Guatemala 
18. Guyana
19. Haiti 
20. Honduras 
21. Jamaica 
22. Mexico 
23. Nicaragua
24. Panama
25. Paraguay
26. Peru 
27. Saint Kitts and Nevis
28. Saint Lucia
29. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
30. Suriname
31. Trinidad and Tobago
32. Uruguay
33. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)