Located 50 miles south east of Mayaguana in the Bahamas, the tropical islands of Turks and Caicos are one of fourteen British Overseas Territories around the world. Spain, France and Britain controlled the islands at various times during the 16th to 18th centuries before becoming a Jamaican dependency from 1873 to 1959. Canada has made several moves in the last 100 years to take control of the islands but they remain under the banner of the Union flag.

The eight main inhabited islands and 20 remaining smaller islands have a total land area of less than 240 square miles with a combined population of just over 30,000 and most of these live on Providenciales, the most developed island in the country.

Our Caribbean and Atlantic Islands rankings were last updated in February 2020. Click the link to read the story.