Caribbean Facts for Kids

The Caribbean is a special part of the Americas. It includes the beautiful Caribbean Sea, with more than 7,000 islands and small land areas. It also touches the coasts of northern South America and eastern Central America. Many people love the Caribbean for its white sandy beaches and warm sunshine!

Geography of the Caribbean
Island Groups and Countries
What's in a Name?
A Rich History and Culture
Images for kids
See also

Geography of the Caribbean

The Caribbean is surrounded by water and land. To its east and north is the huge Atlantic Ocean. To the south, you'll find the coast of South America, and to the southwest, the coast of Central America. The Gulf of Mexico is to its northwest.

The group of islands called the West Indies includes the Bahamas and the Antilles. The Antilles are split into two main parts:

The Greater Antilles: These are larger islands located at the northern edge of the Caribbean Sea.
The Lesser Antilles: These are smaller islands found to the east and south.

The Caribbean islands have many different types of land, from mountains to flat areas. This means they are home to many unique kinds of plants and animals, some of which you won't find anywhere else! Some famous islands in the Caribbean are Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola. The countries of Dominican Republic and Haiti share the island of Hispaniola.

Island Groups and Countries

The Caribbean is made up of many different islands and countries. Here’s a look at some of them:

Name	Area (km²)	Population	Density (inhab./km²)	Capital city	Official language
Bahamian Archipelago
Bahamas	13,880	319,031	23	Nassau	English
Turks and Caicos Islands	948	47,754	50	Cockburn Town	English
Greater Antilles
Cuba	110,860	11,061,886	100	Havana	Spanish
Hispaniola	76,420	20,113,564	263
Haiti	27,750	9,893,934	357	Port-au-Prince	French
Dominican Republic	48,670	10,219,630	210	Santo Domingo	Spanish
Jamaica	10,991	2,909,714	265	Kingston	English
Puerto Rico	13,790	3,674,209	266	San Juan	Spanish
Cayman Islands	264	53,737	204	George Town	English
Lesser Antilles
Leeward Islands
United States Virgin Islands	1,910	104,737	55	Charlotte Amalie	English
British Virgin Islands	151	31,912	211	Road Town	English
Anguilla	91	15,754	173	The Valley	English
Antigua and Barbuda	443	90,156	204	Saint John's	English
Saint Martin	88	70,953	806
Saint Martin	54	31,264	579	Marigot	French
Sint Maarten	34	39,689	1167	Philipsburg	Dutch
Saba	13	1,971	152	The Bottom	Dutch
Sint Eustatius	21	3,791	181	Oranjestad	Dutch
Saint Barthélemy	22	7,298	332	Gustavia	French
Saint Kitts and Nevis	261	51,134	196	Basseterre	English
Montserrat	102	5,189	51	Plymouth	English
Guadeloupe	1,628	405,500	249	Basse-Terre	French
Windward Islands
Dominica	751	73,286	98	Roseau	English
Martinique	1,128	403,795	358	Fort-de-France	French
Saint Lucia	616	162,781	264	Castries	English
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	389	103,220	265	Kingstown	English
Grenada	344	109,590	319	St. George's	English
Barbados	430	288,725	671	Bridgetown	English
Trinidad and Tobago	5,128	1,225,225	239	Port of Spain	English
ABC Islands
Aruba	180	109,153	606	Oranjestad	Dutch
Bonaire	294	16,541	56	Kralendijk	Dutch
Curaçao	444	146,836	331	Willemstad	Dutch

What's in a Name?

The name Caribbean comes from the Carib people. They were indigenous (native) people who lived in the Lesser Antilles and northern South America when Europeans first arrived.

A Rich History and Culture

In the 1700s, many countries tried to colonize (take control of) the Caribbean islands. Because of this, the Caribbean today has a very mixed and rich culture. You can see influences from Africa, India, and many countries in Europe in their music, food, and traditions.

Images for kids

A map showing the Caribbean region.
Old languages spoken in the Antilles before Europeans arrived.
The Battle of the Saintes in 1782, a sea battle between British and French ships.
A Cuban tank crew on duty in Angola.
The Caribbean Plate, a large piece of Earth's crust.
A beautiful tropical island in the Caribbean, San Andrés.
A field of Cuban tobacco plants in Pinar del Río.
A view of Puerto Rico's south shore from the mountains of Jayuya.
Grand Anse beach in Grenada.
A church cemetery in the mountains of Guadeloupe.
A view of Nevis island from Saint Kitts.
Spanish-controlled Caribbean islands around 1600.
How the political map of the Caribbean changed from 1700 onwards.
Most of the Caribbean was controlled by Spain in the 18th century.
Clear water at Cayo de Agua, Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela.
Palancar Beach on Cozumel Island in Mexico.
Guanaja Island in Honduras.
A linen market in Dominica in the 1770s.
A painting by Agostino Brunias showing free women of color.
People of Asian Indian heritage singing and dancing in Trinidad and Tobago in the late 1800s.
A street scene in Matanzas, Cuba.
The Havana Cathedral in Cuba, finished in 1777.
Holy Trinity Cathedral in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Temple in the Sea, a Hindu temple in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Muhammad Ali Jinnah Memorial Masjid, a Muslim mosque in Trinidad and Tobago.
An altar used in Haitian Vodou.
Doubles, a popular dish from Trinidad and Tobago.
Arroz con gandules, a national dish of Puerto Rico.
Cuban forces with tanks during the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961.
A Marine watching a position in Santo Domingo, 1965.
A Soviet-made armored vehicle captured by US forces in 1983.
US Army helicopters on a Navy aircraft carrier off Haiti in 1994.
Plants called epiphytes growing in the rainforest of Dominica.
A green and black poison frog.
A beautiful Caesalpinia pulcherrima flower in Guadeloupe.
Costus speciosus, a marsh plant, in Guadeloupe.
An Atlantic ghost crab on a beach in Martinique.
A Crescentia cujete (calabash fruit) in Martinique.
A bluehead wrasse fish swimming over feather duster worms.
Two banded cleaner shrimp on a giant barrel sponge.
A pair of fingerprint cowry shells off the coast of Haiti.
The Martinique amazon, an extinct type of parrot.
A Caribbean fruit fly.
A tropical gecko in Dominica.

Caribbean facts for kids

Contents

Geography of the Caribbean

Island Groups and Countries

What's in a Name?

A Rich History and Culture

Images for kids

See also