Caribbean Islands Map: Every Island Nation & Territory

The Caribbean Sea is home to 13 sovereign nations and numerous territories spread across the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles. From Cuba to Trinidad, explore every island's geography, capital, and unique features in this complete guide.

Overview

The Caribbean region encompasses over 700 islands, reefs, and cays scattered across the Caribbean Sea between North and South America. Of these, 13 are sovereign nations and dozens more are overseas territories of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands. The Caribbean Sea itself covers approximately 2.75 million km² and is bounded by Central America to the west, South America to the south, and the island chains of the Antilles to the north and east.

The islands are divided into two main groups: the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico) — large, geologically older islands that account for roughly 90% of the Caribbean's total land area — and the Lesser Antilles, a sweeping arc of smaller islands subdivided into the Windward Islands (southern, facing trade winds) and the Leeward Islands (northern, sheltered from trade winds). The eastern Lesser Antilles are part of a volcanic arc formed by the subduction of the Atlantic Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate, while many western islands sit on limestone platforms.

Countries & Territories

Greater Antilles — Sovereign Nations

• Cuba — Capital: Havana. Largest Caribbean island (109,884 km²).
• Jamaica — Capital: Kingston. Third-largest Caribbean island (10,991 km²).
• Haiti — Capital: Port-au-Prince. Western third of Hispaniola.
• Dominican Republic — Capital: Santo Domingo. Eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, highest Caribbean peak (Pico Duarte, 3,098 m).

Greater Antilles — Major Territories

• Puerto Rico (US) — Capital: San Juan. Commonwealth, 9,104 km².
• Cayman Islands (UK) — Capital: George Town. Three islands south of Cuba.

Lesser Antilles — Windward Islands (Sovereign Nations)

• Dominica — Capital: Roseau. "Nature Isle of the Caribbean," volcanic, rainforested.
• Saint Lucia — Capital: Castries. Famous twin Pitons volcanic spires.
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — Capital: Kingstown. 32 islands and cays.
• Grenada — Capital: St. George's. "Spice Isle," major nutmeg producer.
• Barbados — Capital: Bridgetown. Easternmost Caribbean island (technically in the Atlantic).
• Trinidad and Tobago — Capital: Port of Spain. Southernmost, just off Venezuela's coast.

Lesser Antilles — Leeward Islands (Sovereign Nations)

• Antigua and Barbuda — Capital: St. John's. 365 beaches ("one for every day").
• Saint Kitts and Nevis — Capital: Basseterre. Smallest sovereign nation in the Americas.

Lesser Antilles — Other Sovereign Nation

• The Bahamas — Capital: Nassau. Archipelago of 700 islands north of Cuba (technically in the Atlantic, not the Caribbean Sea).

Major Territories

• US Virgin Islands (US) — Capital: Charlotte Amalie. St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John.
• British Virgin Islands (UK) — Capital: Road Town. 60+ islands and cays.
• Guadeloupe (France) — Capital: Basse-Terre. Butterfly-shaped twin islands.
• Martinique (France) — Capital: Fort-de-France. Mount Pelée active volcano.
• Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten (Netherlands) — Constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
• Turks and Caicos (UK) — Capital: Cockburn Town. Low-lying coral islands.
• Montserrat (UK) — Capital: Brades (Plymouth abandoned due to volcanic eruption, 1997).
• Anguilla (UK) — Capital: The Valley. Flat, coral island.

Geographic Features

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea covers 2.75 million km² and reaches depths of over 7,686 meters at the Cayman Trench — the deepest point in the Caribbean. Its warm waters (averaging 26-28°C) fuel tropical storms and hurricanes and support the world's second-largest coral reef system. The Caribbean connects to the Atlantic through numerous passages and to the Pacific via the Panama Canal.

Volcanic Eastern Arc

The eastern Caribbean islands from Grenada to Saba form a volcanic arc created by the subduction of the Atlantic Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate. Active volcanoes include Soufrière Hills (Montserrat, erupted 1995-2010, burying the capital Plymouth), La Soufrière (St. Vincent, erupted 2021), and Mount Pelée (Martinique, whose 1902 eruption killed 30,000 people in minutes). The volcanic soil makes these islands lush and fertile despite their small size.

Limestone Platforms

In contrast, the Greater Antilles and western islands (including the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Barbados, and Anguilla) sit on limestone platforms. These islands tend to be flatter, with coral formations, caves, sinkholes (blue holes), and white sand beaches. The Bahamas' Great Blue Hole (similar to Belize's) and Barbados' Harrison's Cave are examples of limestone karst features.

Biodiversity

The Caribbean is a biodiversity hotspot with high levels of endemism. Cuba alone has over 6,500 plant species, roughly half found nowhere else. The region supports critically endangered species like the Cuban crocodile, Jamaican iguana, and numerous endemic birds across the island chain.

Key Facts

• 13 sovereign Caribbean nations plus numerous overseas territories of the US, UK, France, and the Netherlands.
• The Caribbean Sea covers approximately 2.75 million km².
• Cuba is the largest island (109,884 km²); Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas.
• Pico Duarte in the Dominican Republic (3,098 m) is the highest peak in the Caribbean.
• The Cayman Trench reaches 7,686 m — the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea.
• The Caribbean lies in the Atlantic hurricane belt, with peak season from June to November.

Fun Facts

• Montserrat's former capital Plymouth is the only ghost town that serves as the official capital of a political territory — it was buried by volcanic eruptions starting in 1997.
• Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas, with a total area of just 261 km².
• Cuba has more classic American cars from the 1950s still in daily use than anywhere else in the world.
• Dominica has a "Boiling Lake" — the second-largest thermally active lake in the world, filled with bubbling greyish-blue water.
• Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean island and technically sits in the Atlantic Ocean, not the Caribbean Sea.