Every figure below carries its named source and year. The Eco Index scores twelve pillars on the same scale everywhere; seven are measured from published data with fixed thresholds, five are assessed from the named sources.
The Turks & Caicos at a Glance.
The score, and the four numbers that set the tone. 12 equally-weighted pillars, every pillar sourced.
Compare with:
Renewable power
4%
of electricity
Food imported
25%
of merchandise imports · ~US$223m a year
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
Facts That Surprise People About the Turks & Caicos.
The numbers and firsts that change how you see the Turks & Caicos, the sobering and the remarkable. Every one is dated and linked to its source.
SoberingHealth
Fewer than half have safely managed drinking water
In 2024, only 47% of people in the Turks and Caicos Islands used safely managed drinking water services, according to World Bank data from the WHO and UNICEF monitoring programme.
SoberingEnvironment
Only a third have safely managed sanitation
In 2024, 33.9% of people in the Turks and Caicos Islands used safely managed sanitation services, according to World Bank data.
SoberingFood
A quarter of imports were food
Food made up 25.3% of the islands' merchandise imports in 2012, the latest year with World Bank data.
SoberingEnvironment
A coral disease spread to all areas in two years
Stony coral tissue loss disease arrived in the Turks and Caicos in January 2019 and invaded forereefs in all areas in about two years. Surveys recorded 32 affected coral species, the highest count in the region as of 2021.
RemarkableNature
A protected wetland of 58,617 hectares
The North, Middle and East Caicos Ramsar site, designated in 1990, covers 58,617 hectares of tidal flats, brine pans, ponds and mangroves. Old flamingo nests have been found on its saline sand flats and in some of its ponds.
Worth knowingNature
An iguana found almost nowhere else
The Turks and Caicos rock iguana lives only in the Turks and Caicos and on Booby Cay in the Bahamas. Its population is put at about 30,000 and it is listed as Endangered.
Worth knowingHistory
John Glenn came ashore on Grand Turk
After becoming the first American to orbit the Earth on 20 February 1962, John Glenn splashed down about 800 miles south east of Cape Canaveral. He reached Grand Turk about five hours later and spent two days there having medical checks and debriefings.
The History of the Turks & Caicos.
For a small territory the Turks and Caicos keep a living heritage of their own. Ripsaw music, also called rake and scrape, is the national music, played on an ordinary carpenter's handsaw with a goatskin drum, a hand accordion, maracas and an acoustic guitar.
Where the name comes from
Turks comes from the Turk's Head cactus, and Caicos is the Lucayan term caya hico, meaning a string of islands, according to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.
The land itself: low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamp. Its high point is Blue Hills on Providenciales and Flamingo Hill on East Caicos, 48 m. Source: national mapping and survey records.
Where it starts
Lucayan islands
The Coralie site on Grand Turk was first inhabited about 1,300 years ago and is the oldest known archaeological site in the Turks and Caicos and all of the Bahamas. Taíno people from Hispaniola visited the islands seasonally from about AD 750 and had set up permanent villages and trading stations by 900. Lucayan objects, among them a canoe paddle and a duho, the ceremonial seat of a chief, are held today by the Turks and Caicos National Museum.
How it got here
Salt on empty islands
Within a single generation of Columbus's landing, the Lucayans had been worked to death as miners and pearl divers or killed by European diseases, and the islands were stripped of their population. By the 1670s Bermudians had begun raking salt from the natural ponds, and salt rakers founded Grand Turk some three centuries ago. The islands became a dependency of Jamaica in 1874, and at Jamaican independence in 1962 they voted to remain a British Crown Colony.
The timeline
c. AD 700
The Coralie site.
The Coralie site on Grand Turk was first inhabited about 1,300 years ago. It is the oldest known archaeological site in the Turks and Caicos and all of the Bahamas. Source
c. AD 750 to 900
Lucayan settlement.
Taíno people from Hispaniola visit the islands seasonally from about AD 750. By 900 they have set up permanent villages and trading stations. Source
1300 to 1500
Villages on every island.
Lucayan settlements stand on all the main islands and most of the cays. Source
Early 1500s
A people taken.
Spanish arrivals use Lucayan people as miners and pearl divers in a de facto slave system, and many more die of European diseases. Within a single generation of Columbus's landing, the islands are stripped of their population. Source
1670s
Bermudian salt rakers.
By the 1670s Bermudians have begun collecting salt from the natural salt ponds, on islands whose people had been removed more than a century earlier. Source
1834
Abolition.
The Emancipation Act takes effect on 1 August 1834. The Bahamas legislature, which then governed the Turks and Caicos, chooses an apprenticeship scheme for the people it freed, and ends it early on 21 July 1838. Source
1962
A separate territory.
When Jamaica becomes independent in 1962, the islands, a dependency of Jamaica since 1874, vote to remain a British Crown Colony. Source
Turks and Caicos National Museum, Lucayans · Journal of Caribbean Archaeology, Florida Museum of Natural History · Turks and Caicos National Museum, Turks and Caicos history timeline · Turks and Caicos National Museum, Brief history of emancipation · Turks and Caicos National Museum, Bermudans and the salt industry · Florida Museum of Natural History, Crawling out of history, the Grand Turk tortoise · Turks and Caicos Islands Government, Historical background
Nature and Biodiversity in the Turks & Caicos.
This is where the Turks and Caicos are genuinely strong. National Parks were established in 1975 under the National Parks Ordinance. The estate now runs to 35 protected areas covering 71,714 hectares, five terrestrial and 28 marine, made up of 11 national parks, 11 nature reserves, four sanctuaries and nine areas of historic interest.
Is wild Turks & Caicos protected? 43.5% of the land is, already past the 30% target for 2030
How protected is nature in Turks & Caicos?
Forest cover11.07%
Terrestrial protected area43.5%
Marine protected area0.2%
61 (mammals, birds, fish & plants) listed as threatened.
World Bank Open Data · Protected Planet (UNEP-WCMC / WDPA) · GBIF occurrence data · IUCN Red List, threatened species by country (Summary Statistics, Table 5) · World Bank, Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters): Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Fish species, threatened: Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Mammal species, threatened: Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Bird species, threatened: Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Plant species (higher), threatened: Turks and Caicos Islands
Found only here. Turks and Caicos rock iguana; Caicos pygmy boa; Turks and Caicos heather
The watchlist
ThreatenedHawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (turtle).
ThreatenedReef starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedStenandrium carolinae Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (plant).
ThreatenedHamlet (Epinephelus striatus) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedElkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedBrain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedGreen Cactus Coral (Madracis decactis) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedBrain coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
What is still here, and what is gone?
Tap a species for the honest status.
Closest to being lost, by name
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Turks & Caicos. GBIF holds 33 verified occurrence records.
Reef starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Turks & Caicos. GBIF holds 135 verified occurrence records.
Stenandrium carolinae
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Turks & Caicos. GBIF holds 4 verified occurrence records.
Hamlet (Epinephelus striatus)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Turks & Caicos. GBIF holds 50 verified occurrence records.
Species named here are drawn from GBIF occurrence records for Turks & Caicos filtered to the IUCN Red List threatened categories. Species are listed where GBIF holds occurrence records for them in this country. Record counts are not published here because the figure cannot be reproduced from a public GBIF query.
Who is putting it back
Listed and checked on Hold The Throne. Visiting it is the most direct way a visitor funds work on the ground in Turks & Caicos.
Listed and checked on Hold The Throne. Visiting it is the most direct way a visitor funds work on the ground in Turks & Caicos.
Crossing Place Trail
Listed and checked on Hold The Throne. Visiting it is the most direct way a visitor funds work on the ground in Turks & Caicos.
Bird Rock Trail
Listed and checked on Hold The Throne. Visiting it is the most direct way a visitor funds work on the ground in Turks & Caicos.
Water and Ocean in the Turks & Caicos.
There is almost no natural fresh water here. The islands are low, dry limestone, and potable water is produced by reverse osmosis desalination of brackish groundwater and seawater. On Providenciales the Providenciales Water Company supplies roughly 90 per cent of the island's water from a reverse osmosis plant at Grace Bay, and commercial operators including Consolidated Water and Seven Seas Water run further capacity.
47% of people here have safely managed drinking water at home (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP). Coverage is well short of universal, so a visitor should not assume the tap is safe.
Cleanest water: Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park, Providenciales
What are the rules on Turks & Caicos beaches?
✓Tap water: Unverified.
✓Plastic rules: Bags May 2019; polystyrene and straws from December 2019.
✕Solo travel: rated moderate on the record for this destination.
✕Marine protection: 0.2% of the sea is protected. The 30x30 pledge for 2030 is not met yet.
Named on the open map: Governor's Beach, Horse Stable Beach, Malcom Beach, Palm Grove Sunset Cabana beach, Pumpkin Bluff Beach, Sapodilla Bay Beach. That is 8 named beaches in the public record for Turks & Caicos, each one a place you can look up before you go. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
33.9%
of people have safely managed sanitation
33.9% of people here use a safely managed sanitation service, meaning waste is contained, emptied and treated rather than reaching the ground or the sea untreated (2024, World Bank / WHO-UNICEF JMP, SDG 6.2.1). The rest is what the rivers and the coast receive.
How is the sea around Turks & Caicos doing?
One cross-section, every answer measured.
Surface
What the coast carries
Humpback whales migrate through the Columbus Passage January–April, best late January to early March.
Nearshore
Protected water
0.2% of territorial waters are protected, against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Cleanest
Where the water is cleanest
Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park, Providenciales.
The record
Measured
There is almost no natural fresh water here. The islands are low, dry limestone, and potable water is produced by reverse osmosis desalination of brackish groundwater and seawater.
Turks and Caicos scored 78 out of 100 on the Ocean Health Index in its 2025 assessment, above the global average of 72, and ranked 37th of 220 coastal regions. The index team says it is no longer updating scores, so the 2025 figures may be the last.
Sea protected
0.2%
Against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Threatened species
61 (mammals, birds, fish & plants)
Mammals, birds, fish and higher plants on the IUCN list.
Is the tap water safe in Turks & Caicos?
47% of people have safely managed drinking water at home (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP).
Seaweed on the beaches. Sargassum reaches the islands mostly on windward coasts. A local guide names Long Bay, Cooper Jack Bay and Five Cays on Providenciales, much of South Caicos and Grand Turk, the eastern side of North Caicos and the Ambergris Cays, while leeward beaches such as Grace Bay, Leeward and Sapodilla Bay are largely clear. It says the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has been a significant source since around 2011, that influxes are seasonal and worst from late summer to early autumn, and that levels were still somewhat high in October 2026. In 2024 the UK Blue Belt Programme and the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources held workshops on Providenciales and Grand Turk that are to form the basis of a sargassum management plan.
When is the best time to visit Turks & Caicos? Tap your month.
Tap your month.
FAO AQUASTAT · WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme · World Bank Open Data · Ocean Health Index, Turks and Caicos Islands · Ocean Health Index, Global scores · UK Blue Belt Programme blog, Addressing sargassum influxes in the Turks and Caicos Islands (8 April 2024) · Visit Turks and Caicos Islands, Sargassum
Food and Drink in the Turks & Caicos.
Most of the food eaten in the Turks and Caicos is imported, according to the islands' government, and food made up 25.3% of merchandise imports in 2012, the latest year with World Bank data. The government lists corn, beans, cassava, citrus fruit and fish among the islands' farm products, and lobster is regularly served and is one of the main exports.
Where does the food in Turks & Caicos come from?
25.3% imported
about US$223m a year
On the plate: Queen conch is the national symbol and dietary staple (fritters, salad, chowder), cucumbers, papaya, herbs and lettuce using hydroponics and desalinated water.
3 of 10
bites are imported
The island buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$223m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 25.3% of everything Turks & Caicos buys in from abroad is food, roughly 3 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2012, World Bank). Farming itself is 0.4% of the economy and 1.1% of the land is agricultural, of which 1.1% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
Can the Turks & Caicos feed itself?
1.1%
Arable land
1.1%
Agricultural land
2,471
Arable acres
0.4%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Spiny lobster and queen conch are the signature marine harvest
Feeding itself
Over 90 per cent of the food consumed in the Turks and Caicos is imported. The islands are low lying, dry limestone with minimal domestic agriculture, and we found no verified national crop production figures at all.
Certification
There is effectively no agriculture to certify. The islands are low, dry limestone, over 90 per cent of food is imported, and the national tourism guide's own advice on buying local produce points you to supermarkets rather than to any market.
Water for crops
There is almost no natural fresh water here. The islands are low, dry limestone, and potable water is produced by reverse osmosis desalination of brackish groundwater and seawater.
Why the organic number looks like that. Certified-organic farmland is not separately reported for Turks & Caicos, and that is a certification gap rather than proof nothing is grown cleanly. What the official land record does show: 1.1% of the country is agricultural land and 1.1% is arable (2023, World Bank). Certification is paid for per farm per year by a foreign body, which prices out smallholders, so the organic number reads worse than the practice.
What actually grows here
CornBeansCassava (maniocTapioca)
The food that already fits
The islands grow almost nothing at scale. FAO records no significant crop production for Turks and Caicos, so nearly all food arrives by sea, which is why a plate sourced from the nearest growers rather than the nearest importer makes an outsized difference here.
Buy direct where residents buy: North Caicos Farm, Sunshine Nursery & Garden Center, Farmer's Market, Fresh Fish Market, Middle Caicos Co-op, The Thursday Island Fish Fry. Every one is a farm shop or market we have checked and listed ourselves, so the money goes to the grower rather than the importer. The checked farm shops · The checked markets
Checked kitchens from the directory: The Farmacy TCI, cafe in Providenciales: Provo's only 100% vegan cafe; organic, additive-free; Island Raw, raw cafe in Providenciales: Raw organic artisanal chocolate; kombucha; frequented by Rastafarians. Every kitchen listed here is checked for how plant based the menu really is before it earns its place.
Is this grown in the Turks & Caicos?
Tap a food for the honest answer.
SaladProvidencialesCucumbersPapaya
World Bank Open Data · FAO, FAOSTAT crop production · World Health Organization · FAO AQUASTAT · TCI Statistics Department, Merchandise imports by SITC sections and divisions 2017 to 2025p (SITC 0 food US$182,885,261 + SITC 1 beverages and tobacco US$35,928,005 + SITC 4 oils and fats US$4,499,826 + SITC 22 oil seeds US$15,984, the World Bank food definition; 2025 provisional) · Turks and Caicos Islands Government, Historical background · World Bank, Food imports (% of merchandise imports): Turks and Caicos Islands
Climate and Energy in the Turks & Caicos.
The Turks and Caicos Islands generate almost all of their electricity from imported diesel, run by the national utility (formerly FortisTCI), with solar and battery microgrids still only a couple of megawatts, around 2% of supply as of 2022. Partly because of this fossil grid, tourism and heavy reliance on imports, territorial CO2 emissions are high for a small island at about 8.14 tonnes per person (2024). The territory's resource plan targets at least 33% renewable energy by 2040, but progress so far is limited. As a British Overseas Territory it sits under the United Kingdom's wider net-zero framework rather than its own binding law.
What powers the Turks & Caicos?
Renewable 3.7%Fossil 96.3%
The islands' only public electricity supplier is Pelican Energy TCI, formerly FortisTCI. Funds managed by Vision Ridge Partners, a US sustainable real assets investor, bought the company from Canada's Fortis in September 2025, and it was renamed Pelican Energy TCI; terms were not disclosed. It serves over 18,500 customers on Providenciales, North, Middle, South and East Caicos, Grand Turk and Salt Cay under 50 year licences that run to 2037 for Providenciales, North and Middle Caicos and to 2036 for South Caicos, Grand Turk and Salt Cay. Its power comes mainly from diesel generators, with about 4 megawatts of rooftop solar on the grid. The government's Energy and Utilities Department oversees the sector under the Electricity Ordinance.
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
4.92 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.7 tonnes
The worst it ever got
5.12 tonnes
The grid
The Turks and Caicos Islands generate almost all of their electricity from imported diesel, run by the national utility (formerly FortisTCI), with solar and battery microgrids still only a couple of megawatts, around 2% of supply as of 2022. Partly because of this fossil grid, tourism and heavy reliance on imports, territorial CO2 emissions are high for a small island at about 8.14 tonnes per person (2024).
Pollution
The law is in place. The Plastic and Other Single Use Products (Use and Waste Management) Ordinance 2019 stopped retailers providing single use plastic checkout bags from 1 May 2019, with permitted alternatives including cloth, straw bags, baskets and recyclable paper.
Water stress
There is almost no natural fresh water here. The islands are low, dry limestone, and potable water is produced by reverse osmosis desalination of brackish groundwater and seawater.
What pollutes most here
1The grid The share of electricity still generated from fossil fuel.98.5%
2Industry Cruise tourism (Grand Turk Cruise Terminal).named
3On the record The law is in place.
What has the Turks & Caicos promised on climate?
Electricity renewable today1.5% (2021)
Land protected, against a 30% target43.5% by 2025
Sea protected, against a 30% target0.2% by 2025
Measured on delivery, 1.5% of electricity is already renewable (2021, World Bank), so 98.5% of the grid is still to be converted. The pledge on file is measured here against what has actually been delivered, not taken on its own (UNFCCC NDC Registry, CBD Kunming-Montreal Target 3).
The biggest line item
One return flight against a whole year of living.
A resident's entire year4.92 t CO2e
Safe-climate budget, per year2 t CO2e
Singapore return, economy3.14 t CO2e
Sydney return, economy2.82 t CO2e
Dubai return, economy2.21 t CO2e
Johannesburg return, economy2.15 t CO2e
Frankfurt return, economy1.35 t CO2e
How much CO2 does flying to the Turks & Caicos emit?
Tap where you would fly from. One return flight, economy.
Firsts on climate finance. Turks and Caicos is a member of CCRIF, the regional disaster insurer, which has paid out on its policies five times. Hurricane Ike in September 2008 triggered a payout of US$6,303,913. Hurricane Irma in September 2017 brought US$13,631,865 on the hurricane policy and US$1,232,769 on the excess rainfall policy, and a further US$419,372 followed Hurricane Maria that month. Hurricane Fiona in September 2022 brought US$668,857. In all, that is about US$22.3 million.
Climate Watch (WRI) · UNFCCC NDC Registry · World Bank Open Data · UK DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors · CCRIF SPC, CCRIF SPC Payouts · CCRIF SPC, Turks and Caicos Islands · Pelican Energy TCI, Vision Ridge Partners acquires Turks and Caicos Islands electric utility (3 September 2025) · Pelican Energy TCI, About Pelican Energy TCI · TCI Government, Energy and Utilities Department
AI and Data Centres in the Turks & Caicos.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in the Turks & Caicos.
Data centres
0
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
3.7 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in the Turks & Caicos?
Almost everything a machine here consumes is burned fossil fuel.
Renewable 3.7%Fossil 96.3%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 3.7% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. The Turks & Caicos has 0 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, and no internet exchange is registered.
Where the cables land. 1 landing points · Providenciales
Economy and Tourism in the Turks & Caicos.
3% residents to 97% visitors across a year. 1,599,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 46,855 people who live here (2025, World Bank / UN Tourism).
Where a visitor dollar goes in Turks & Caicos
370k
Visitors a year
7.9
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is the Turks & Caicos?· for every $100 the Turks & Caicos earns in a year, it owes…
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · the 2013/14 peak
$ 129Net government debt stood at $129 for every $100 of core government revenue in 2013/14, above the $110 ceiling the islands' fiscal framework set for 2015/16.
TCI Government, Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement 2026/27signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · today
$ 2Total government debt, almost all of it the imputed cost of the hospital PPP, is about $1.90 for every $100 of national income (FY2025/26).
TCI Government, Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement 2026/27signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · net of cash
$ 0Cash balances exceed debt. Net government debt is forecast at minus US$186.1 million for 2026/27, or minus 34.1 per cent of recurrent revenue, and debt service takes 0.0 per cent of core revenue.
TCI Government, Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement 2026/27signed, the creditors
For every $100 the Turks and Caicos Islands earn in a year, the government owes about $1.90, almost all of it the imputed cost of the hospital PPP (FY2025/26, TCI Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement). Its cash reserves are larger than its debt, and debt service takes almost nothing from the budget, so schools, clinics and coastline do not wait behind interest payments. The IMF World Economic Outlook does not cover the islands.
Where does a tourist dollar actually go in the Turks & Caicos?
Play one tourist dollar around the board. Every square is a measured fact from this page.
START!
1
GO: a visitor lands
$100 goes on the table. 1,599,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 46,855 residents, 34.1 visitors for every resident (World Bank / UN Tourism).
$100 in play2
The bed
Who owns the largest places to stay in Turks & Caicos is not published in the records we can check, so this square is left open rather than guessed. Where a listing names its owner, it is shown in the ownership table below.
not published3
The plate
Food is 25.3% of everything Turks & Caicos imports (2012, World Bank), so a large part of every restaurant bill is paid to a supplier abroad. Eating what the land here actually grows, corn, beans, cassava (manioc, tapioca), keeps that money with the grower.
sails in4
The power
98.5% of the electricity is fossil (2021, World Bank). Lighting, cooling and hot water are paid for largely in imported fuel.
burns away5
What actually stays
Of the two parts of a visitor's bill that can be measured here, the plate and the power mostly leave Turks & Caicos. Choosing locally grown food is the part of that a visitor can actually control.
less than you think6
The flight
Getting here is usually the biggest single line on the bill. From Singapore a return economy seat is 3.14 t CO2, on the UK Government's published conversion factors. It is the one part of the trip this board cannot reduce.
3.14 t CO2GDPUS$1.7bn
Agriculture, share of GDP0.4%
Visitors a year370,400
Visitors per resident7.9
Residents~46,855
Agriculture
Farming is 0.4% of the economy. Over 90 per cent of the food consumed in the Turks and Caicos is imported.
Natural materials
Straw work here was never decorative. It was equipment, and that is what makes it a real swap rather than a souvenir.
Energy
The Turks and Caicos Islands generate almost all of their electricity from imported diesel, run by the national utility (formerly FortisTCI), with solar and battery microgrids still only a couple of megawatts, around 2% of supply as of 2022. Partly because of this fossil grid, tourism and heavy reliance on imports, territorial CO2 emissions are high for a small island at about 8.14 tonnes per person (2024).
Who owns the biggest hotels in the Turks & Caicos?
By rooms · company records and press.
Bottle Creek LodgeOwnership not publishednot published
Pelican Beach HotelOwnership not publishednot published
Pine Cay · ~13 roomsIndependentnot published
Visitors, over time
20151,316k
20161,296k
20171,243k
20181,463k
20191,599k
2020370k
The Statistics Department recorded 640,748 stayover visitors and 1,312,246 cruise passengers in 2025, close to two million visitors in all. Stayover arrivals were flat on 2024, while cruise passengers rose from 1,233,807. Hotels and restaurants produced US$677 million of the islands' US$1.75 billion GDP in 2024, about 39 per cent, and the government's 2026/27 Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement says tourism as a whole accounts for more than 65 per cent of GDP. From January to July 2026 the islands received 450,165 stayover visitors, 5 per cent more than a year earlier, while cruise passengers in the first half of 2026 fell 15 per cent to 610,488.
How much of your money actually stays here?
Tap the holiday you are planning.
World Bank Open Data · International Monetary Fund · UN Tourism (UNWTO) · UN Comtrade via World Bank WITS · TCI Government, Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement 2026/27 to 2029/30, Table 12 Government Debt Schedule (total government debt US$35.161m in FY2025/26, of which US$34.813m imputed hospital PPP debt) and Table 3 nominal GDP 2025 US$1,839.4m; ratio calculated by us · TCI Statistics Department, Macro economic data estimates 2014 to 2025p · TCI Statistics Department, Tourism statistics (stayover and cruise arrivals 2016 to 2026p) · TCI Statistics Department, GDP by economic activity in current prices 2015 to 2024p · TCI Statistics Department, International trade statistics 2003 to 2025p
Visiting the Turks & Caicos, whoever you are.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Five swaps that move your money back on-island
1. Eat where the country eats Choose kitchens cooking what the land here grows, corn, beans, cassava (manioc and tapioca), over an imported menu. The checked list
2. Book with a local operator Never the lobby desk. The margin on a tour is the part that stays.
3. Stay somewhere locally owned Ownership decides where the room rate books. Eco stays
4. Use the transport residents use Car or bike on Providenciales; ferry or small plane between the cays
5. Buy the craft, not the souvenir Natural-materials work made here pays the maker directly; imported gifts pay a shipping line.
Swipe
First time here
Turks and Caicos is best known for Grace Bay, but the interesting part is the water around it: a barrier reef running along the north coasts of the Caicos Bank islands, and mangrove creeks and seagrass beds that act as nurseries for the fish, conch, lobster and turtles that stock that reef. Away from Providenciales the cays are almost empty, and the small natural food scene on Provo is unusually good for an island this size.
Best time: December to April is dry, calm and best for the water. Summer is hotter with more chance of storms, and hurricane season runs June to November.
Getting around
Car or bike on Providenciales; ferry or small plane between the cays
Transport is where the fare either stays or leaves.
Eating here
The everyday plate that actually grows here is corn, beans, cassava (manioc and tapioca). Ordering those keeps the money with the grower and cuts the imported share of the meal.
Eating what the country grows is the cheapest way to cut the import bill.
Good to know
Every drop of water here was made by a desalination plant, so treat it as the manufactured resource it is.
Do not expect a farm to table story. More than nine tenths of the food arrives by ship, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a myth.
Buy your straw work from the Middle Caicos Co-op at Major Hill, where you can watch it being woven, rather than from an airport shop. Fishing inside any protected area carries a US$50,000 fine. And one correction worth carrying: Salt Cay is not an inscribed UNESCO site, and it is no longer on the UK's tentative list either. The Turks and Caicos Islands entry from the 2011 list was not carried over when the UK published a new seven-site tentative list on 10 April 2023.
Rate my hotel. Tap yours for the honest verdict.
Ownership from company records and press.
Who owns the big hotels
Bottle Creek LodgeOwnership not published
Pelican Beach HotelOwnership not published
Pine CayIndependent · 13 rooms
None of the 3 properties listed here publishes who ultimately owns it, so no claim is made either way. Ownership is what decides how much of a room rate stays in the country, which is why we show it when a listing states it.
Society and Governance in the Turks & Caicos.
How well are the Turks and Caicos Islands actually run?
No World Bank governance score covers the territory, so here is the record instead. In 2009 Britain suspended the islands' constitution and took direct control of the government amid allegations of rampant corruption. Direct rule ended with elections in November 2012. In February 2026 a judge found former premier Michael Misick guilty of three counts of bribery linked to the sale of government land to developers, and in May 2026 he was sentenced to four years and 26 days in prison. A former Cabinet minister and Misick's brother were also jailed. Misick says the charges were politically motivated, and all three expect to appeal. That matters here because every pledge on this page is only as good as the machinery meant to deliver it.
What is daily life in Turks & Caicos really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
TransportWaterWastePower
✓How you get around Car or bike on Providenciales; ferry or small plane between the cays
Made in the Turks & Caicos.
Straw work here was never decorative. It was equipment, and that is what makes it a real swap rather than a souvenir. Every step of processing done at home is value that stops leaving the country.
What Turks & Caicos actually sells the world
The Statistics Department puts the islands' goods exports at US$3.8 million in 2025, against imports of US$947.7 million, so imports were about 250 times exports. The United States supplied 91.3 per cent of imports. Food was the largest single import section at US$182.9 million, ahead of fuel at US$134.6 million. Fishing added US$4.8 million to GDP in 2024, and the government says agriculture and fisheries together make up less than 2 per cent of GDP. The islands earn their living from visitors, not from goods sold abroad.
Made now · natural materials
Silver top palm
Worked in Turks & Caicos from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Buffalo top palm locally
Worked in Turks & Caicos from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Used to carry water
Worked in Turks & Caicos from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Pay weavers fairly
Worked in Turks & Caicos from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Could make · grown here already
Dietary staple (fritters, salad, chowder)
Grown in Turks & Caicos and mostly sold raw. Processing it here would keep the margin here.
The maths for an entrepreneur. Turks & Caicos produces about US$2 billion a year, which is roughly US$37,251 per person (2024, World Bank). Farming is 0.4% of that, while food is 25.3% of everything the country imports. The country buys in more food than its own farms contribute to the economy, and every point of that gap is a business someone could build here rather than ship in.
See the verified makersCulture in the Turks & Caicos.
Ripsaw music
The national music of the islands, also called rake and scrape. Its sound comes from scraping an ordinary carpenter's handsaw, played with a goatskin drum, a hand accordion, maracas and an acoustic guitar.
Conceived in 200926 December (Boxing Day)
Junkanoo at Maskanoo
Junkanoo bands parade along Grace Bay Road at Maskanoo, a Boxing Day street festival that blends masquerade with Junkanoo.
Heel-and-toe polka
A dance favoured by older islanders, a mix of European and African heritage.
Shati waltzA stylised waltz favoured by older islanders, a mix of European and African heritage.
Does Turks & Caicos protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. For a small territory the Turks and Caicos hold strong living African Caribbean heritage. Ripsaw, the local rake-and-scrape music thought to have originated here, is played on a carpenter's handsaw scraped with a metal object, backed by drums, concertina and shakers. Junkanoo masquerade, maypole dancing and older set dances such as the heel-and-toe polka and the Shati waltz blend West African and European roots.
Who it belongs to. Two threads, both properly documented. The Lucayan archaeology is significant: MC-6 on Middle Caicos is a complex late Lucayan site in the Classic Taino tradition, around 1500 CE, with a stone lined court in its plaza used as a calendric device keyed to solstices and equinoxes, and a Lucayan built road. The oldest known pre Columbian site in the islands is Coralie on Grand Turk, dated to roughly 1,100 to 1,400 years old.
Only here. Grand Turk and Salt Cay were built on salt, raked and exported from the late 1600s, with the record year in 1897 at 2,236,008 bushels, and the abandoned salinas and windmills are still in the landscape. Little Water Cay is a world stronghold of the Turks and Caicos rock iguana, which lives only on these islands and one cay in the Bahamas..
The Future of the Turks & Caicos.
Three futures for the Turks & Caicos, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: Turks and Caicos National Museum (Cockburn Town), Museum Loop (Providenciales). OpenStreetMap.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
World Bank open data, recorded series
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 11.1% to 11.1% across 29 recorded years.
How much climate pollution per person?
CO2 per person moved from 0.33 t to 4.92 t across 29 recorded years.
How many people visit?
Tourist arrivals moved from 757k to 370k across 12 recorded years.
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 44.4% to 43.5% across 12 recorded years.
How much sea is protected?
Protected sea moved from 0.1% to 0.2% across 12 recorded years.
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 1.05% to 1.05% across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it urbanising?
Urban population moved from 80.2% to 94.4% across 30 recorded years.
Who has power?
Electricity access moved from 92.6% to 100% across 29 recorded years.
Is income rising?
GDP per person moved from 18,326 to 37,507 across 23 recorded years.
How fast is it growing?
Population moved from 15.1k to 46.9k across 30 recorded years.
What share of all energy is renewable?
Renewable energy use moved from 0.5% to 0.8% across 27 recorded years.
How much land and sea is protected together?
Protected area, total moved from 0.4% to 0.5% across 12 recorded years.
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 71.9 yrs to 78.2 yrs across 29 recorded years.
How many people still live rurally?
Rural population moved from 19.8% to 5.6% across 30 recorded years.
How much forest is there in total?
Forest area moved from 105 km2 to 105 km2 across 30 recorded years.
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, food and farming at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: recorded series extended with no policy change
What the best case actually asks for
Lift food and farming
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Turks & Caicos's record. Over 90 per cent of the food consumed in the Turks and Caicos is imported. The islands are low lying, dry limestone with minimal domestic agriculture, and we found no verified national crop production figures at all.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift plant-based eating
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Turks & Caicos's record. We could not verify a named public produce market with days and location, and with more than 90 per cent of food imported we are not going to invent a farm to table story here.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift organic farming
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Turks & Caicos's record. There is effectively no agriculture to certify. The islands are low, dry limestone, over 90 per cent of food is imported, and the national tourism guide's own advice on buying local produce points you to supermarkets rather than to any market.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Government and Goals in the Turks & Caicos.
Who is in charge of Turks & Caicos now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 8 September 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
Charles Washington Misick
Premier
Charles Washington Misick is the head of government of Turks & Caicos, in office since 19 February 2021. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Public opinion, measured
Office and start date as published by the territory's own government. the territory's own government
Charles Washington MisickPremier
House of AssemblyLegislature, unicameral
Last election7 February 2025
ConstitutionTurks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2011, in force 2012
Government typeparliamentary democracy
Turks & Caicos national goals: what has been pledged, and how far it has got · each pledge measured against this country's own recorded delivery
2030
30% of land protected
✓ deliveredTarget 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by more than 190 parties in December 2022. Turks & Caicos currently protects 43.5% of its land, which is 145% of the way to the pledge. Source
2030
30% of sea protected
✕ far behindThe marine half of the same 30x30 pledge. Turks & Caicos currently protects 0.2% of its territorial waters, which is 1% of the way there. Source
2030
Paris Agreement pledge
on recordTurks & Caicos has a Nationally Determined Contribution lodged with the UNFCCC. The registry holds the current text, its target year and the sectors it covers. Source
Plastic policy
in forceBags May 2019; polystyrene and straws from December 2019.
Grid, as it stands
1.5% renewableRecorded renewable share of electricity output, the number every energy pledge is measured against. Source
Plain Answers About the Turks & Caicos.
The questions people actually type, answered in full sentences from the sourced data above.
Swipe
Is Turks & Caicos sustainable?
Turks & Caicos scores 48 out of 100 on the Throne Eco Index, across twelve equally weighted pillars. Turks and Caicos is best known for Grace Bay, but the interesting part is the water around it: a barrier reef running along the north coasts of the Caicos Bank islands, and mangrove creeks and seagrass beds that act as nurseries for the fish, conch, lobster and turtles that stock that reef. Away from Providenciales the cays are almost empty, and the small natural food scene on Provo is unusually good for an island this size.
Is the water in Turks & Caicos safe and plentiful?
There is almost no natural fresh water here. The islands are low, dry limestone, and potable water is produced by reverse osmosis desalination of brackish groundwater and seawater. On Providenciales the Providenciales Water Company supplies roughly 90 per cent of the island's water from a reverse osmosis plant at Grace Bay, and commercial operators including Consolidated Water and Seven Seas Water run further capacity.
Can Turks & Caicos feed itself?
Over 90 per cent of the food consumed in the Turks and Caicos is imported. The islands are low lying, dry limestone with minimal domestic agriculture, and we found no verified national crop production figures at all. We would rather say that plainly than dress it up.
Is it easy to eat plant-based in Turks & Caicos?
We could not verify a named public produce market with days and location, and with more than 90 per cent of food imported we are not going to invent a farm to table story here. Eat well by all means. Just know that on these islands local means the sea and the kitchen rather than the soil.
How much of Turks & Caicos is actually protected?
This is where the Turks and Caicos are genuinely strong. National Parks were established in 1975 under the National Parks Ordinance. The estate now runs to 35 protected areas covering 71,714 hectares, five terrestrial and 28 marine, made up of 11 national parks, 11 nature reserves, four sanctuaries and nine areas of historic interest.
What wildlife is left in Turks & Caicos?
The endemism here is quietly remarkable for such dry islands: nine endemic plant species, including the national plant Turks and Caicos heather, assessed Endangered; nine endemic reptile species, including the Caicos pygmy boa, the smallest boa in the world; 13 endemic invertebrates; and at least 110 bird species using the islands. The Turks and Caicos rock iguana is the flagship. It was downlisted in 2020 from Critically Endangered to Endangered after sustained conservation work, though it now occupies less than 10 per cent of its historic range, mainly because of introduced cats and dogs.
Is Turks & Caicos on clean energy?
The Turks and Caicos Islands generate almost all of their electricity from imported diesel, run by the national utility (formerly FortisTCI), with solar and battery microgrids still only a couple of megawatts, around 2% of supply as of 2022. Partly because of this fossil grid, tourism and heavy reliance on imports, territorial CO2 emissions are high for a small island at about 8.14 tonnes per person (2024). The territory's resource plan targets at least 33% renewable energy by 2040, but progress so far is limited.
How polluted is Turks & Caicos?
The law is in place. The Plastic and Other Single Use Products (Use and Waste Management) Ordinance 2019 stopped retailers providing single use plastic checkout bags from 1 May 2019, with permitted alternatives including cloth, straw bags, baskets and recyclable paper. Cabinet approved a ban on polystyrene cups and plates and plastic straws on 29 May 2019, with import restriction in force from December 2019.
Does recycling work in Turks & Caicos?
A documented crisis. Most waste goes to unlined landfills. Waste at Providenciales rose from 12 to 130 tonnes a day between 2005 and 2016, and the Wheeland landfill has suffered uncontrolled dumping, fires and hazardous waste exposure, with residents near the Provo and Grand Turk dumps enduring toxic fumes for years.
Is the farming in Turks & Caicos organic?
There is effectively no agriculture to certify. The islands are low, dry limestone, over 90 per cent of food is imported, and the national tourism guide's own advice on buying local produce points you to supermarkets rather than to any market. We found no certified organic producer and no organic growing project.
Are there natural materials and craft in Turks & Caicos?
Straw work here was never decorative. It was equipment, and that is what makes it a real swap rather than a souvenir. Weavers harvest fanner grass, silver top palm and buffalo top palm locally and dry the material for two to three weeks before working it.
Is there living culture in Turks & Caicos?
Two threads, both properly documented. The Lucayan archaeology is significant: MC-6 on Middle Caicos is a complex late Lucayan site in the Classic Taino tradition, around 1500 CE, with a stone lined court in its plaza used as a calendric device keyed to solstices and equinoxes, and a Lucayan built road. The oldest known pre Columbian site in the islands is Coralie on Grand Turk, dated to roughly 1,100 to 1,400 years old.
What heritage does Turks & Caicos keep alive?
For a small territory the Turks and Caicos hold strong living African Caribbean heritage. Ripsaw, the local rake-and-scrape music thought to have originated here, is played on a carpenter's handsaw scraped with a metal object, backed by drums, concertina and shakers. Junkanoo masquerade, maypole dancing and older set dances such as the heel-and-toe polka and the Shati waltz blend West African and European roots.
So is Turks & Caicos actually green? The measured answer
What is working: land protected at 43.5%.
What is not: sea protected at 0.2% against a 30% mark, renewable electricity at 1.5% against a 100% mark.
World Bank Open Data · Protected Planet (UNEP-WCMC / WDPA) · Climate Watch (WRI) · Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026 · World Bank, Population, total: Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area): Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output): Turks and Caicos Islands · World Bank, Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions excluding LULUCF per capita: Turks and Caicos Islands · Turks and Caicos Islands Government, Historical background
How the Turks & Caicos Ranks, region and world.
Where Turks & Caicos sits on the Eco Index, against its Caribbean neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
How does Turks & Caicos compare in Caribbean?
1Dominica72
2Belize70
4Jamaica67
5Grenada62
Scored Caribbean destinations, Eco Index.
The global top 10 of the 77 destinations scored
1Switzerland78
2France78
3Finland77
4Slovenia77
5Australia77
6Portugal75
7Germany75
8New Zealand75
9Italy73
10Spain73
Turks & Caicos sits 75 of 77 at 48/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking
What is Turks & Caicos particularly good at?
✓ Natural fibres, scored 5/5. Straw work here was never decorative. It was equipment, and that is what makes it a real swap rather than a souvenir.
✓ Wildlife, scored 4/5. The endemism here is quietly remarkable for such dry islands: nine endemic plant species, including the national plant Turks and Caicos heather, assessed Endangered; nine endemic reptile species, including the Caicos pygmy boa, the smallest boa in the world; 13 endemic invertebrates; and at least 110 bird species using the islands.
✓ Culture, scored 4/5. Two threads, both properly documented. The Lucayan archaeology is significant: MC-6 on Middle Caicos is a complex late Lucayan site in the Classic Taino tradition, around 1500 CE, with a stone lined court in its plaza used as a calendric device keyed to solstices and equinoxes, and a Lucayan built road. The oldest known pre Columbian site in the islands is Coralie on Grand Turk, dated to roughly 1,100 to 1,400 years old.
Where does Turks & Caicos score worst?
✕ Food and farming, scored 1/5. Over 90 per cent of the food consumed in the Turks and Caicos is imported. The islands are low lying, dry limestone with minimal domestic agriculture, and we found no verified national crop production figures at all.
✕ Plant-based eating, scored 1/5. We could not verify a named public produce market with days and location, and with more than 90 per cent of food imported we are not going to invent a farm to table story here.
✕ Organic farming, scored 1/5. There is effectively no agriculture to certify. The islands are low, dry limestone, over 90 per cent of food is imported, and the national tourism guide's own advice on buying local produce points you to supermarkets rather than to any market.
A note from the lens of mother natureSwipe
Food and farming, 1/5
Over 90 per cent of the food consumed in the Turks and Caicos is imported. The islands are low lying, dry limestone with minimal domestic agriculture, and we found no verified national crop production figures at all.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Turks & Caicos's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Plant-based eating, 1/5
We could not verify a named public produce market with days and location, and with more than 90 per cent of food imported we are not going to invent a farm to table story here.
Organic farming, 1/5
There is effectively no agriculture to certify. The islands are low, dry limestone, over 90 per cent of food is imported, and the national tourism guide's own advice on buying local produce points you to supermarkets rather than to any market.
The Turks & Caicos Directory.
Everything on Hold The Throne that sits in Turks & Caicos, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Turks & Caicos
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Forest cover
11.1
World Bank, 2024.
Protected land
43.5
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
0.2
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable grid
1.5
World Bank, 2021.
CO2 per person
4.9 t (2024)
World Bank, 2024.
Threatened species
61 (mammals, birds, fish & plants)
Recorded figure, sourced on this page.
How the Turks & Caicos Is Scored. The Throne Standard.
Every destination on the index is scored the same way, so a 4 in Barbados means exactly what a 4 means in Iceland. No self-declared data and no brochure claims are accepted. Seven pillars are scored from published measurements with the same fixed thresholds everywhere: energy (low-carbon share of electricity, 90% or more scores 5, 70% 4, 50% 3, 25% 2), conservation (land and sea protected), water (safe drinking water, wastewater treated, water stress), organic farmland, recycling, food import dependence and air quality. Where a measurement is not published for a place, that pillar keeps its source-assessed score and is labelled as such. Wildlife, culture, heritage, materials and plant-based eating have no comparable measurement and are assessed from the named sources. The Eco Index is the average of the twelve pillar scores multiplied by 20. Every figure on this page carries its named source and year, and the history on each page names what empire took as plainly as it scores the present.
The 12 pillars every destination is scored on, equally weighted
01
Water
Safe drinking water, wastewater treated and water stress. Measured.
02
Food & farming
How much of the import bill is food: whether the place feeds itself. Measured.
03
Plant-based
How easy it is to eat plant-based, from documented sources.
04
Organic
Certified organic share of farmland. Measured.
05
Conservation
Land and sea legally protected, against the 30 by 30 goal. Measured.
06
Wildlife
What survives, what is endemic, what is lost, from documented sources.
07
Materials
Local natural fibres and craft, from documented sources.
08
Pollution
Air quality (PM2.5, measured) and plastics and waste policy.
09
Recycling
Share of municipal waste recycled. Measured.
10
Energy
Low-carbon share of electricity, nuclear included. Measured.
11
Culture
Living culture and community-led visits, from documented sources.
12
Heritage
What the law keeps standing, from documented sources.
What each 0 to 5 pillar score means, in plain words
0
Absent
nothing verifiable exists
1
Failing
measurably going the wrong way
2
Weak
claims outrun delivery
3
Fair
real effort, mixed results
4
Strong
genuinely good, evidence named
5
Leading
world class, and the trend holds
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 95 sources across 42 institutions
World Bank14 FIGURES
- forest cover 11.1%, 2023
- Threatened species (mammals EN.MAM.THRD.NO, birds EN.BIR.THRD.NO, fish EN.FSH.THRD.NO, higher plants EN.HPT.THRD.NO), 2022 check
- Forest area (% of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2023 check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of land) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2025 check
- Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, 2025 check
- Renewable electricity output (% of total) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, 2021 check
- CO2 emissions per capita EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, 2024 check
- GDP (current US$) NY.GDP.MKTP.CD, 2024 check
- International tourist arrivals ST.INT.ARVL, 2020 check
- Agricultural land (% of land area) AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, 2023 check
- Arable land (% of land area) AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, 2023 check
- Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS, 2024 check
- Safely managed sanitation (% of population) SH.STA.SMSS.ZS, 2024 check
- Population total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 check
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species checklist9 FIGURES
- hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (turtle). check
- hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata corroboration check
- hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata corroboration check
- elkhorn coral Acropora palmata, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (coral). check
- elkhorn coral Acropora palmata corroboration check
- elkhorn coral Acropora palmata corroboration check
- elkhorn coral Acropora palmata corroboration check
- Stenandrium carolinae (Caroline's Pink), Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (plant). check
- Stenandrium carolinae (Caroline's Pink) corroboration check
The Sun (Turks and Caicos)6 FIGURES
- 17 January 2020, carrying the TCIG press release, Cabinet approved a ban on polystyrene cups and plates and plastic straws on 29 May 2019, with import restricti check
- 17 January 2020, carrying the TCIG press release corroboration check
- 17 January 2020, carrying the TCIG press release corroboration check
- 17 January 2020, carrying the TCIG press release corroboration check
- 17 January 2020, carrying the TCIG press release corroboration check
- 17 January 2020, carrying the TCIG press release corroboration check
IUCN4 FIGURES
Times of the Islands (Turks & Caicos)4 FIGURES
- 'Crawling Out of History', by Bill Keegan, Betsy Carlson and Michael Pateman, The oldest known pre Columbian site in the islands is Coralie on Grand Turk, dated to roughly 1,100 to 1,400 y check
- 'Crawling Out of History', by Bill Keegan, Betsy Carlson and Michael Pateman corroboration check
- 'Crawling Out of History', by Bill Keegan, Betsy Carlson and Michael Pateman corroboration check
- 'Crawling Out of History', by Bill Keegan, Betsy Carlson and Michael Pateman corroboration check
Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board4 FIGURES
Visit Turks and Caicos Islands4 FIGURES
GBIF occurrence search3 FIGURES
- country TC filtered to IUCN Red List category CR, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Turks & Caicos in GBIF occurrence data (species). check
- country TC filtered to IUCN Red List category CR corroboration check
- country TC filtered to IUCN Red List category CR corroboration check
UNESCO Institute for Statistics3 FIGURES
Visit Turks and Caicos3 FIGURES
- local staples
- market days
- natural phenomena
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC2 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Turks & Caicos, 2025 (23.9%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, marine Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_MRN_MPA, Turks & Caicos, 2025 (22.3%), country-reported check
FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment2 FIGURES
IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria2 FIGURES
Other published sources2 FIGURES
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme2 FIGURES
25.1% of land and 0.4% of sea protected at 31 December 20251 FIGURE
- so gaps of 4.9 and 29.6 points check
CBD1 FIGURE
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3 check
CCREEE1 FIGURE
- Turks and Caicos Energy Report Card 2022 check
Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands1 FIGURE
- plastic bags check
HYDEA1 FIGURE
- integrated solid waste management strategy check
IFES ElectionGuide1 FIGURE
- Turks & Caicos elections and chambers check
Mongabay1 FIGURE
- saving the Turks and Caicos rock iguana check
Our World in Data1 FIGURE
- CO2 emissions per capita (Global Carbon Project), 2024 check
Seven Seas Water Group1 FIGURE
- Turks and Caicos check
Six islands since 20001 FIGURE
- +1.2 sq km occupied habitat, several thousand adults (IUCN SSC plan, 2021) check
SUN TCI1 FIGURE
- the waste dilemma in TCI check
Times of the Islands1 FIGURE
- the evolution of the Middle Caicos Co-Op check
Turks and Caicos National Trust1 FIGURE
- rock iguanas check
Turks and Caicos Tourism1 FIGURE
- Music and Dance (Ripsaw) check
Turks and Caicos Water Company1 FIGURE
- HAB Group check
UK Foreign1 FIGURE
- Commonwealth and Development Office, travel advice for Turks & Caicos check
UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum1 FIGURE
- Turks and Caicos check
UN OCHA1 FIGURE
- Turks and Caicos Overseas Territory Profile check
UN Protocol and Liaison Service1 FIGURE
- Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 20 October 2026 check
UN Statistics Division, Energy Balances1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Turks & Caicos, 2024 (0.65%), modelled estimate check
UNESCO1 FIGURE
- Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists check
UNFCCC1 FIGURE
- NDC Registry check
WHO/UNICEF JMP1 FIGURE
- Safely-managed drinking water 47.1%, 2024
World Bank EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS1 FIGURE
- renewable electricity 1.5%, 2021