fp Turks and Caicos

The total population of the Turks and Caicos Islands grew by 58 percent between 2001 and 2012, preliminary census results show.

Among the least populated islands in 1960 with only about 500 residents, the major tourism and business island of Providenciales grew most since 2001 to a total of 23,769 residents, accounting for 75.6 percent of the population.

The country’s capital island of Grand Turk grew 21.5 percent since 2001 to a total of 4,831, the second most populated island.

Middle Caicos has seen the biggest drop in residents, down from 532 in 1960 to 168 in 2012. Salt Cay has the fewest residents with 108.

For the first time since 1960, Belongers over 18 no longer make up a majority of the country’s residents at only 42.5 percent.

However, Permanent Secretary of Finance Anya Williams pointed out that some of those residents who said they were Belongers may not be. This information and others will be cross referenced with immigration records and other confirmed data for more accurate reports at a later date.

The tabulations announced at a press conference Aug. 2 are only the first release of the nationwide census, said Shirlen Forbes, senior statistician for the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics. Those numbers were needed first to help with redistricting of voting constituencies in preparation for the Nov. 9 elections.

More detailed information including illegal status, household income, migration, race, ethnicity, religion, age and education will be released periodically, Forbes said.

The final census report will be prepared after all information in the questionnaires is edited, verified for consistency, coded, scanned and processed for tabulation. The final report is expected to be submitted to the governor by November.

Other preliminary census findings include:

• There are 16,037 males and 15,421 females living in the islands
• TCI has a population density of 214 persons per square mile
• Grand Turk is the most densely populated island at 700 people per square mile, up from 576 in 2001
• Middle Caicos is the least densely populated island at 4 persons per square mile
• Providenciales has a density of 634 persons per square mile

“The census is an extremely important piece of research conducted for the benefit of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands,” said His Excellency the Gov. Ric Todd. “It provides empirical data, both now and historically, that allows government to make better informed decisions about every area of its operations.

“Its factual assessment improves the ability to make policy; informs where future spending is directed across the board, for example in education, health and social policy; gives evidence to shape the government’s approach on long-term issues such as immigration, pensions, capital investment and transport policy; and facilitates action to address the challenges of changing populations across the islands.”

Total Population
2001 - 19,886
2012 - 31,458

Percentage of residents 18 or older
Status........1970......1980.....1990......2001.....2012
Belongers.....94.6.......83.8.....68.9........ 52......42.5
Others.......... 3.6.......16.2.... 31.1.........48..... 57.5