History- The name Turks is derived after the indigenous Turk's Head "fez" cactus, and the name Caicos is a Lucayan term "caya hico," meaning string of islands.
- Columbus was said to have discovered these islands in 1492, but some still argue that Ponce de Leon arrived here first.
- Whoever first discovered the islands, in 1962, having been a Jamaican dependency for 75 years, the Turks and Caicos Islands became a separate British Colony a status that it retains to this day.
- The Turks and Caicos Islands have more former leaders (Chief Ministers) alive than any other Caribbean jurisdiction.
(Hon. Norman Saunders, Hon. Derek Taylor, Hon. Washington Misick, Hon. Oswald Skippings). - TCI was Bermudian in 1766; Bahamian in 1799; under Jamaica in 1848; and in 1973 became a Crown Colony.
- In addition, there are numerous national parks, nature preserves, sanctuaries and historical sites.
Belonger Population: 34% Expatriate Population: 66% The Turks and Caicos Labour Force: 12,000 Labour Force Distribution : - 15% Professional
- 12% Semi-Skilled
- 20% Skilled
- 53% Unskilled / Manual
Number of Tourists: 1,000,000 (2011 total) Number of Condo/Hotel Rooms : 1,362 Luxury Condo Rooms
688 Hotel Rooms External Impact: 2nd largest diaspora in Bahamas equal to total population Physical Facts : - 40 Islands
- 2.5 times the size of Washington DC
- 230 miles of Beaches Front
- Third largest coral reef system in the world
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