The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of sub-tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are situated about 600 miles (970 km) southeast of Miami in the United States, and 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas, and have a total land area of 166 square miles (430 km2). The islands are geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, but are politically a separate entity.
The islands have a total population of about 30,000, of whom approximately 22,500 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands. Cockburn Town is the capital, situated on Grand Turk Island.
In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos' self-government after allegations of ministerial corruption. The prerogative of the ministerial government and the House of Assembly are vested in the islands' incumbent governor, Gordon Wetherell, for a period of up to two years.

The two island groups are in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas, north of Hispaniola, and about 600 miles (970 km) from Miami in the United States, at 21°45′N 71°35′W. The territory is geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, both comprising the Lucayan Archipelago, but is politically a separate entity. The Caicos Islands are separated by the Caicos Passage from the closest Bahamian islands, Mayaguana and Great Inagua.
The eight main islands and more than 20 smaller islands have a total land area of 238.0 square miles (616.4 km2), primarily of low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamps and 230 miles (370 km) of beach front. The weather is usually sunny and relatively dry, but suffers frequent hurricanes. The islands have limited natural fresh water resources; private cisterns collect rainwater for drinking. The primary natural resources are spiny lobster, conch and other shellfish.
The two distinct island groups are separated by the Turks Passage.

Caicos Islands:
The Caicos Islands are the larger group, with almost 96 percent of the land area (589.5 km2/227.6 sq mi) and 82 percent of the population (26,584 out of a total of 33,302 in 2006). The spatial arrangement of the islands around the large Caicos Bank (with an area of 7,680 km2/2,970 sq mi [8]) resembles an atoll, with the six large islands in the west, north and east, and a few tiny reefs and cays in the south. The unofficial capital of the Caicos Islands is the village of Kew on North Caicos. There is no official capital because the island group is not an administrative unit. The Caicos Islands encompass four of the six administrative districts of the territory. Four of the six main islands are inhabited, plus two of the smaller islands.

Turks Islands:
Satellite image of Grand Turk (North (top)) and Salt Cay (south) amongst others.
The Turks Islands, separated from the Caicos Islands by Turks Island Passage (more than 7,200 ft/2,200 m deep), are a chain that stretches north–south. The total area is 10.3 square miles (26.7 km2), with an estimated population of 5,753. There are two main islands, which are the only inhabited ones of the group.

Mouchoir Bank:
16 miles (26 km) east of the Turks Islands and separated from them by Mouchoir Passage is Mouchoir Bank. Although it is submerged with a least depth of 6 feet (1.8 m), and has no emergent cays or islets, it is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands and falls within its Exclusive Economic Zone. Mouchoir Bank measures 370 square miles (960 km2) in area. Two banks further east, Silver Bank and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation, but belong politically to the Dominican Republic.