Area	2,754,000 km2(1,063,000 sq mi)
Land area	239,681 km2 (92,541 sq mi)
Population (2009)	39,169,962[1]
Density	151.5 /km2 (392 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Afro-Caribbean, European,Indo-Caribbean, Chinese Caribbean,[2] Amerindians(Arawak, Island Caribs,Taínos)
Demonym	Caribbean, Caribbean person, West Indian
Languages	Spanish, English, French,Dutch, among others
Government	13 sovereign states 17 dependent territories
Largest cities	List of cities in the Caribbean Santo Domingo Havana Port-au-Prince Santiago de los Caballeros Kingston Santiago de Cuba San Juan Holguín Cap-Haïtien Fort-de-France
Internet TLD	Multiple
Calling code	Multiple
Time zone	UTC-5 to UTC-4

The Caribbean (/ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/; Spanish: Caribe; Dutch:  Caraïben (help·info); French: Caraïbe or more commonlyAntilles) is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean), and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexicoand the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. (See the list.) These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.^[3] The Caribbean islands, consisting of the Greater Antilles on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which also includes the Lucayan Archipelago (comprising the Bahamas andTurks and Caicos Islands) north of the Greater Antilles and Caribbean Sea. In a wider sense, the mainland countries of Belize,Guyana, and Suriname may be included.

Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America^{[4][5][6][7][8]} and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then British dependencies. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations.