Caribbean people

Residents or people from the Caribbean region

This article is about people of the Caribbean area or diaspora. For other uses, see Caribbean.

Ethnic group

Caribbean peopleTotal population

c. 45–47 million
Haiti| 12 million[1]
Dominican Republic| 11.5 million
Cuba| 11 million
United States| 4.5 million[2]
Puerto Rico| 3.4 million
Jamaica| 2.7 million
Trinidad and Tobago| 1.5 million
France| 1.2 million[3]
United Kingdom| 1.0 million[4]
Netherlands| 850 thousand[5]
Guyana| 790 thousand
Canada| 750 thousand[6]
Suriname| 633 thousand
Languages
Spanish, French, French-based creole languages (Haitian Creole, Antillean Creole), English, English-based creole languages (Jamaican Patois, Bahamian Creole, Trinidadian Creole, Guyanese Creole, Bajan Creole, Sranan Tongo), Papiamento, Dutch, Caribbean Hindustani, Chinese, Javanese
Religion
Majority:

* Christianity

Minority:

* Hinduism
* Islam
* Judaism
* Rastafari
* Baháʼí
* Afro-American religion
* Traditional African religions
* Amerindian religions
* Buddhism
* Sikhism
* Jainism
* Zoroastrianism
* Taoism
* Confucianism
* Chinese folk religion
* Kebatinan
* Others

Related ethnic groups
Americans, Canadians, Latin Americans

Caribbean people are the people born in or inhabitants of the Caribbean region or people of Caribbean descent living outside the Caribbean. The Caribbean region was initially populated by Amerindians from several different Kalinago and Taino groups. These groups were largely decimated by a combination of enslavement and disease brought by European colonizers. Descendants of the Taino and Kalinago tribes exist today in the Caribbean and elsewhere but are usually of partial Amerindian ancestry.[7]

Modern Caribbean people usually further identify by their own specific ethnic ancestry, therefore constituting various subgroups, of which are: Afro-Caribbean (largely descendants of bonded African slaves), Multiracial Caribbean (descendants of two or more ethnicities, such as Mulattos, Mestizos and Douglas), Hispanic/Latino-Caribbean (Spanish-speaking Caribbean people who largely descend from solely or a mixture of Spaniards, West Africans and Taino peoples), White Caribbean (largely descendants of European colonizers), Asian Caribbean who are mainly divided between Indo-Caribbean (largely descendants of Indian jahaji indentured laborers and free immigrants) and Chinese Caribbean (largely descendants of free Chinese immigrants and indentured workers), and Indigenous Caribbean (largely descendants of the indigenous people of the Caribbean with some degree of admixture).

As of 2024, the Caribbean population is estimated to be approximately 44.8 million, with a growth rate of around 0.54% from the previous year.[8]

Haiti has the most population in the Caribbeans with population of over 12 million. Haiti is also the fastest growing country in the Caribbeans surpassing in Cuba in 2021. Over 3 million Haitians live in other countries such as France, United States and Canada due to political unrest and violence.[9]

## Caribbean diaspora

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The largest diasporas of Caribbean people outside of the Caribbean region can be found in the United States (4.2 million),[10] France (1.2 million),[11] the United Kingdom (1.0 million),[12] the Netherlands (850 thousand),[13] and Canada (750 thousand).[14]

### Canada

[edit]

Main article: Caribbean Canadians

Canada has about 750,000 people of Caribbean descent. Mostly from countries like Jamaica, Guyana, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. Many of them migrated to Canada in the 1970s. Many Jamaicans, Guyanese and Trinidadians reside in Toronto and its suburbs. Greater Toronto Area is home to 250,000 people of Caribbean descent. The festival Caribana which take place every summer in Toronto is one of the largest Caribbean festival outside Caribbean.[15] Many Haitians resides in Montreal and other places in Quebec.[16]

### Netherlands

[edit]

Main article: Surinamese people in the Netherlands

The Netherlands has approximately 850,000 people of Caribbean descent. Over 500,000 in the mainland and over 300,000 in Dutch Caribbean. Caribbean community in the Netherlands are mainly from former Dutch colony such as Suriname and the Antilles (Aruba and Curaçao).[17] The Surinamese population makes about 365,000 making it the largest community in Europe from a Caribbean country. Amsterdam has the largest Surinamese community (65,000) and Rotterdam has the largest Antillean community (30,000) in the Netherlands.[18] There are many events in Dutch larger cities organised by Caribbean communities.

## Culture

[edit]

Main article: Caribbean culture

* List of Caribbean music genres

## See also

[edit]

* Caribbean portal

* Afro-Caribbean
* British African-Caribbean people
* Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean
* Caribbean region of Colombia
* Indo-Caribbean
* Asian Caribbean
* White Caribbean
* West Indian
* West Indian American
* Caribbean Canadians

## References

[edit]

1. ^ https://haitiwonderland.org/haiti/good-to-know/what-is-the-population-of-haiti-in-2024/305 [bare URL]
2. ^ https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/caribbean-immigrants- united-states#2
3. ^ https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4265419?sommaire=4265511 [bare URL]
4. ^ https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/https://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls [bare URL spreadsheet file]
5. ^ https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/70787ned/table?ts=1753246178242 and https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/caribische-deel-van-het-koninkrijk/vraag-en-antwoord/waaruit-bestaat-het-koninkrijk-der-nederlanden
6. ^ https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/caribbean-canadians [bare URL]
7. ^ The Caribbean as a Melting Pot
8. ^ "Caribbean Population 2024". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
9. ^ "Pirates, refugees & risk: The global economic consequences of Haiti's collapse". thomsonreuters.com. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
10. ^ https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/caribbean-immigrants- united-states#2
11. ^ "Populations légales des collectivités d'outre mer en 2017". www.insee.fr. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
12. ^ "UK Government Web Archive". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
13. ^ CBS Statline and "Waaruit bestaat het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden? - Rijksoverheid.nl"
14. ^ "Caribbean Canadians". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
15. ^ "The History of Caribana & the Grand Parade". www.museumoftoronto.com. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
16. ^ "Haitian Immigration to Quebec". www.journals.sagepub.com. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
17. ^ "Omvang en spreiding van Surinaamse bevolkingsgroepen in Nederland" (PDF). www.cbs.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 August 2025.
18. ^ "Het leven van Curaçaoënaars in de diaspora". www.canoncurcao.cw (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 August 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

Caribbean articles

History|

| Timeline|

* Spanish Caribbean (1492–1898)
* Piracy (1500s–1830)
* Dutch Caribbean (1554–1863)
* British Caribbean (1586–1834)
* French Caribbean (1625–1817)
* Baltic-German Caribbean (1654–1689)
* Danish Caribbean (1672–1917)
* German Caribbean (1685–1693)
* Swedish Caribbean (1784–1878)

|

By topic|

* Afro-Caribbean
* Caribbean Court of Justice
* Indigenous people
* Taíno
* Arawak
* Hurricanes
* Influx of diseases
* Malaria
* Territorial evolution

Geography|

| Regions|

* Antilles
* Greater Antilles
* Lesser Antilles
* Leeward Islands
* Leeward Antilles
* Windward Islands
* Caribbean Lowlands
* Caribbean Plate
* Caribbean Sea
* Caribbean South America
* Latin America and the Caribbean
* Southern Caribbean
* Western Caribbean zone

|

By topic|

* Bioregion
* Earthquakes
* Extreme points
* Islands (by area)
* Mammals
* Cetaceans
* Metropolitan areas
* Mountains
* Populated places
* Rivers
* Trees
* Ultras
* Sovereign states
* Dependent territories
* World Heritage Sites

Politics|

* Democracy
* Afro-Caribbean leftism
* Association of Caribbean States
* Caribbean Community
* CARIFORUM
* Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

Economy|

* Airlines
* Airports
* Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act
* Caribbean Development Bank
* CARIFORUM–United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement
* Central banks and currencies
* Citrus
* Companies
* Fishing
* Hotels
* Stock exchanges
* Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange
* Sugar
* in Cuba
* in the Danish West Indies
* Tourism

Culture|

* Art
* Beer
* Caribbean people
* Carnivals
* Cuisine
* Literature
* Music
* Poetry
* Radio stations
* Sport
* Central American and Caribbean Games
* Stadiums
* Television stations

Demographics|

* Languages
* Pre-Arawakan
* Population
* Religions

* Outline

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Caribbean diaspora

* Australia
* Brazil
* Canada (Afro-Caribbean
* Indo-Caribbean)
* United Kingdom (Afro-Caribbean
* Indo-Caribbean)
* United States

*[c.]: circa
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