ever attended school
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 98% (1970 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 12 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

NA

People - note:

destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound
for the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and the US

Government
Turks and Caicos Islands

Country name:

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands
abbreviation: TCI

Dependency status:

overseas territory of the UK

Government type:

NA

Capital:

name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Independence:

none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:

Constitution Day, 30 August (1976)

Constitution:

Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August
2006)

Legal system:

based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica
and The Bahamas

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
represented by Governor Gordon WETHERELL (since 5 August 2008)
head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (chief minister
since 15 August 2003, sworn in as premier on 9 August 2006); note -
the office of premier was created in the 2006 constitution
cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six
ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the
House of Assembly, and the attorney general
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the
monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority
party is appointed premier by the governor

Legislative branch:

unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly
elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats
by party - PNP 13, PDM 2

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:

People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Floyd SEYMOUR]; Progressive
National Party or