The Caribbean includes all the islands whose shores are touched by the Caribbean sea and the mainland countries of Belize and Guyana due to their similar historical association.

Most islands are English speaking but the region also includes Spanish, dutch and French speaking countries. There are 3 Spanish Speaking countries in the region, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. There are also a few French departments such as Guadeloupe and Marie Galante, and Martinique, and countries of the Netherlands Antillian Federation such as Sint Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.
Belize, located in Central America, formerly known as British Honduras, is one of the only countries in that Central American region to have their official language as English due to the British colonial influence. After getting their independence in 1980, the country was not recognized by Guatemala as its own state until 1992. The population of Belize is influenced by the countries around them, and Spanish is also spoken in addition to Mayan but the country is recognized as a Caribbean country because its colonial ties so it is a member of Caricom and one of the countries served by the University of the West Indies.

Many of the Caribbean countries have formed many groups addressing issues of trade, education and recreational activities. One of the many organization include Caricom which is short for Caribbean community, which deals with economic and social issues in the 15 member states of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, Haiti and Suriname which is not a Caribbean country but joined the alliance 1995. University of the West Indies was founded in 1948 in Jamaica at Mona as a university college with a special relationship with the University of London. The Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in St. Augustine Trinidad became the second campus in 1960. The university gained independent status in 1962, the same year as the Jamaica’s independence. The Cavehill campus was established in 1963. The university now has three campuses, Mona campus, Cavehill campus and St. Augustine. The University considers itself “an autonomous regional institution” supported by and serving 15 different countries in the West Indies. The 15 countries are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the republic of Trinidad and Tobago.Other institutions of higher learning in the region include, University of Technology in Jamaica and St. George’s Medical School in Grenada.