how many caribbean countries are there in the world
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title: United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean text: ECLAC was established in 1948 as the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, or UNECLA. In 1984, a resolution was passed to include the countries of the Caribbean in the name. It reports to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The member states are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad title: Caribbean text: Suriname, French Guiana, Guayana Region in Venezuela, and Amapá in Brazil), are often included due to their political and cultural ties with the region. Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From December 15, 1954, to October 10, 2010, there was a country known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five states, all of which were Dutch dependencies. From January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, there was also a short-lived political union called the West Indies Federation composed of ten title: Caribbean text: have one of the most diverse eco systems in the world. The animals, fungi and plants, and have been classified as one of Conservation International's biodiversity hotspots because of their exceptionally diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests, to tropical rainforest, to cactus scrublands. The region also contains about 8% (by surface area) of the world's coral reefs along with extensive seagrass meadows, both of which are frequently found in the shallow marine waters bordering the island and continental coasts of the region. For the fungi, there is a modern checklist based on nearly 90,000 records derived title: Caribbean Court of Justice text: Guyana; Jamaica; Saint Kitts & Nevis; Saint Lucia; Suriname; and Trinidad & Tobago. Two further states, Dominica and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, signed the agreement on 15 February 2003, bringing the total number of signatories to 12. The Bahamas and Haiti, though full members of the CARICOM, are not yet signatories, and because of Montserrat's status as a British territory, they must await Instruments of Entrustment from the UK in order to ratify. The Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice came into force on 23 July 2003, and the CCJ was inaugurated on 16 April 2005 in Port title: Canada–Caribbean relations text: Minister Stephen Harper visited Barbados and Haiti. Observers said this was intended to increase Canada's visibility in the region and to remind Canadians of the region's importance. The Canadian government announced in February 2009 that it was adding the Caribbean to its list of preferred recipients for foreign aid. This list includes 18 countries and the West Bank, as well as the Caribbean. In 2010, Canada was specifically excluded (along with the United States) from a new regional body, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that includes all of the other sovereign states of the Americas. Since the liberalization