<P> English is the first or second language in most Caribbean islands and is also the unofficial "language of tourism", the dominant industry in the Caribbean region . In the Caribbean, the official language is usually determined by whichever colonial power (England, Spain, France, or the Netherlands) held sway over the island first or longest . </P> <P> The first permanent English colonies were founded at Saint Kitts (1624) and Barbados (1627). The English language is the third most established throughout the Caribbean; however, due to the relatively small populations of the English - speaking territories, only 14% of West Indians are English speakers . English is the official language of about 18 Caribbean territories inhabited by about 6 million people, though most inhabitants of these islands may more properly be described as speaking English creoles rather than local varieties of standard English . </P> <P> The Caribbean English speakers are outnumbered by Spanish speakers by a ratio of about four to one due to the high densities of populations on the larger, Spanish - speaking, islands; some 64% of West Indians speak Spanish . The islands that are included in this group are Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Parts of Trinidad & Tobago and some tiny islands off Central and South America . The Latin American countries of the Caribbean Islands include Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico . </P> <P> About one - quarter of West Indians speak French or a French - based creole . They live primarily in Guadeloupe and Martinique, both of which are overseas departments of France; Saint Barthélemy and the French portion of Saint Martin (where the local language is English, but not an official language), both of which are overseas collectivities of France; the independent nation of Haiti (where both French and Haitian Creole are official languages); and the independent nations of Dominica and Saint Lucia, which are both officially English - speaking but where the French - based Antillean Creole is widely used, and French to a lesser degree . </P>

Names of the spanish speaking countries in the caribbean