Barbados, situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. At roughly 13° North and 59° West, the country lies in the southern Caribbean region, where it is a part of the Lesser Antilles island-chain. Its closest island neighbours are St. Vincent and St. Lucia to the west. To the south lies Trinidad and Tobago—with which Barbados now shares a fixed official maritime boundary—and the South American mainland.