The Caribbean Sea contains some of the territories of the United States.
Territories of the United States . Currently , the United States has sixteen territories , five of which are permanently inhabited : Puerto Rico , Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands , the U.S. Virgin Islands , and American Samoa . Eleven territories are small islands , atolls and reefs , spread across the Caribbean and Pacific , with no native or permanent populations . United States . The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea .