The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries, and were administered by Jamaica after 1863. In 1959, the islands became a territory within the Federation of the West Indies, but when the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency.

Caribbean, three island (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) group in Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica
19 30 N, 80 30 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 262 sq km ; land: 262 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
0 km
160 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)
low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m ; highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m
fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism
arable land: 3.85% ; permanent crops: 0% ; other: 96.15% (2005)
NA


hurricanes (July to November)
no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments

important location between Cuba and Central America
46,600 ; note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 20.3% (male 4,746/female 4,730) ; 15-64 years: 71% (male 16,135/female 16,964) ; 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 1,892/female 2,133) (2007 est.)
total: 37.5 years ; male: 37.1 years ; female: 37.9 years (2007 est.)
2.496% (2007 est.)
12.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
17.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population ; note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.003 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.887 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 8.94 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 6.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 80.2 years ; male: 77.57 years ; female: 82.87 years (2007 est.)
1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Caymanian(s) ; adjective: Caymanian
mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20%
United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic
English
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school ; total population: 98% ; male: 98% ; female: 98% (1970 est.)


conventional long form: none ; conventional short form: Cayman Islands
British crown colony
name: George Town (on Grand Cayman) ; geographic coordinates: 19 18 N, 81 23 W ; time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western

none (overseas territory of the UK)
Constitution Day, first Monday in July
1959; revised 1962, 1972, and 1994
British common law and local statutes
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Stuart JACK (since 23 November 2005) ; head of government: Leader of Government Business Kurt TIBBETTS (since 18 May 2005) ; cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) ; elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or coalition is appointed by the governor Leader of Government Business
unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats; 3 appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; to serve four-year terms) ; elections: last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held in 2009) ; election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 1
Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal
United Democratic Party or UDP [McKeeva BUSH]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Kurt TIBBETTS]; note - no national teams (loose groupings of political organizations) were formed for the 2000 elections
NA
Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU
blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS
none (overseas territory of the UK)
none (overseas territory of the UK)
overseas territory of the UK




With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 68,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 2003, including almost 500 banks, 800 insurers, and 5,000 mutual funds. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 2.1 million in 2003, with about half from the US. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world.
$1.939 billion (2004 est.)
$NA
0.9% (2004 est.)
$43,800 (2004 est.)
agriculture: 1.4% ; industry: 3.2% ; services: 95.4% (1994 est.)
23,450 (2004)
agriculture: 1.4% ; industry: 12.6% ; services: 86% (1995)
4.4% (2004)
NA%
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

4.4% (2004)

revenues: $423.8 million ; expenditures: $392.6 million (2004)

vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming
tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture
NA%
400 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
372 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005)
2,700 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
2,698 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

$2.52 million (2004)
turtle products, manufactured consumer goods
mostly US (2006)
$866.9 million (2004)
US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2006)


$70 million (1996)
$NA
$NA
$130 million (2005)
Caymanian dollar (KYD)
KYD
Caymanian dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.8496 (2006)
1 April - 31 March
$390,000 (2004)
38,000 (2002)
17,000 (2002)
general assessment: reasonably good system ; domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003; introduction of competition in the mobile-cellular market in 2004 ; international: country code - 1-345; landing point for the MAYA-1 submarine telephone cable network that provides links to the US and parts of Central and South America; submarine cable provides connectivity to Jamaica; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004)
36,000 (1997)
4 with cable system (2004)
7,000 (1997)
.ky
4,888 (2007)
16 (2000)
9,909 (2003)

3 (2007)
total: 2 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007)
total: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)



total: 785 km ; paved: 785 km (2002)

total: 124 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,953,923 GRT/4,597,716 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 11, chemical tanker 41, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 4 ; foreign-owned: 122 (Denmark 3, Germany 17, Greece 23, Italy 10, Japan 6, Norway 2, Singapore 10, Sweden 1, UK 9, US 41) (2007)
Cayman Brac, George Town

no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force

males age 18-49: 10,703 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 8,600 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 257 (2005 est.)

defense is the responsibility of the UK
none

offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe

