| Cayman Islands |
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Map:
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| Background: 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. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: George Town (on Grand Cayman)
geographic coordinates: 19 20 N, 81 23 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 262 sq km |
| Area Land: 262 sq km |
| Area Water: 0 sq km |
| Area Comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Coastline: 160 km |
| Climate: tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) |
| Terrain: low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Caribbean Sea 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m |
| Natural Resources: fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism |
| Land Use Arable Land: 3.85% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0% |
| Land Use Other: 96.15% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: NA |
| Natural Hazards: hurricanes (July to November) |
| Environment Current Issues: no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments |
| Geography Note: important location between Cuba and Central America |
| Population |
Population: 46,600
note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 20.3% (male 4,746/female 4,730) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 71% (male 16,135/female 16,964) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 8.6% (male 1,892/female 2,133) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 37.5 years |
| Median Age Male: 37.1 years |
| Median Age Female: 37.9 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 2.496% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 12.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.02 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.003 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.951 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.887 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 8.94 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 6.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 80.2 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 77.57 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 82.87 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: NA |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: NA |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: NA |
| Religions: United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
| Languages: English |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school |
| Literacy Total Population: 98% |
| Literacy Male: 98% |
| Literacy Female: 98% (1970 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western |
| Legal System: British common law and local statutes |
| Economy |
| Overview: 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. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $1.939 billion (2004 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 0.9% (2004 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 1.4% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 3.2% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
| Labor Force: 23,450 (2004) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 12.6%
services: 86% (1995) |
| Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (2004) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 4.4% (2004) |
| Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: NA% |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 400 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 100% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 372 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Consumption: 2,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $2.52 million (2004) |
| Exports Commodities: turtle products, manufactured consumer goods |
| Exports Partners: mostly US (2004) |
| Imports: $866.9 million (2004) |
| Imports Commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods |
| Imports Partners: US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2004) |
| Debt External: $70 million (1996) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $390,000 (2004) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 38,000 (2002) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 17,000 (2002) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: reasonably good system |
| Telephone System Domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected in falling prices and improving services |
| Telephone System International: country code - 1-345; 2 submarine fiber optic cables (Maya-1, Cayman-Jamaica); satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Radios: 36,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 4 with cable system (2004) |
| Televisions: 7,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 16 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 9,909 (2003) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 3 (2006) |
| Disputes International: none |
| IllicitDrugs: offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe |