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. When the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency. The territory has transformed itself into a significant offshore financial center.

Geographic coordinates: 19 30 N, 80 30 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 264 km²
Land: 264 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 211
Comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 160 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200
Note: nm

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
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Highest point: 1 km SW of The Bluff on Cayman Brac 50 m

Natural resources: fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism

Land use
Agricultural land: 11.2% (2011 est.)
Forest: 52.9% (2011 est.)
Other: 35.9% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land
Note: NA

Natural hazards: hurricanes (July to November)

Geography
Note: important location between Cuba and Central America

Population
Distribution: majority of the population resides on Grand Cayman: 59,613 (July 2018 est.)
Note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman
Rank: 205
Growth rate: 1.96% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 49
Below poverty line note: NA

Nationality
Noun: Caymanian(s)
Adjective: Caymanian

Ethnic groups: mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20%

Languages: English (official) 90.9%, Spanish 4%, Filipino 3.3%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)

Religions: Protestant 67.8% (includes Church of God 22.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 9.4%, Presbyterian/United Church 8.6%, Baptist 8.3%, Pentecostal 7.1%, non-denominational 5.3%, Anglican 4.1%, Wesleyan Holiness 2.4%), Roman Catholic 14.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.1%, other 7%, none 9.3%, unspecified 0.7% (2010 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.91%
0-14 note: (male 5,376 /female 5,298)
15-24 years: 12.2%
15-24 note: (male 3,609 /female 3,662)
25-54 years: 42.12%
25-54 note: (male 12,256 /female 12,855)
55-64 years: 14.64%
55-64 note: (male 4,169 /female 4,558)
65 years and over: 13.13%
65 and over note: (male 3,627 /female 4,203) (2018 est.)

Median age
Total: 40.2 years (2018 est.)
Male: 39.5 years
Female: 40.9 years
Rank: 50

Population growth rate: 1.96% (2018 est.)
Rank: 49

Birth rate: 12 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 166

Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 167

Net migration rate: 13.6 migrant(s)/1000 population (2018 est.)
Note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US
Rank: 4

Population distribution: majority of the population resides on Grand Cayman

Urbanization
Urban population: 100% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.27% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 35,000 GEORGE TOWN (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: no natural freshwater resources; drinking water supplies are met by reverse osmosis desalination plants and rainwater catchment; trash washing up on the beaches or being deposited there by residents; no recycling or waste treatment facilities; deforestation (trees being cut down to create space for commercial use)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 5.7 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 6.5 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.9 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 168

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.4 years (2018 est.)
Male: 78.7 years
Female: 84.2 years
Rank: 28

Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 145

Drinking water source
Urban: 2.6% of population
Total: 2.6% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 4.4% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 4.4% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Major infectious diseases
Note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus

Education expenditures
Note: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 98.9%
Male: 98.7%
Female: 99% (2007)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Cayman Islands
Etymology: the islands name comes from the native Carib word caiman, describing the marine crocodiles living there

Government type: parliamentary democracy; self-governing overseas territory of the UK

Capital
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)
Etymology: named after English King George III (1760-1820)

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Bodden Town, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, East End, George Town, North Side, West Bay

Independence: none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday: Constitution Day, the first Monday in July (1959)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest approved 10 June 2009, entered into force 6 November 2009 (The Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009)
Amendments: amended several times, last in 2016 (2018)

Legal system: English common law and local statutes

Citizenship: see United Kingdom

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Martyn ROPER (since 29 October 2018)
Head of government: Premier Alden MCLAUGHLIN (since 29 May 2013)
Cabinet: Cabinet selected from the Legislative Assembly and appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition appointed premier by the governor

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Legislative Assembly (21 seats; 19 members directly elected by majority vote and 2 ex officio members - the deputy governor and attorney general - appointed by the governor; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 24 May 2017 (next to be held in 2021)
Election results: percent of vote by party - independent 44.7%, PPM 31.2%, CDP 24.1%; seats by party - independent 9, PPM 7, CDP 3; composition - men 18, women 3, percent of women 14.3%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and at least 2 judges); Grand Court (consists of the court president and at least 2 judges); note - appeals beyond the Court of Appeal are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and Grand Court judges appointed by the governor on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an 8-member independent body consisting of governor appointees, Court of Appeal president, and attorneys; Court of Appeal judges tenure based on their individual instruments of appointment; Grand Court judges normally appointed until retirement at age 65 but can be extended until age 70
Subordinate courts: Summary Court

Political parties and leaders: People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Alden MCLAUGHLIN]Cayman Democratic Party or CDP [McKeeva BUSH]

International organization participation: Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas territory of the UK)
From the us: none (overseas territory of the UK); consular services provided through the US Embassy in Jamaica

Flag description: a blue field 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 crest with a pineapple, representing the connection with Jamaica, and a turtle, representing Cayman's seafaring tradition, above a shield bearing a golden lion, symbolizing Great Britain, below which are three green stars (representing the three islands) surmounting white and blue wavy lines representing the sea; a scroll below the shield bears the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS

National symbols: green sea turtle

National anthem
Name: Beloved Isle Cayman
Lyrics and music: Leila E. ROSS
Note: adopted 1993; served as an unofficial anthem since 1930; as a territory of the United Kingdom, in addition to the local anthem, 'God Save the Queen' is official (see United Kingdom)

Economy overview: With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 65,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 2017, including more than 280 banks, 700 insurers, and 10,500 mutual funds. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Nearly 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy a standard of living comparable to that of Switzerland.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 2016, with more than three-quarters from the US.

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 163

Real gdp per capita: $43,800 (2004 est.)
Rank: 41

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 62.3% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 14.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 22.1% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 65.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -64.2% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 7.4% (2017 est.)
Services: 92.3% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming

Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture

Industrial production growth rate: 2.2% (2017 est.)
Rank: 124

Labor force: 39,000 (2007 est.)
Note: nearly 55% are non-nationals
Rank: 197
By occupation agriculture: 1.9%
By occupation industry: 19.1%
By occupation services: 79% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 51

Population below poverty line
Note: NA

Budget
Revenues: 874.5 million (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 766.6 million (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 4.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 7

Taxes and other revenues: 38.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 51

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 104

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 42

Stock of narrow money: $334.3 million (31 December 2008)
Rank: 179

Stock of broad money: $5.564 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 100

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 115

Current account balance:
Rank: 118

Exports:
Rank: 182
Commodities: turtle products, manufactured consumer goods

Imports:
Rank: 190
Commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: NA

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2016)
Production: 650 million kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 160
Consumption: 612 million kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 165
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 118
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 132
Installed generating capacity: 132,000 kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 174
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 6
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 63
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 163
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 180

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 120
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 104
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 107
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 116

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 128
Products consumption: 4,400 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 181
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 141
Products imports: 4,285 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 175

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 114
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 130
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 80
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 104
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 120

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 643,800 Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 178

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 34,116
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 60 (July 2016 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 168
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 95,656
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 164 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 192

Telephone system
General assessment: reasonably good overall telephone system with a high fixed-line teledensity; given the high dependence of tourism and activities such as fisheries and offshore financial services, the telecom sector provides a relatively high contribution to overall GDP; good competion in all sectors promotes advancement in mobile telephony and data segments (2018)
Domestic: introduction of competition in the mobile-cellular market in 2004 boosted subscriptions dramatically; 60 per 100 fixed-line, 164 per 100 mobile-cellular (2018)
International: country code - 1-345; landing points for the Maya-1, Deep Blue Cable, and the Cayman-Jamaica Fiber System submarine cables that provide links to the US and parts of Central and South America; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

Broadcast media: 4 TV stations; cable and satellite subscription services offer a variety of international programming; government-owned Radio Cayman operates 2 networks broadcasting on 5 stations; 10 privately owned radio stations operate alongside Radio Cayman

Internet
Country code: .ky
Users total: 45,242
Users percent of population: 79% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 196

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 24,535
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 42 (2017 est.)
Rank: 145

Military and security forces: no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (2019)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6 (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: VP-C (2016)

Airports: 3 (2013)
Rank: 194
With paved runways total: 3 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 1 (2012)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2012)

Roadways
Total: 785 km (2007)
Paved: 785 km (2007)
Rank: 182

Merchant marine
Total: 165
By type: bulk carrier 31, general cargo 4, oil tanker 19, other 111 (2018)
Rank: 67

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Cayman Brac, George Town

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: major offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe