| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long
form: none
conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
| Capital: |
George Town |
| Location: |
Caribbean, island
group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
19 30 N, 80 30
W |
| Area: |
total: 262
sq km
land: 262 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
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 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean
Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
fish, climate
and beaches that foster tourism |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
overseas territory
of the UK |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
8 districts; Creek,
Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western |
| Independence |
none (overseas
territory of the UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Constitution Day,
first Monday in July |
| Constitution: |
1959, revised 1972 and 1992 |
| Legal
System; |
British common
law and local statutes |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: Queen
ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor Bruce DINWIDDY (since
29 May 2002)
head of government: Leader of Government Business W. McKeeva BUSH (since
NA December 2001)
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 |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Legislative
Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members from the Executive Council
and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held 17 May 2005;
delayed from 17 November 2004 as a result of Hurricane Ivan)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Summary Court;
Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
no national teams
(loose groupings of political organizations) were formed for the 2000
elections; United Democratic Party or UDP [leader McKeeva BUSH]; People's
Progressive Movement or PPM [leader Kurt TIBBETTS] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
44,270 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 21.1%
(male 4,658/female 4,662)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 15,284/female 16,050)
65 years and over: 8.2% (male 1,699/female 1,917) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 36.83
years
male: 36.48 years
female: 37.18 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Caymanian(s)
adjective: Caymanian |
| Ethnic groups: |
mixed 40%, white
20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% |
| Religions: |
United Church
(Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God,
other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
| Languages: |
English |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
38,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
17,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: reasonably
good system
domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected
in falling prices and improving services
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) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4 with cable system (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ky |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
9,909 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 785
km
paved: 785 km (2000) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Cayman Brac, George
Town |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 129
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,827,837 GRT/4,555,974 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 12, chemical tanker 39, liquefied
gas 1, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off
3
foreign-owned: 126 (Denmark 1, Germany 14, Greece 20, Italy 12, Norway
1, Philippines 1, Sweden 13, Switzerland 11, United Kingdom 9, United States
44) (2005) |
| Airports: |
3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
none |
