Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands
Coat of arms of the Cayman Islands
Motto: He hath founded it upon the seas
Anthem: God Save the Queen (Royal Anthem)
Capital (and largest city)		George Town 19°20′N 81°24′W
Official languages		English
Government		Constitutional monarchy
Creation
Area
-	Total	260 km² (221st)  sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.6%
Population
-	2005 estimate	44,270 (212th)
-	1999 census	39,020
GDP (PPP)		2004 estimate
-	Total	1,391,000,000 (n/a)
-	Per capita	32,300 (n/a)
Currency		Cayman dollar (KYD)
Time zone		(UTC-5)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC-5)
Internet TLD		.ky
Calling code		[[+1-345]]

The Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the western Caribbean Sea comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.

Geography

The Cayman Islands are located in the western Caribbean Sea. The three islands are situated about 480 miles south of Miami, 150 miles south of Cuba, and 180 miles northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is by far the largest, with an area of 76 square miles. The two "Sister Islands" of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are located about 90 miles east of Grand Cayman and have areas of 14 square miles and 10 square miles respectively.

File:BracBluff.jpg

The Bluff on Cayman Brac

All three islands were formed by large coral heads and are mostly flat. One notable exception to this is The Bluff on Cayman Brac, which rises to 140 feet above sea level, the highest point on the island.

History

The Cayman Islands - often referred to as The Caymans, or (more correctly) just Cayman - were first visited by Christopher Columbus in 1503] during his fourth and final voyage to the New World. The first recorded English visitor to the islands was Sir Francis Drake, who landed there in 1586 and named them the Cayman Islands. The islands, along with nearby Jamaica, were ceded to England in 1670 under the Treaty of Madrid. They were governed as a single colony with Jamaica until 1962 when they became a separate British overseas territory and Jamaica became an independent commonwealth realm.

The island of Grand Cayman was severely damaged by the Category Five Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which destroyed many buildings and damaged nearly all. Power, water and communications were all disrupted. Ivan was the worst hurricane to hit the islands in 86 years. The island has made rapid recovery since Ivan, with most of the infrastructure now restored.

Demographics

The population of the Cayman Islands is 34,763 as of July 2000. Out of that number, about half are of Caymanian descent. About 60% of the population is of mixed race. Of the remaining 40%, about half are Caucasian and half are of African descent. The islands are almost exclusively Christian, with large number of Presbyterians and Anglicans. Caymanians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the West Indies. The vast majority of the population resides on Grand Cayman. Cayman Brac is the second most populated with about 2,000 residents, followed by Little Cayman with around 200 permanent residents. Approximately one quarter of the Islands' population left following Hurricane Ivan, due to the myriad of problems, financial and otherwise, caused by the hurricane.

The capital and major city of the Cayman Islands is George Town, which is located on the west coast of Grand Cayman.

Economy

Map of the Cayman Islands

The economy of the Cayman Islands used to be built around turtling. However, this industry began to disappear in the 20th century and tourism and financial services began to become predominant due to the advent of modern transportation. The United States of America is the Cayman Islands' largest trading partner.

With an average income of around $35,000, Caymanians enjoy the highest standard of living in the Caribbean. The islands print their own currency, the Cayman Islands (C.I.) dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar at a fixed rate of 1 KYD = 1.227 USD. Thus, the C.I. dollar's rate of exchange with all other world countries is directly tied to the U.S. dollar's rate of exchange with those same countries.

The government's primary source of income is indirect taxation. An import duty of 20% is levied against goods imported into the islands. Few goods are exempt; notable examples include books, cameras & baby formula. Duty on automobiles is charged on a sliding scale with the duty reaching 40% for expensive models. The government charges a flat licensing fee to financial institutions that operate in the islands. A small fee is also charged to each tourist that arrives on the islands.

Tourism

Tourism accounts for 70%-75% of the annual GDP of the Cayman Islands and is hence a major part of the economy. Of the millions of tourists that visit the islands annually, 99% of the them stay on Grand Cayman. George Town also serves as a major cruise-ship port, which brings in 2,000-3,000 tourists a day, 5 days a week.

File:Seven Mile Beach1.jpg

World-Famous Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman's West Shore

Grand Cayman's major tourist attraction is the world-famous Seven Mile Beach on which most of the island's hotels and resorts are located. SMB was recently named the "Caribbean's Best Beach" by Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine and is regarded by many as one of the best beaches in the world.

The Cayman Islands are also world famous as a scuba diving destination because of their proximity to the Cayman Wall and the Cayman Trench, which extend deep into the coral reefs of the Caribbean. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are also considered to be elite dive destinations.

Financial services industry

Because the Cayman Islands are not subject to direct taxation by the British government, nor is there a local income tax, they serve as an international offshore-banking hub and tax haven for millions of people and corporations. As of 2000, almost 40,000 companies were incorporated on the Cayman Islands including 600 banking and trust companies with assets in excess of $500 billion. Approximately 6,000 out of the world's 8,000 hedge funds are also domiciled in the Cayman Islands.

Government and politics

Although it is a British dependency, the Cayman Islands are largely self-governing concerning local affairs. A 15-seat legislative assembly is elected by the people every 4 years to handle domestic affairs. Of the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLA's, 5 are chosen to serve as government ministers. The head of government is the Leader of Government Business, which is currently Kurt Tibbetts.

A governor is appointed by the British government to represent the monarch. In modern times, the governor's powers are limited to handling defence, foreign affairs and the police force. Most of these affairs are actually handled by the chief secretary, who is the acting governor when the governor is not able to discharge his usual duties for one reason or another, but on a day-to-day basis oversees the civil service including the portfolio of Internal & External Affairs. The current governor of the Cayman Islands is Bruce Dinwiddy and the current chief secretary is George McCarthy.

The islands have been governed by a written constitution since becoming a British crown colony in 1962. Currently, the Governor has called for the constitution to be modernised, an issue being debated by the legislative assembly, with Britain having made it known that such an action should originate within the people of the Cayman Islands and follow the referendum route.

Taxation

As a tax haven both Caymanians and Caymanian companies are not subject any form of direct taxation. However, an import tax of between 5%-20% is levied on almost all imported goods.

Education

The Cayman Islands Education Council operates public schools on the island.

Military

The defence of the Cayman Islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. Therefore, the islands have no established military. They do, however, have their own police force, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, and in 2001 the small Cayman Islands Cadet Corps was formed in the place of a traditional army.

Foreign relations

The foreign relations of the Cayman Islands are largely managed from the United Kingdom, as the islands remain an overseas territory of the UK. However, the government of the Cayman Islands often resolves important issues with foreign governments alone, without intervention from Britain. Although in its early days, the Cayman Islands' most important relationships were with Britain and Jamaica, in recent years, this has shifted, and they now rely more so on the United States.

Though the Cayman Islands are involved in no major international disputes, they have come under some criticism due to the use of their territory for narcotics trafficking and money laundering. In an attempt to address this, the Government entered into the Narcotics Agreement of 1984 and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty of 1986 with the United States, in order to reduce the use of their facilities associated with these activities. In more recent years, they have stepped up the fight against money laundering, by limiting banking secrecy, introducing requirements for customer identification and record keeping, and requiring banks to cooperate with foreign investigators.

In fiction

Large parts of the novel The Firm by John Grisham takes place on the Cayman Islands. The main character works for a Memphis, Tennessee law firm that uses island banks for money laundering.

Frankie Flowers' 2004 film Haven takes place on Grand Cayman. Frankie Flowers is a native of the Cayman Islands.

External links

• Cayman Islands Government
• Cayman Islands Department of Tourism
• Cayman Islands Investment Bureau
• Grand Cayman Islands Vacation Directory

Credits

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