Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

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.

History of the Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands - often referred to as The Caymans, or (more correctly) just Cayman - were first visited by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 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.

Geography of the Cayman Islands

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.

The Bluff on Cayman BracAll 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.

Demographics of the Cayman Islands

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 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 Dollar (KYD), 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 2000-3000 tourists a day, 5 days a week.

World-Famous Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman's West ShoreGrand 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 July 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.

Politics of the Cayman Islands

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 The Honourable 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 His Excellency the Governor Mr. Bruce Dinwiddy, CMG and the current Chief Secretary is Hon. George McCarthy, OBE, JP

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.

Military of the Cayman Islands

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 of the Cayman Islands

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.

Due to their status as an overseas territory of the UK, the Cayman Islands have no representation either on the United Nations, or in most other international organizations. However, the Cayman Islands still participates in some international organisations, being a full member of the Central Development Bank and International Olympic Committee, an associate member of Caricom and UNESCO, and a member of a sub-bureau of Interpol.

See Timor -Leste for East Timor
Ecuador - Republic of Ecuador
Egypt - Arab Republic of Egypt
El Salvador - Republic of El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea - State of Eritrea
Estonia - Republic of Estonia
Ethiopia - Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (federal state)

F
Falkland Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by, and a former possession of Argentina named Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Fiji - Republic of the Fiji Islands
Finland - Republic of Finland
France - French Republic
French Polynesia (overseas country of France)

G
Gabon - Gabonese Republic
Gambia, The - Republic of The Gambia
Georgia (see also Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
Germany - Federal Republic of Germany (federal state)
Ghana - Republic of Ghana
Gibraltar (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Greece - Hellenic Republic
Greenland (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Grenada (Commonwealth Realm)
Guam - Territory of Guam (unincorporated organized territory of the United States)
Guatemala - Republic of Guatemala
Guernsey - Bailiwick of Guernsey (British Crown dependency, including its self-governing dependencies Alderney, Herm and Sark)
Guinea - Republic of Guinea
Guinea-Bissau - Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Guyana - Co-operative Republic of Guyana

H
Haiti - Republic of Haiti
Honduras - Republic of Honduras
Hong Kong - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (diplomatically known as Hong Kong, China)
Hungary - Republic of Hungary

I
Iceland - Republic of Iceland
India - Republic of India (federal state)
Indonesia - Republic of Indonesia
Iran - Islamic Republic of Iran
Iraq - Republic of Iraq
Ireland (also commonly referred to as the Republic of Ireland as the official "description" of the state in order to distinguish it from the island of Ireland as a whole)
Israel - State of Israel
Italy - Italian Republic
See Côte d'Ivoire for Ivory Coast

J
Jamaica (Commonwealth Realm)
Japan
Jersey - Bailiwick of Jersey (British Crown dependency)
Jordan - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

K
Kazakhstan - Republic of Kazakhstan
Kenya - Republic of Kenya
Kiribati - Republic of Kiribati
Korea (North) - Democratic People's Republic of Korea (popularly known as North Korea)
Korea (South) - Republic of Korea (popularly known as South Korea)
Kosovo - Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohia (autonomous province of Serbia and Montenegro under UN interim civilian administration)
Kuwait - State of Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyz Republic (sometimes also rendered as Kirghizia)

L
Laos - Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia - Republic of Latvia
Lebanon - Republic of Lebanon
Lesotho - Kingdom of Lesotho
Liberia - Republic of Liberia
Libya - Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Liechtenstein - Principality of Liechtenstein
Lithuania - Republic of Lithuania
Luxembourg - Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

M
Macau - Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (diplomatically known as Macau, China)
Macedonia - Republic of Macedonia (referred to by UN and a number of countries and international organizations as The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
Madagascar - Republic of Madagascar
Malawi - Republic of Malawi
Malaysia (federal state)
Maldives - Republic of Maldives
Mali - Republic of Mali
Malta - Republic of Malta
Mann, Isle of - Isle of Man (British Crown dependency, also known as Mann)
Marshall Islands - Republic of the Marshall Islands (US associated state)
Mauritania - Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Mauritius - Republic of Mauritius
Mayotte (overseas collectivity of France)
Mexico - United Mexican States (federal state)
Micronesia - Federated States of Micronesia (federal state, US associated state)
Moldova - Republic of Moldova (see also Pridnestrovie)
Monaco - Principality of Monaco
Mongolia (sometimes also rendered as Outer Mongolia (together with Tuva) in order to distinguish it from Inner Mongolia of the People's Republic of China)
Montserrat (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Morocco - Kingdom of Morocco (see also Western Sahara)
Mozambique - Republic of Mozambique
Myanmar - Union of Myanmar (formerly and popularly known as Burma)

N
Nagorno-Karabakh - Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de facto independent state inside Azerbaijan)
Namibia - Republic of Namibia
Nauru - Republic of Nauru
Nepal - Kingdom of Nepal
Netherlands, the - Kingdom of the Netherlands (legally the Netherlands refers to the mainland European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the latter consisting of the Netherlands and two overseas countries, namely Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles)
Netherlands Antilles (overseas country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
New Caledonia (sui generis collectivity of France)
New Zealand (Commonwealth Realm)
Nicaragua - Republic of Nicaragua
Niger - Republic of Niger
Nigeria - Federal Republic of Nigeria (federal state)
Niue (self-governing state in free association with New Zealand)
Norfolk Island - Territory of Norfolk Island (overseas territory of Australia)
Northern Cyprus - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (de facto independent state inside Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey)
Northern Mariana Islands - Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (unincorporated organized territory (commonwealth) in political union with the United States)
Norway - Kingdom of Norway

O
Oman - Sultanate of Oman

P
Pakistan - Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Palau - Republic of Palau (US associated state)
Palestine - State of Palestine (currently recognized by over 90 countries and further supported by other countries according the Palestinian National Authority a pivotal role in the process that may involve their eventually recognizing the State as sovereign)
Panama - Republic of Panama
Papua New Guinea - Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Commonwealth Realm)
Paraguay - Republic of Paraguay
Peru - Republic of Peru
Philippines, the - Republic of the Philippines
Pitcairn Islands - Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
See Transnistria for Pridnestrovie
Poland - Republic of Poland
Portuguese - Republic
Puerto Rico - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (unincorporated organized territory (commonwealth) associated with the United States)

Q
Qatar - State of Qatar

R
Romania
Russia - Russian Federation (federal state)
Rwanda - Republic of Rwanda

S
Saint Helena (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Saint Kitts and Nevis - Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (federal state, Commonwealth Realm)
Saint Lucia (Commonwealth Realm)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (overseas collectivity of France)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Commonwealth Realm)
Samoa - Independent State of Samoa
San Marino - Most Serene Republic of San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe - Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Senegal - Republic of Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro - State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (federal state, its province of Kosovo is under UN interim civilian administration)
Seychelles - Republic of Seychelles
Sierra Leone - Republic of Sierra Leone
Singapore - Republic of Singapore
Slovakia - Slovak Republic
Slovenia - Republic of Slovenia
Solomon Islands (Commonwealth Realm)
Somalia (the whole country is presently fragmented with its Transitional National Government in exile, see also Somaliland)
Somaliland - Republic of Somaliland (de facto independent state inside Somalia)
South Africa - Republic of South Africa
South Ossetia - Republic of South Ossetia (de facto independent state inside Georgia)
Spain - Kingdom of Spain
Sri Lanka - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Sudan - Republic of the Sudan
Suriname - Republic of Suriname
Svalbard (overseas territory of Norway recognized by international treaty)
Swaziland - Kingdom of Swaziland
Sweden - Kingdom of Sweden
Switzerland - Swiss Confederation (federal state)
Syria - Syrian Arab Republic

T
Taiwan (ROC) - Republic of China (diplomatically sometimes known as Chinese Taipei (or other names), regarded by UN as "Taiwan, Province of China", the political status of the ROC and the legal status of the Taiwan Island (and its outlying islands) are in dispute)
Tajikistan - Republic of Tajikistan
Tanzania - United Republic of Tanzania (federal state)
Thailand - Kingdom of Thailand
Timor-Leste - Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (popularly known as East Timor)
Togo - Togolese Republic
Tokelau (overseas territory of New Zealand)
Tonga - Kingdom of Tonga
Transnistria - Transnistrian or Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (the Transnistrian government uses as translation Pridnestrovie, de facto independent state inside Moldova)
Trinidad and Tobago - Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Tristan da Cunha (dependency of Saint Helena, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Tunisia - Tunisian Republic
Turkey - Republic of Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Tuvalu (Commonwealth Realm)

U
Uganda - Republic of Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates (federal state)
United Kingdom - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Commonwealth Realm)
United States - United States of America (federal state)
Uruguay - Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Uzbekistan - Republic of Uzbekistan

V
Vanuatu - Republic of Vanuatu
Vatican City - State of the Vatican City (administered by a Pontifical Commission appointed by the Pope who is concurrently the head of the Holy See and that of the Vatican City)
Venezuela - Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (federal state)
Vietnam - Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British) - British Virgin Islands (overseas territory of the United Kingdom)
Virgin Islands (U.S.) - United States Virgin Islands (unincorporated organized territory of the United States, popularly known in its abbreviated terms as U.S. Virgin Islands)

W
Wallis and Futuna (overseas collectivity of France)
Western Sahara - Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (currently recognized by over 40 countries, the SADR only exercises effective control over the territory east of Moroccan Wall, whereas large portion of the territory is occupied by and integrated in Morocco)

Y
Yemen - Republic of Yemen

Z
Zambia - Republic of Zambia
Zimbabwe - Republic of Zimbabwe