]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Caribbean, three island (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) group in Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica ^# 19 30 N, 80 30 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 262 sq km `" 262 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 160 km ^) `$ 12 nm `l 200 nm ^* tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) ^+ low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m ^- fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism ^. `' 3.85% `( 0% `) 96.15% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 hurricanes (July to November) ^1 no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments ^2 important location between Cuba and Central America 
]# ^3 46,600 `* most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 20.3% (male 4,746/female 4,730) `, 71% (male 16,135/female 16,964) `- 8.6% (male 1,892/female 2,133) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 37.5 years `. 37.1 years `/ 37.9 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.496% (2007 est.) ^7 12.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 17.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population `* major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.02 male(s)/female `1 1.003 male(s)/female `, 0.951 male(s)/female `- 0.887 male(s)/female `2 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births `. 8.94 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 6.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 80.2 years `. 77.57 years `/ 82.87 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Caymanian(s) `4 Caymanian ^B mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% ^C United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic ^D English ^E `5 age 15 and over has ever attended school `2 98% `. 98% `/ 98% (1970 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Cayman Islands ^G overseas territory of the UK ^H British crown colony ^I `8 George Town (on Grand Cayman) `9 19 20 N, 81 23 W `: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western ^K none (overseas territory of the UK) ^L Constitution Day, first Monday in July ^M 1959; revised 1962, 1972, and 1994 ^N British common law and local statutes ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Stuart JACK (since 23 November 2005) `< Leader of Government Business Kurt TIBBETTS (since 18 May 2005) `= Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) `> 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 ^Q unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, 3 appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) `> last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held in 2009) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 1 ^R Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal ^S United Democratic Party or UDP [McKeeva BUSH]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Kurt TIBBETTS]; note - no national teams (loose groupings of political organizations) were formed for the 2000 elections ^T NA ^U Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU ^V none (overseas territory of the UK) ^W none (overseas territory of the UK) ^X blue, 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 pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $1.939 billion (2004 est.) ^[ NA ^\ 0.9% (2004 est.) ^] $43,800 (2004 est.) ^^ `@ 1.4% `A 3.2% `B 95.4% (1994 est.) ^_ 23,450 (2004) ^` `@ 1.4% `A 12.6% `B 86% (1995) ^a 4.4% (2004) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 4.4% (2004) _$ `E $423.8 million `F $392.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004) _& vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming _' tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture _( NA% _) 400 million kWh (2004) _* 372 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 2,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $2.52 million (2004) _4 turtle products, manufactured consumer goods _5 mostly US (2004) _6 $866.9 million (2004) _7 foodstuffs, manufactured goods _8 US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2004) _9 $70 million (1996) _: $390,000 (2004) _; Caymanian dollar (KYD) _< Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.8496 (2006) _= 1 April - 31 March 
]& _> 38,000 (2002) _? 17,000 (2002) _@ `G reasonably good system `H liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected in falling prices and improving services `I country code - 1-345; 2 submarine fiber optic cables (Maya-1, Cayman-Jamaica); satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) _B 4 with cable system (2004) _C .ky _D 8,611 (2006) _E 9,909 (2003) 
]' _F 3 (2006) _G `! 2 `b 2 (2006) _R `! 1 `c 1 (2006) _H `! 785 km `K 785 km (2002) _S `! 132 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,746,290 GRT/4,366,790 DWT by type: bulk carrier 32, cargo 14, chemical tanker 42, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 23, roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 `X 130 (Denmark 5, Germany 13, Greece 21, Italy 12, Japan 1, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 4, Norway 2, Philippines 1, Singapore 10, Sweden 9, UK 10, US 41) (2006) _I Cayman Brac, George Town 
]( _J no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force _K males age 18-49: 10,703 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 8,600 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 257 (2005 est.) _M defense is the responsibility of the UK 
]) _N none _O offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe 