Cayman Islands
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| National motto: He hath founded it upon the seas | |||||
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| Official language | English | ||||
| Political status | Non-sovereign, Overseas territory of the U.K | ||||
| Capital | George Town | ||||
| Governor | Bruce Dinwiddy | ||||
| Leader of Gov't Business | McKeeva Bush | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 221th 260 km² 1,6% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2002) - Density | Ranked 212th
41,934 139,5/km² | ||||
| Currency | Cayman Dollar | ||||
| Time zone | UTC -5 | ||||
| National anthem | God Save the Queen (unofficial anthem) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .ky | ||||
| Calling Code | 1-345 | ||||
First visited by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the New World, the islands, along with nearby Jamaica, were ceded to Great Britain in 1670 under the Treaty of Madrid. They were governed as a single colony with Jamaica until 1963 when they became a separate British overseas territory and Jamaica became an independent commonwealth realm.
Map of the Cayman Islands
Caymanians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the West Indies. Most residents are Protestants of British or African descent and many are of mixed racial ethnicity. The islands' main industries are tourism and also offshore banking, thanks to the non-existence of direct taxes.
The Cayman Islands are completely self-governing and universal voting rights are granted to all citizens at the age of 18 years. A legislature is elected by the people every four years. The Governor of the islands serves as the British representative and is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II.
Large parts of the novel The Firm by John Grisham takes place on the Cayman Islands. The main character works for a Memphis law firm that use island banks for money laundering.
In fiction
See also
Originally from the CIA World Factbook 2000.
| Countries in West Indies | ||
| Antigua and Barbuda | Bahamas | Barbados | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada | Haiti | Jamaica | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Trinidad and Tobago | ||
| Dependencies: Anguilla | Aruba | Bermuda | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Guadeloupe | Martinique | Montserrat | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Turks and Caicos Islands | U.S. Virgin Islands | ||
| Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) |
|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | The Bahamas¹ | Barbados | Belize | Dominica | Grenada | Guyana | Haiti | Jamaica | Montserrat | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Suriname | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Associate members: British Virgin Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands |
| Observer status: Anguilla | Aruba | Bermuda | Cayman Islands | Colombia | Dominican Republic | Mexico | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Venezuela |
| ¹ A member of the community but not the common market. |