]! ^! The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica since 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. 
]" ^" Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras ^# 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 `a 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 43 m ^- fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism ^. `' 3.85% `( 0% `) 96.15% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^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 44,270 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 21.1% (male 4,658/female 4,662) `+ 70.8% (male 15,284/female 16,050) `, 8.2% (male 1,699/female 1,917) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 36.83 years `- 36.48 years `. 37.18 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.64% (2005 est.) ^7 12.92 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 4.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 18.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.02 male(s)/female `0 1 male(s)/female `+ 0.95 male(s)/female `, 0.89 male(s)/female `1 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 8.19 deaths/1,000 live births `- 9.39 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 79.95 years `- 77.33 years `. 82.6 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.9 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Caymanian(s) `3 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 `M age 15 and over has ever attended school `1 98% `- 98% `. 98% (1970 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Cayman Islands ^G overseas territory of the UK ^H British crown colony ^I George Town ^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 1972 and 1992 ^N British common law and local statutes ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor Bruce DINWIDDY (since 29 May 2002) `7 Leader of Government Business Kurt TIBBETTS (since 18 May 2005) `8 Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) `9 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, three appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) `9 last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held 2009) `: percent of vote - NA%; seats - PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 1 ^R Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal ^S 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] ^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 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1998, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. 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 1.2 million in 1997, with 600,000 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 $1.391 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 1.7% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $32,300 (2004 est.) ^] `; 1.4% `< 3.2% `= 95.4% (1994 est.) ^^ 19,820 (1995) ^_ agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) ^` 4.1% (1997) ^a NA (2002 est.) _! `> NA `? NA _" 2.8% (2002) _# `@ $265.2 million `A $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997) _$ vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming _% tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture _& NA% _' 410.8 million kWh (2002) _( 382.1 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 2,400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $1.2 million (1999) _0 turtle products, manufactured consumer goods _1 mostly US _2 $457.4 million (1999) _3 foodstuffs, manufactured goods _4 US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan _5 $70 million (1996) _6 NA _7 Caymanian dollar (KYD) _8 Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.82 (29 October 2001), 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 38,000 (2002) _; 17,000 (2002) _< `B reasonably good system `C liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected in falling prices and improving services `D country code - 1-345; 2 submarine fiber optic cables (Maya-1, Cayman-Jamaica); satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) _> 4 with cable system (2004) _? .ky _A 9,909 (2003) 
]' _B `! 785 km `E 785 km (2000) _C Cayman Brac, George Town _K `! 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 `S 126 (Denmark 1, Germany 14, Greece 20, Italy 12, Norway 1, Philippines 1, Sweden 13, Switzerland 11, United Kingdom 9, United States 44) (2005) _D 3 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `^ 2 (2004 est.) _L `! 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force _G defense is the responsibility of the UK 
]) _H none _I offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe 