Cayman Islands (2001) | Germany (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states* (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.21% (male 3,807; female 4,084) 15-64 years: 69.74% (male 12,102; female 12,676) 65 years and over: 8.05% (male 1,318; female 1,540) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 6,197,490; female 5,879,052)
15-64 years: 67% (male 28,119,536; female 27,132,713) 65 years and over: 18.3% (male 6,096,106; female 8,999,712) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 550 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 331
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 62 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 134 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 219
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 185 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
259 sq km land: 259 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica from 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. | As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro. |
Birth rate | 13.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.45 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$265.2 million expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $1.079 trillion
expenditures: $1.173 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | George Town | Berlin |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
Coastline | 160 km | 2,389 km |
Constitution | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich |
Currency | Caymanian dollar (KYD) | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.44 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | NA (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel R. COATS
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8140 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | 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 1997, 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 visitors in 1997. 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. | Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy- the fifth largest national economy in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the entire euro zone, and a quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. The government is also starting long-needed structural reforms designed to revitalize the country's economy. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit. |
Electricity - consumption | 306.9 million kWh (1999) | 506.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 43.9 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 44 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 330 million kWh (1999) | 544.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor and President of the Executive Council Peter SMITH (since 5 May 1999) head of government: Kurt TIBBETTS (since November 2000) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998); Vice Chancellor Joschka FISCHER (since 17 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote 50.7% |
Exports | $1.5 million (1998) | 404,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | mostly US | France 10.6%, US 9.3%, UK 8.4%, Italy 7.4%, Netherlands 6.2%, Austria 5.3%, Belgium 5.1%, Spain 4.9%, Switzerland 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk 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 | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $930 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.271 trillion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,500 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (1999 est.) | -0.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Heliports | - | 34 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
406 km paved: 304 km unpaved: 102 km |
total: 230,735 km
paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | vulnerable to drug money laundering and drug transshipment to the US and Europe | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center |
Imports | $507.6 million (1998) | 3.081 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
Imports - partners | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan | France 9.2%, Netherlands 8.4%, US 7.3%, Italy 6.3%, UK 6%, Belgium 4.9%, China 4.7%, Austria 4% (2003) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.2% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 10.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (1998) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
Labor force | 19,820 (1995) | 42.63 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) | agriculture 2.8%, industry 33.4%, services 63.8% (1999) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 23% other: 69% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 33.85%
permanent crops: 0.59% other: 65.56% (2001) |
Languages | English | German |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (603 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Alliance '90/Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Alliance '90/Greens 55, FDP 47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.03 years male: 76.24 years female: 81.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.54 years
male: 75.56 years female: 81.68 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1997 est.) male: NA female: NA |
Location | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total:
106 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,656,452 GRT/2,643,036 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 5, chemical tanker 27, container 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Denmark 2, Finland 1, Greece 11, Norway 3, UK 3, US 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 278 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,721,495 GRT/6,810,631 DWT
by type: cargo 71, chemical tanker 14, container 169, liquefied gas 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 5, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 7 foreign-owned: Finland 4, Iceland 1, Netherlands 3 registered in other countries: 2,295 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) | Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine; including Naval Air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Service, Central Medical Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $35.063 billion (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 20,468,942 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 17,338,435 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 484,837 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | flooding |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 12.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US |
2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined products 3,827 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties but the following loose groupings act as political organizations; National Team; Democratic Alliance; Team Cayman | Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz MUENTEFERING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
Population | 35,527 (July 2001 est.) | 82,424,609 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 0.02% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayman Brac, George Town | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 46,039 km (20,100 km electrified)
standard gauge: 45,801 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified) narrow gauge: 214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
0.86 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part
domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the INMARSAT, INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, and INTERSPUTNIK satellite systems (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,000 (1995) | 54.35 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,534 (1995) | 64.8 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (1997) | 10.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 7,300 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2004) |