Compare Cayman Islands (2006) - Pacific Ocean (2005)

Compare Cayman Islands (2006) z Pacific Ocean (2005)

	Cayman Islands (2006)	Pacific Ocean (2005)

Administrative divisions	8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.7% (male 4,708/female 4,700) 15-64 years: 70.9% (male 15,707/female 16,504) 65 years and over: 8.4% (male 1,793/female 2,024) (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming	-
Airports	3 (2006)	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)	-
Area	total: 262 sq km land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	1.5 times the size of Washington, DC	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
Background	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.	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.
Birth rate	12.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $423.8 million expenditures: $392.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)	-
Capital	name: George Town (on Grand Cayman) geographic coordinates: 19 20 N, 81 23 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December
Coastline	160 km	135,663 km
Constitution	1959; revised 1962, 1972, and 1994	-
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cayman Islands	-
Death rate	4.89 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Debt - external	$70 million (1996)	-
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
Disputes - international	none	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Economic aid - recipient	$390,000 $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 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.	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings.
Electricity - consumption	411 million kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	441.9 million kWh (2003)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea
Ethnic groups	mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20%	-
Exchange rates	Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.82 (29 October 2001), 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor Stuart JACK (since 23 November 2005) head of government: Leader of Government Business Kurt TIBBETTS (since 18 May 2005) 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; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or coalition is appointed by the governor Leader of Government Business	-
Exports	NA bbl/day	-
Exports - commodities	turtle products, manufactured consumer goods	-
Exports - partners	mostly US (2004)	-
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	-
Flag description	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	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	0.9% (2004 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	19 30 N, 80 30 W	0 00 N, 160 00 W
Geography - note	important location between Cuba and Central America	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Illicit drugs	offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	-
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, manufactured goods	-
Imports - partners	US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2004)	-
Independence	none (overseas territory of the UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-
Industries	tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.4% (2004)	-
International organization participation	Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU	-
Irrigated land	NA	-
Judicial branch	Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal	-
Labor force	23,450 (2004)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 1.4% industry: 12.6% services: 86% (1995)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	-
Land use	arable land: 3.85% permanent crops: 0% other: 96.15% (2005)	-
Languages	English	-
Legal system	British common law and local statutes	-
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, 3 appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 1	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.07 years male: 77.45 years female: 82.74 years (2006 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.)	-
Location	Caribbean, three island (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) group in Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	-
Merchant marine	total: 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 foreign-owned: 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)	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force	-
National holiday	Constitution Day, first Monday in July	-
Nationality	noun: Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian	-
Natural hazards	hurricanes (July to November)	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December
Natural resources	fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Net migration rate	17.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2006 est.)	-
Political parties and leaders	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]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	45,436 note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2006 est.)	-
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	2.56% (2006 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	-	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong (China), Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004)	-
Religions	United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: reasonably good system domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected in falling prices and improving services international: country code - 1-345; 2 submarine fiber optic cables (Maya-1, Cayman-Jamaica); satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	-
Telephones - main lines in use	38,000 (2002)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	17,000 (2002)	-
Television broadcast stations	4 with cable system (2004)	-
Terrain	low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest
Total fertility rate	1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.)	-
Transportation - note	-	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)
Unemployment rate	4.4% (2004)	-

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