Cayman Islands (2007) | Burma (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular - pyine); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.3% (male 4,746/female 4,730)
15-64 years: 71% (male 16,135/female 16,964) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 1,892/female 2,133) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.6% (male 6,158,039; female 5,905,314)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 13,976,047; female 14,162,467) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 905,476; female 1,130,881) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 80 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 8
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 72
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
Area | total: 262 sq km
land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Texas |
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. | Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-86) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention from September 2000 to May 2002; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed. |
Birth rate | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.65 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $423.8 million
expenditures: $392.6 million (2004) |
revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
Capital | name: George Town (on Grand Cayman)
geographic coordinates: 19 18 N, 81 23 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) |
Coastline | 160 km | 1,930 km |
Constitution | 1959; revised 1962, 1972, and 1994 | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form: Union of Burma
conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw |
Currency | - | kyat (MMK) |
Death rate | 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $6 billion |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 256-019, 256-016 FAX: [95] (1) 256-018 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador TIN WINN
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | despite renewed border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic guerrilla rebels, refugees, smuggling, and drug trafficking in cross-border region; Burmese attempts to construct a dam on border stream with Bangladesh in 2001 prompted an armed response halting construction; Burmese Muslim migration into Bangladesh strains Bangladesh's meager resources |
Economic aid - recipient | $390,000 (2004) | $99 million (FY98/99) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 372 million kWh (2005) | 4.432 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 400 million kWh (2005) | 4.766 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 83%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m |
lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.8496 (2006) | kyats per US dollar - official rate - 6.8581 (January 2002), 6.7489 (2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997); kyats per US dollar - black market exchange rate - 435 (yearend 2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by 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 |
chief of state: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none; the prime minister assumed power upon resignation of the former prime minister |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | apparel 55%, foodstuffs 18%, wood products 13%, precious stones 2% (2000) |
Exports - partners | mostly US (2006) | US 27%, India 16%, China 7%, Japan 6%, Singapore 6% (2000 est.)
note: official trade statistics do not include trade in illicit goods - such as narcotics, teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and Thailand |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 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 | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $63 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.9% (2004 est.) | 2.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 22 00 N, 98 00 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe | world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2002 - 630 metric tons, down 27% due to drought and, to a lesser extent, eradication; cultivation in 2002 - 77,000 hectares, a 27% decline from 2001); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $2.2 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products, textile fabrics, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2006) | China 26%, Singapore 23%, South Korea 15%, Japan 10%, Taiwan 10% (2000 est.) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 4 January 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
72.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.4% (2004) | 20% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1
note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive |
Labor force | 23,450 (2004) | 23.7 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 12.6% services: 86% (1995) |
agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.85%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.15% (2005) |
arable land: 14.53%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 84.57% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats; 3 appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; to 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 |
unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.2 years
male: 77.57 years female: 82.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 55.41 years
male: 53.85 years female: 57.07 years (2002 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: 83.1% male: 88.7% female: 77.7% (1995 est.) note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 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 | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 124 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,953,923 GRT/4,597,716 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 11, chemical tanker 41, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: 122 (Denmark 3, Germany 17, Greece 23, Italy 10, Japan 6, Norway 2, Singapore 10, Sweden 1, UK 9, US 41) (2007) |
total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 382,386 GRT/582,084 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 21, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5, Japan 4 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $39 million (FY97/98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.1% (FY97/98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 12,211,144
females age 15-49: 12,223,069 note: both sexes liable for military service (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 6,502,013
females age 15-49: 6,491,732 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 486,432
females: 470,667 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Caymanian(s)
adjective: Caymanian |
noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 17.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2007 est.) |
-1.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km |
Political parties and leaders | 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 | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [U KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]; and other smaller parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF; Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime (the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA |
Population | 46,600
note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2007 est.) |
42,238,224
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.496% (2007 est.) | 0.56% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.2 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 3,991 km
narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.003 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.887 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: reasonably good system
domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003; introduction of competition in the mobile-cellular market in 2004 international: country code - 1-345; landing point for the MAYA-1 submarine telephone cable network that provides links to the US and parts of Central and South America; submarine cable provides connectivity to Jamaica; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,000 (2002) | 250,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,000 (2002) | 8,492 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 with cable system (2004) | 2 (1998) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands |
Total fertility rate | 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.23 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.4% (2004) | 5.1% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |