Compare Pacific Ocean (2008) - Cayman Islands (2007)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2008) z Cayman Islands (2007)

	Pacific Ocean (2008)	Cayman Islands (2007)

Administrative divisions	-	8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western
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.)
Agriculture - products	-	vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming
Airports	-	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Area	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	total: 262 sq km land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world	1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	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.	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.
Birth rate	-	12.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $423.8 million expenditures: $392.6 million (2004)
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)
Climate	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	tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)
Coastline	135,663 km	160 km
Constitution	-	1959; revised 1962, 1972, and 1994
Country name	-	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cayman Islands
Death rate	-	4.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 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	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$390,000 (2004)
Economy - overview	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.	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.
Electricity - consumption	-	372 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	-	400 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea	no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments
Ethnic groups	-	mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20%
Exchange rates	-	Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.8496 (2006)
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
Exports	-	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	turtle products, manufactured consumer goods
Exports - partners	-	mostly US (2006)
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	0 00 N, 160 00 W	19 30 N, 80 30 W
Geography - note	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	important location between Cuba and Central America
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 (2006)
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: 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.)
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; 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
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 80.2 years male: 77.57 years female: 82.87 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.)
Location	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere	Caribbean, three island (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) group in Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica
Map references	Political Map of the World	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 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)
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	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	hurricanes (July to November)
Natural resources	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish	fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism
Net migration rate	-	17.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2007 est.)
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
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	NA
Population	-	46,600 note: most of the population lives on Grand Cayman (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA%
Population growth rate	-	2.496% (2007 est.)
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: 1.003 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.)
Suffrage	-	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	38,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	17,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	-	4 with cable system (2004)
Terrain	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	low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs
Total fertility rate	-	1.89 children born/woman (2007 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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