Southern Ocean (2008) | Cayman Islands (2008) | |
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: 20.327 million sq km
note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 262 sq km
land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of the US | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government. | 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 | sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) |
Coastline | 17,968 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 | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $390,000 (2004) |
Economy - overview | Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000. | 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: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff (Cayman Brac) 43 m |
Environment - current issues | increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries |
no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments |
Environment - international agreements | the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north |
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Ethnic groups | - | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% |
Exchange rates | - | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 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 | - | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
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 | 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude | 19 30 N, 80 30 W |
Geography - note | the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds | 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 | - | 2,698 bbl/day (2004) |
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 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica | 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 | Antarctic Region | 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 | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue | hurricanes (July to November) |
Natural resources | probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, 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 | the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Transportation - note | Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 4.4% (2004) |