Demographics of the Cayman Islands
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
features of the population
of the Cayman Islands
, including population density
, ethnicity
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The population of the Cayman Islands reflects its status as a British overseas territory, its history as a former dependency of Jamaica
, and its present financial partnerships with the United States
and other countries. The vast majority of its 45,436 residents live on the island of Grand Cayman
. According to the Cayman Islands
Chamber of Commerce, in 1999 an estimated 1,300 people lived on Cayman Brac
, while only 115 resided on Little Cayman
.
Although many Caribbean
islands were initially populated by Amerindian groups such as the Arawaks, Taino
s, and Caribs, no evidence of this has been found in the Cayman Islands. Therefore, native Caymanians do not have any Amerindian heritage from their own islands; however, a significant number of Jamaicans have settled in the Cayman Islands over the years, so they and their descendants may have some Amerindian blood via Jamaica. Slavery
was less common on the Cayman Islands than in many other parts of the Caribbean, resulting in a more even division of Africa
n and Europe
an ancestry. Those of mixed race make up 40% of the population, with blacks and whites following at 20% each. The remaining 20% belong to various immigrant ethnic groups.
With its success in the tourism and financial service industries, the Cayman Islands have attracted many international businesses and citizens to relocate. The largest numbers of expatriates living in the Cayman Islands (as of the government's 1999 Census Report) hail from Jamaica (8,320), the United Kingdom
(2,392), the United States (2,040), Canada
(1,562), and Honduras
(873). Approximately 3,300 more residents are citizens of various other countries. While the government doesn't restrict foreign land ownership, it does strongly enforce its immigration laws. Businesses are required to grant access to job openings to Caymanian citizens first; if none of them are suitable, the business may then seek employees from other countries. In order to work in the Cayman Islands, foreigners must have a job offer before immigrating.
To encourage literacy
, the Cayman Islands government requires all legal resident children between the ages of four and 16 years old to attend school. Education for Caymanians is free, with both public and private schools available. Based on the English school system, primary schools teach children from four to 11 years, while high schools handle 11 to 16 year-olds. The government also provides facilities for special education
, training for the disabled, and an education center for juvenile offenders. In addition, higher education
may be pursued at The University College and The Law School. Consequently, literacy rates are high, estimated at 98% in 1995 by UNESCO
and 90% by the Cayman Islands government.
The predominant religion on the Cayman Islands is Christianity
. Denominations practiced include United Church, Church of God
, Anglican Church, Baptist Church, Roman Catholic Church
, Seventh-day Adventist Church
, and Pentecostal Church. Many citizens are deeply religious, regularly going to church. Ports are closed on Sundays and Christian holidays. There are also places of worship in George Town for Jehovah's Witnesses
, and followers of Bahá'í Faith
. The Cayman Islands also hosts a small Jewish community.
The official language of the Cayman Islands is English. Islanders' accents retain elements passed down from English, Scottish, and Welsh settlers (among others) in a language variety known as Cayman Creole
. Caymanians of Jamaican origin speak in their own vernacular (see Jamaican Creole
and Jamaican English
).
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.)
male: 36.8 years
female: 37.5 years (2006 est.)
Note: Major destination for Cuba
ns trying to migrate to the United States
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.)
male: 9.16 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
male: 77.45 years
female: 82.74 years (2006 est.)
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1970 est.)
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The population of the Cayman Islands reflects its status as a British overseas territory, its history as a former dependency of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and its present financial partnerships with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other countries. The vast majority of its 45,436 residents live on the island of Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the nation's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac.-Geography:Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of...
. According to the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
Chamber of Commerce, in 1999 an estimated 1,300 people lived on Cayman Brac
Cayman Brac
Cayman Brac is an island that is part of the Cayman Islands. It lies in the Caribbean Sea about 90 miles northeast of Grand Cayman and 5 miles east of Little Cayman. It is about 12 miles long, with an average width of 1 mile...
, while only 115 resided on Little Cayman
Little Cayman
Little Cayman is an island that is part of the Cayman Islands. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, about 75 miles northeast of Grand Cayman and five miles west of Cayman Brac. Little Cayman has a permanent population of less than 170 and is about 10 miles long with an average width of 1 mile...
.
Although many Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
islands were initially populated by Amerindian groups such as the Arawaks, Taino
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
s, and Caribs, no evidence of this has been found in the Cayman Islands. Therefore, native Caymanians do not have any Amerindian heritage from their own islands; however, a significant number of Jamaicans have settled in the Cayman Islands over the years, so they and their descendants may have some Amerindian blood via Jamaica. Slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
was less common on the Cayman Islands than in many other parts of the Caribbean, resulting in a more even division of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an ancestry. Those of mixed race make up 40% of the population, with blacks and whites following at 20% each. The remaining 20% belong to various immigrant ethnic groups.
With its success in the tourism and financial service industries, the Cayman Islands have attracted many international businesses and citizens to relocate. The largest numbers of expatriates living in the Cayman Islands (as of the government's 1999 Census Report) hail from Jamaica (8,320), the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(2,392), the United States (2,040), Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(1,562), and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
(873). Approximately 3,300 more residents are citizens of various other countries. While the government doesn't restrict foreign land ownership, it does strongly enforce its immigration laws. Businesses are required to grant access to job openings to Caymanian citizens first; if none of them are suitable, the business may then seek employees from other countries. In order to work in the Cayman Islands, foreigners must have a job offer before immigrating.
To encourage literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, the Cayman Islands government requires all legal resident children between the ages of four and 16 years old to attend school. Education for Caymanians is free, with both public and private schools available. Based on the English school system, primary schools teach children from four to 11 years, while high schools handle 11 to 16 year-olds. The government also provides facilities for special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
, training for the disabled, and an education center for juvenile offenders. In addition, higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
may be pursued at The University College and The Law School. Consequently, literacy rates are high, estimated at 98% in 1995 by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and 90% by the Cayman Islands government.
The predominant religion on the Cayman Islands is Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Denominations practiced include United Church, Church of God
Church of God
Church of God is a name used by numerous, mostly unrelated Christian denominational bodies, most of which descend from either Pentecostal/Holiness or Adventist traditions.-Pentecostal Movement:*Church of God...
, Anglican Church, Baptist Church, Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, and Pentecostal Church. Many citizens are deeply religious, regularly going to church. Ports are closed on Sundays and Christian holidays. There are also places of worship in George Town for Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, and followers of Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
. The Cayman Islands also hosts a small Jewish community.
The official language of the Cayman Islands is English. Islanders' accents retain elements passed down from English, Scottish, and Welsh settlers (among others) in a language variety known as Cayman Creole
Cayman Creole
Cayman Creole is an English-based creole language spoken on Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. The number of speakers of Cayman Creole is below 100,000. Cayman Creole does not have the status of an official language.-See also:*Bajan Creole*Bermudian English...
. Caymanians of Jamaican origin speak in their own vernacular (see Jamaican Creole
Jamaican Creole
Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois or Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-lexified creole language with West African influences spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of...
and Jamaican English
Jamaican English
Jamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a dialect of English spoken in Jamaica. It melds parts of both American English and British English dialects, along with many aspects of Irish intonation...
).
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.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.)
Median age
total: 37.2 yearsmale: 36.8 years
female: 37.5 years (2006 est.)
Net migration rate
17.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)Note: Major destination for Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
ns trying to migrate to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/femaleunder 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.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 8 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 9.16 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 80.07 yearsmale: 77.45 years
female: 82.74 years (2006 est.)
Religions
United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other ProtestantLiteracy
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended schooltotal population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1970 est.)