Cayman Islands Location:
19°20'N, 81°24'W
Cayman Islands Geography:
The Cayman Islands are located in the western Caribbean Sea. They are the peaks of a massive underwater ridge, known as the Cayman Trench, standing 8000 feet from the sea floor, which barely exceeds the surface. The islands lie in the centre of the Caribbean south of Cuba and West of Jamaica. But even Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands, is not visible on many maps. They are situated about 480 miles (770 km) south of Miami, 150 miles (240 km) south of Cuba, and 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is by far the biggest, with an area of 76 square miles (197 km2). The two "Sister Islands" of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are located about 90 miles (145 km) east of Grand Cayman and have areas of 14 square miles (36 km2) and 10 square miles (25.9 km2) respectively.
All three islands were formed by large coral heads covering submerged ice age peaks of western extensions of the Cuban Sierra Maestra range and are mostly flat. One notable exception to this is The Bluff on Cayman Brac, which rises to 140 feet (42.6 m) above sea level, the highest point on the island.
Cayman avian fauna includes two endemic subspecies of Amazona parrots: Amazona leucocephala hesterna, or Cayman Brac Parrot, native only to Cayman Brac, and Amazona leucocephala caymanensis or Grand Cayman Parrot, which is native only to Grand Cayman. Another notable fauna is the endangered Blue Iguana, which is native to Grand Cayman.
Cayman Islands People:
Population
- 2005 estimate 45,017 (208th)
- 1999 census 39,020
- Density 139.5 /km2 (63rd)
364.2 /sq mi
Cayman Islands Government:
The Cayman Islands are currently a British overseas territory, listed by the UN Special Committee of twenty-four as one of the last non-self governing territories. A fifteen-seat Legislative Assembly is elected by the people every four years to handle domestic affairs. Of the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), five are chosen to serve as government ministers in a cabinet headed by the governor. The head of government is the Leader of Government Business, which is currently The Honourable Kurt Tibbetts.
A Governor is appointed by the British government to represent the monarch. The governor can exercise complete executive authority if they wish through blanket powers reserved to them in the constitution. They must give royal assent to all legislation, which allows them the power to strike down any law the legislature may see fit for the country. In modern times, the governor usually allows the country to be run by the cabinet, and the civil service to be run by the Chief Secretary, who is the Acting Governor when the Governor is not able to discharge his usual duties for one reason or another. The current governor of the Cayman Islands is Stuart Jack and the current Chief Secretary is The Honourable George McCarthy, OBE, JP.
Following the collapse of the Euro Bank Corporation in 2003, constitutional modernisation has become the predominant issue in the Islands' politics. The prosecution in the related trial was forced to reveal that MI6, on behalf of the British government and with the consent of the Governor, had planted moles (and used wire taps) throughout the Islands' banking industry. This caused the trial's collapse and subsequent release of those charged with wrongdoing. The only mole known at the time was allowed to leave the country, never to answer for what he (or the United Kingdom) had done. This infuriated the elected members of the legislative assembly as they maintained that the governor and the United Kingdom had put into question Cayman's reputation as a tightly regulated offshore jurisdiction. Some saw this as the United Kingdom meddling in the territory's affairs to benefit itself (and the EU), at the expense of the islands' economy.
Constitutional talks however went on hold following Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Subsequently, in May 2005, the ruling UDP was ousted by the PPM, which have slowed the constitutional modernisation process to a standstill. Among the points of contention is whether or not the new constitution should include a bill-of-rights.
Government Constitutional monarchy
- Queen Queen Elizabeth II
- Governor Stuart Jack
- Leader of
Government Business
Kurt Tibbetts
Cayman Islands Economy:
The economy of the Cayman Islands was once centered around turtling. However, this industry began to disappear in the twentieth century and tourism and financial services began to become the economic mainstays during the 1970s. The United States is the Cayman Islands' largest trading partner.
With an average income of around $42,000, Caymanians enjoy the highest standard of living in the Caribbean. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Cayman Islands GDP per capita is the 8th highest in the world.[7] The islands print their own currency, the Cayman Islands Dollar (KYD), which is pegged to the U.S. dollar at a fixed rate of 1 KYD = 1.227 USD. Thus, the C.I. Dollar's rate of exchange with all other world countries is directly tied to the U.S. dollar's rate of exchange with those same countries.
The government's primary source of income is indirect taxation. An import duty of 20% is levied against goods imported into the islands. Few goods are exempt; notable examples include books, cameras and baby formula. Duty on automobiles is charged on a sliding scale with the duty reaching 40% for expensive models. The government charges a flat licensing fee to financial institutions that operate in the islands. A small fee is also charged to each tourist that arrives on the islands.
Cayman Islands Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayman_Islands | 
