The British colonized the Cayman Islands during the 18th and 19th centuries, and Jamaica -- also a British colony at the time -- administered the islands after 1863. In 1959, the islands became a territory within the Federation of the West Indies. When the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency. The territory has transformed itself into a significant offshore financial center.
Area: 264 km2
Climate: tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)
Natural resources: None
Groups: Cayman Islander 35.4%, Jamaican 24.8%, Filipino 5.5%, British 5.3%, American 5.2%, Honduran 4.2%, Canadian 3.3%, Indian 2.1%, Cuban 1.6%, Nicaraguan 1%, other 11.1%, unspecified 0.5% (2021 est.)note: data represent population by country of birth
Languages: English (official) 88.8%, Spanish 3.9%, Filipino 3.8%, other 2.8%, unspecified 0.7% (2021 est.)note: data represent main language spoken at home
Religions: Protestant 60.8% (includes Church of God 19.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.7%, non-denominational 8.3%, Baptist 6.9%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Presbyterian/United Church 5.7%, Anglican 2.8%, Wesleyan Holiness 1.5%, Methodist 0.5%), Roman Catholic 13.6%, Hindu 1.7%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 4.8%, none 16.7%, unspecified 1.4% (2021 est.)
Capital: George Town (on Grand Cayman)
Government type: parliamentary democracy; self-governing overseas territory of the UK
Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor Jane OWEN (since 21 April 2023)
Head of government: Premier André Martin EBANKS (since 6 May 2025)cabinet: Cabinet selected from the Parliament and appointed by the governor on the advice of the premierelections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition appointed premier by the governor
Description: legislature name: Parliamentlegislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 21 (directly elected and appointed)scope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 4/14/2021parties elected and seats per party: independent (12); PPM (7)percentage of women in chamber: 23.8%expected date of next election: 2025
Information derived by "The World Factbook 2021. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2021. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/"