Country Profile: Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands are located in the Caribbean.

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. When the Federation dissolved in 1962, the Cayman Islands chose to remain a British dependency.
CIA World Factbook

With an area of 264 sq km, it is 1.5 times the size of the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C.

Cayman Islands are located in the Caribbean Sea near Central America. It is a low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs.

People who live in the Cayman Islands are called Caymanians, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 52,560 people in the Cayman Islands. The ethnic groups that reside in the Cayman Islands are mostly mixed race (40%) with some white (20%), black (20%), and expatriates of various ethnic groups (20%). English (95%) is the official language of Cape Verde, but Spanish (3.2%) and other languages (1.8%) are also spoken there. Protestants make up approximately 67.7% of the population, while Roman Catholics make up an additional 12.6%.

The capital of the Cayman Islands is George Town, and the country is made up of 8 districts. Though the Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the UK, they do have a constitution, drafted November 6, 2009. The constitution can be found here through Constitution Finder. Though the chief of state is Queen Elizabeth II (who is represented by Governor Duncan Taylor), the head of government is Premier McKeeva Bush. The currency is the Caymanian dollars (abbreviated KYD), which stands at 0.83 KYD per USD as of 2011.

All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Cayman Islands, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: Cayman Islands, U.S. Department of State

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Sonnet Ireland
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Planning and Urban Studies
Political Science

Country Profiles: British Indian Ocean Territory

British Indian Ocean Territory is located in the Indian Ocean near South Asia. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) became an overseas territory of the UK in 1965. Several of the islands in this territory were transferred in 1976 to the Seychelles when it gained independence. With an area of 54,400 sq km, it is about 1/3 of the size of Washington, D.C.

The British Indian Ocean Territory is an archipelago of 55 islands. It is mostly flat and low.

There are no indigenous inhabitants of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Around 1,200 former agricultural workers (often called Chagossians or Ilois) were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s/1970s. In November 2004, about 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors were living on the island of Diego Garcia.

The current Chief of State is Queen Elizabeth II. The Heads of Government are Commissioner Colin Roberts and Administrator John McManus. The currency is the U.S. Dollar.

All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

British Indian Ocean Territory, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, U.K.

British Indian Ocean Territory, CIA World Factbook

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.




Sonnet Ireland
Head of Federal Documents
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Subject Specialist: Legal Research
Planning and Urban Studies
Political Science