The Cayman Islands is a self-governing British Overseas Territory, the largest by population, in the western Caribbean Sea. The 264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile) territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the south of Cuba and northeast of Honduras, between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The capital city is George Town on Grand Cayman, which is the most populous of the three islands.
The Cayman Islands are a British dependency and island country. It is a three-island archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. Georgetown, the capital of the Cayman Islands is 438 km (272 mi) south of Havana, Cuba, and 504 km (313 mi) northwest of Kingston, Jamaica, northeast of Costa Rica, north of Panama and are between Cuba and Central America. Georgetown's geographic coordinates are 19.300° north, 81.383° west.
The economy of the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, is mainly fueled by the tourism sector and by the financial services sector, together representing 50–60 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The Cayman Islands Investment Bureau, a government agency, has been established with the mandate of promoting investment and economic development in the territory. Because of the territory’s economic success and it being a popular banking destination for wealthy individuals and businesses, it is often dubbed the ‘financial capital’ of the Caribbean.
The transport infrastructure of the Cayman Islands consists of a public road network, two seaports, and three airports.
The Cayman Islands is a parliamentary representative democratic dependency. As a British Overseas Territories, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. The Premier of the Cayman Islands is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government, legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of the Cayman Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Cayman Brac.
Cayman Airways is the flag carrier airline of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. With its head office in Grand Cayman, it operates mainly as an international and domestic scheduled passenger carrier, with cargo services available on most routes. Its operations are based at Owen Roberts International Airport in George Town, Grand Cayman. The company slogan is Those who fly us love us.
George Town is a city situated on Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. It serves as the capital of the Cayman Islands, in the British West Indies. As of 2021, the city had a population of 34,399 making it the largest city of all the British Overseas Territories.
The Cayman Islands Dollar is the currency of the Cayman Islands. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively CI$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents.
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) is the standing police force of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. The police force was formed in 1907 and currently (2009) stands at 343 enlisted officers, with 64 civilians.
Health City Cayman Islands is a JCI accredited tertiary care hospital in the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory.
Narayana Health is an Indian chain of multi-speciality hospitals, heart centres, and primary care facilities with its headquarters in Bengaluru, India. It was founded by Dr. Devi Shetty in the year 2000.
The Porsche Boxster and Cayman are mid-engine two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche across four generations — as a 2-door, 2-seater roadster (Boxster) and a 3-door, 2-seater fastback coupé (Cayman).
Sybil Joyce Hylton MBE was a Caymanian community volunteer and social advocate who became involved with the juvenile justice system in the 1950s. She was also known as the "Mother of probation". She lobbied the government to make changes to the way juvenile cases were processed in the court system, helped establish a probation office as well as a juvenile court system, and became the first probation and welfare officer in the country. She was honoured as a recipient of the Order of the British Empire in 1978 and in 2011 was designated as a National Hero of the Cayman Islands.
Cayman Prep and High School (CPHS) is a private school in George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands operated and owned by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It serves levels infant school through sixth-form.
Leila Yates (1899-1996) was a pioneering nurse and midwife from the Cayman Islands. She has been recognized on a stamp in the 2011 series "Pioneers in our History" and in 2015 was posthumously honored with the National Heroes Award. Her home has been the focus of a restoration project for the National Trust’s West Bay Committee.
Cayman Islands–India relations refers to the international relations that exist between the Cayman Islands and India. The foreign relations of the Cayman Islands are handled by the British Foreign Office. Therefore, India's foreign policy has focused on economic relations with the Cayman Islands, as well providing consular services to Indians and Caymanians. The High Commission of India in Kingston, Jamaica is concurrently accredited to the Cayman Islands.
In 2003, the Cayman Islands became the first country in the world to mandate health insurance for all residents. There are four hospitals in the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman is home to the private Health City Cayman Islands, as well as the Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital. The public hospitals are the Cayman Islands Hospital ; and Faith Hospital on Cayman Brac.
Same-sex marriage is currently not recognised in the Cayman Islands. The island's statutory law limits marriage to different-sex couples. A lawsuit with the Grand Court successfully challenged this ban in March 2019; however, the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling in November 2019. Same-sex civil partnerships are legal following the enactment of the Civil Partnership Law, 2020 on 4 September 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Cayman Islands is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands in March 2020.
