THREE ISLANDS
The Cayman Islands is comprised of Grand Cayman, which is the largest isle, with Cayman Brac 89 miles to the northeast and Little Cayman five miles west of there.
THE NAMES
Often, the Cayman Islands is referred to simply as Cayman, but should not be called The Caymans. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are termed the Sister Islands.
LANGUAGE
English.
TIME
The islands are on Eastern Standard Time from November to April and Central Daylight Time for the rest of the year. They do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
CAPITAL
George Town on Grand Cayman.
POPULATION
According to the Economic and Statistics Office’s Fall Labour Force Report 2022, the population is 81,546. Around half of the population is made up of expatriate workers, representing more than 130 different nationalities. The report shows the population of the Sister Islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac as 2,304. The earliest census in 1802 listed the population as 933 residents – more than half of whom were slaves. Most Caymanians are of European and African descent.
GOVERNMENT
As a British Overseas Territory, the Cayman Islands has a governor appointed by the UK Government. Cayman is a parliamentary democracy, headed by the premier. GEOGRAPHY Situated southwest of Miami, south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands are mostly flat, other than the steep cliffs on Cayman Brac known as The Bluff. Grand Cayman is approximately 22 miles long and eight miles wide at maximum width. The highest point on the island is 60 feet above sea level. Cayman Brac is 14 square miles and Little Cayman is 10 square miles.
CLIMATE & HURRICANES
The temperature is coolest in the winter months ranging from 60 F to 80 F, rising steeply to the 90s F in the summer, along with increased humidity. Hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November and warnings should be taken extremely seriously. Regular updates on approaching storms are available from the Cayman Compass at caymancompass.com and from Hazard Management Cayman Islands at caymanprepared.gov.ky.
BUSINESS HOURS
Most offices open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and shops from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or later, while supermarkets usually open at 7:30 a.m. The majority of stores close on Sundays.
MEDIA
The Cayman Compass is the nation’s newspaper of record and is published weekly on Fridays, with regular updates online at caymancompass.com. Part of Compass Media, the company also has four radio stations: Z99.9, Rooster 101.9, Island FM 98.9, GOLD 94.9. Additionally, it publishes the twice-yearly home & garden magazine InsideOut and a quarterly events and lifestyle magazine What’s Hot. The Caymanian Times is another newspaper on-island and there is also a number of other radio stations, as well as online news sites. There is no local television news station other than the government information channel, although cable channels are widely available.
INTERNET
The Cayman Islands has good internet connection with many premises offering free Wi-Fi.
MEDICAL SERVICES
There are three hospitals on Grand Cayman: Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town, which is operated by the government Health Services Authority (HSA); Health City Cayman Islands, which has its main campus in East End and opened the first phase of a medical campus in Camana Bay in 2023; and Doctors Hospital in George Town. There are also HSA clinics in each district on Grand Cayman, plus numerous private clinics offering general and specialty services. Faith Hospital on Cayman Brac is operated by the HSA, as is the clinic on Little Cayman. The standard of care is high, although complex cases may be flown off-island to either Jamaica or Florida. Health insurance is mandatory for residents and vital for visitors.
WATER
As there is little fresh water on any of the three Cayman Islands, water is desalinated and is safe to drink. RELIGION The people of the Cayman Islands are predominantly Christian, with a variety of churches welcoming residents and visitors alike. These include the Church of God, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Presbyterian/United Church and Baptist. Residents also follow the Baha’i, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim faiths. Although most of these communities are not large enough to support houses of worship, services are held in family homes, with visitors welcome to attend.