Status

Because the islands cannot produce enough goods to support the population, about 90% of their food and consumer goods must be imported. In addition, the islands have few natural fresh water resources. Desalinationof sea water is used to solve this. Despite those challenges, the Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. The Cayman Islands produces gourmet sea salt.

Education is compulsory to the age of 16 and is free to all Caymanian children. Most schools follow the British educational system. Ten primary, one special education, a high school and a middle school ('junior high school') are operated by the government, along with three private high schools. In addition, there is a law school, a university-college and a medical school.

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GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.939 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.7% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $43,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 3.2%
services: 95.4% (1994 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (2004)

Labor force: 23,450 (2004)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 1.7% (2010) Budget:
revenues: $423.8 million
expenditures: $392.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)

Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 441.9 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 411 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle, sea salt farming

Exports: $2.52 million (2004)

Exports - commodities: turtle products, sea salt,manufactured consumer goods

Exports - partners: mostly US (2004)

Imports: $866.9 million (2004)

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods

Imports - partners: UK, US, Netherlands Antilles, Japan (2004)

Debt - external: $70 million (1996)

Economic aid - recipient: $NA

Currency: 1 Cayman Islands dollar (CI$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.82 ( 29 October 2001), 0.83 ( 3 November 1995), 0.85 ( 22 November 1993.