The “Rock” of the Caribbean
Although it isn’t a great place to live, the Cayman Islands are a great travel spot. The islands are mostly made up of limestone, but the coasts are surrounded by beautiful reefs. Here, the people tend to be older. There is also an out-migration of younger people. The Cayman
Islands are a great travel spot, but not the best place to live.
The site of the Cayman Islands isn’t one that is very fit for long term living. The main reason, the landscape is made up entirely of limestone. The Cayman Islands are actually limestone outcroppings of the Cayman Ridge, an underwater mountain range. Another reason, there are very few rivers and streams throughout the islands. (Cayman Islands Geography) Due to this, the Cayman Islands wouldn’t be the best place to live for a long time.
This nice, tropical climate of the Cayman Islands adds to the fact that they are a good place to visit. On average, the temperature is warm year round. In the winter, the average low is
64F and the high is 86F. In the summer, the low is 73F and the high is 90F on average. In addition, there is a rainy season and a dry season. There is a lot of rain May through October, but it is dry in March and April. (1Up Travel : Cayman Islands) Thus, the nice weather adds to the fact that the Cayman Islands are a good place to visit.
The physical attributes of the Cayman Islands can negatively and positively affect the culture. First of all, the fact that the islands are limestone outcroppings with very few streams means that the agricultural density is very low (the Cayman Islands don’t actually have an agricultural density for this reason). Due to this, about 90% of goods and food are imported
(Population Density (people per Sq. Km) in Cayman Islands). However, there are beautiful reefs along the coast that attract tourism. Then the tourists are helping the local economy by spending

money (tourism is 40% of the local economy, another 40% is banking and finance, while the other 20% is other industries)( Cayman Islands: Economy). It’s clear that the topography can have an effect on the culture.
Since the Cayman Islands are made up of limestone, the population is smaller. For instance, there are only 54,000 people living in the Cayman Islands. Most of the people living in the Cayman Islands are concentrated on Grand Cayman. There are also some people dispersed on the other two islands. There are about 1,300 people on Cayman Barc and about 115 people on
Little Cayman (Demographics of the Cayman Islands). Clearly, the Caymanian population is smaller and mostly clustered in one area.
Population 1995
Midyear Pop. 32
Growth Rate 3.7
Fertility
Total Fertility 1.9
Rate
16 Crude Birth
Rate
Births
Mortality
1
Life
Expectency at
78
Birth
2005
44
2.7
1.9
13
1
80
2013
54
2.2
1.9
12
1
81
2015
56
2.1
1.9
12
1
81
2025
68
1.7
1.8
11
1
82

Infant
Mortality
Rate
12 8 6 6 5
Under 5
Mortality
Rate
14
Crude Death 5
Rate
0
Migration
Net
0
25
9
5
0
18
7
5
0
15
7
6
0
14
6
7
0
12
Migration
Rate
Net Number 1 of Migrants
1 1 1 1
The demography of the Cayman Islands is similar to that of a Stage 3 country. One reason is the crude birth rate and the crude death rate are not yet the same, meaning the country hasn’t reached zero population growth yet. The CBR is 12 (per 1,000 population), while the CDR is 5 (per 1,000 population). The total fertility rate (1.9 per 1,000 population), is still dropping though, along with the natural rate of increase (2.2%)( US Census Bureau Is
Shutdown). Accordingly, the Cayman Islands are in Stage 3 of the demographic transition .

The population of the Cayman Islands is older. To begin with, the life expectancy is fairly high. The life expectancy is 81 years old (at birth). Furthermore, most of the population is
40-70 years old (as shown in the population pyramid ). This may mess up the dependency ratio because there is a graying population . The younger, working people may have higher taxes for this reason (US Census Bureau Is Shutdown). In total, people tend to learn towards being older in the Cayman Islands.
There are some major push and pull factors that cause people to migrate to the Cayman
Islands. To start with, pull factors are what ‘pulls’ people to the Cayman Islands. These are things such as the climate, geography, and the fact that there are no wards going on currently.
Similarly, push factors are what ‘push’ people to the Cayman Islands from the country they currently reside in. Push factors in other countries may be a war, no family; their job isn’t paying

well, or a bad economy (Cayman Immigration & Entry Requirements). As a result, people migrate to the Cayman Islands.
People migrating in the Cayman Islands aren’t going to move very far. To begin with, the
Cayman Islands don’t have a lot of space fit for living. People mostly live on the West coast of
Grand Cayman, which makes up 76% of the country’s land mass. There isn’t much internal migration as there is international migration. Another point is the entire population is urbanized.
There is no rural population. There are only a few cities and towns to live in (Culture of the
Cayman Islands). Consequently, people migrating within the Cayman Islands don’t travel very far.
Immigrants may face intervening obstacles when trying to migrate to the Cayman
Islands. First off, there are different immigration polices depending on whether or not you have
Cayman connections of not. If the immigrant does have a Cayman connection, the immigrant will have to fill out an application of Residency and Employment Rights Certificate. If they are immigration without a Cayman connection, there are a variety of different things they may have to fill out (a full work permit, a Special Economic Zone Certificate, a Temporary Work Permit, a
Residency for Persons of Independent Means, a Certificate of Direct Investment, a Residency
Certificate, or a Student Visa)( Cayman Immigration & Entry Requirements). In addition, immigrants may have trouble adjusting to the local culture. The local culture is very much influenced by the United Kingdom, United States, and Jamaica. Religion is also very heavily influenced by the UK and the US. English is the main language in the Cayman Islands (with
Cayman dialect). However, food is traditional Caribbean food such as cassava, johnny cake, meat pie, traditional Cayman turtle meat (a past time of Caymanians is to hunt turtles and fish),

and fish (Culture of the Cayman Islands). Consequently, some immigrants may have problems when migrating to the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands are a great place to visit, even if it isn’t the best place to live. The landscape is beautiful and attracts many tourists. There is a net out-migration and people living in the Cayman Islands are older.

Works Cited
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