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The Cayman Islands are located 470 miles southwest of Miami, 150 miles
south of Cuba and 170 northwest of Jamaica. They comprise Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman with a total population of approximately 45,000. Grand Cayman is the largest and most populated of the three and the capital, George Town, is home
to the main business centre.
 The Islands were first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503 but they did not come under British control until
1655 as a dependency of Jamaica. When Jamaica gained independence in 1962 the Cayman Islands chose to retain its direct links with the Crown and became a separate British Crown Colony. It is now an Overseas Territory.
The present constitution provides for a system of government comprising a Governor, HE Stuart Jack CVO, appointed in 2005, a Cabinet and a Legislative Assembly. The government is led by the Honourable Kurt Tibbetts, Leader of Government Business
and Minister for District Administration, Planning, Agriculture and Housing.
The three major pillars of Cayman’s economy are financial services, real estate and development, and tourism. Not only is Cayman regarded as one of the Caribbean’s
premier tourist destinations but it is also recognised as a leading offshore international financial centre. There are an excess of 300 banks registered in the Cayman Islands and as well as being the second largest captive insurance centre in the
world, Cayman is also considered a top destination for Mutual Funds.
The financial services industry is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the official recognition of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) on 4 March 2004
by the UK Inland Revenue marks a major step forward for the financial services sector in Cayman.
Regarding tourism, in an average year the Cayman Islands will welcome over 300,000 leisure visitors by air and 1.8 million cruise ship passengers.
As well as being a centre for international business and boasting world-class tourist facilities, Cayman is also home to a sophisticated infrastructure, with excellent legal, accounting, hospitality, medical and educational facilities.
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