The Cayman Islands’ 2010 Census of Population and Housing Report

"The Honourable Premier and Finance Minister Mr. McKeeva Bush presented ⫿The Cayman Islands’ 2010 Census of Population & Housing Report??"

The Honourable Premier and Finance Minister Mr. McKeeva Bush presented ⫿The Cayman Islands’ 2010 Census of Population & Housing Report??? to the Legislative Assembly today.

The Report presents results of the Census conducted from October 10, 2010 to December 16, 2010. The information comprises the country’s demography, disability and illness, education, marital and union status, fertility, employment, household and housing characteristics.

The total population of the country in 2010 stood at 55,456, comprising 420 persons living in institutions (including prisons and dormitories) and 55,036 persons living in households or non-institutions.

The non-institutional population in 2010 (55,036) grew by 41.0 percent over the 1999 Census count (39,020). This overall growth is largely due to an increase in the Caymanian population: there were 10,488 more Caymanians or an increase of 52.0 percent, as compared to 5,604 more non-Caymanians or an increase of 40.4 percent.

Majority of the non-institutional population live in George Town (51.0%), followed by West Bay (20.4%), Bodden Town (19.2%), Sister Islands (4.2%), North Side (2.7%) and East End (2.6%). Compared to the 1999 population, Bodden Town recorded the highest growth rate at 82.9 percent. The other districts grew at significantly lower rates: North Side (37.1%) George Town (36.2%), West Bay (36.1%), Sister Islands (18.5%) and East End (2.6%)

The country’s population have citizenship from 135 countries and territories in the world with 20.1 percent claiming dual citizenships. Not surprisingly, 55.2 percent or 29,720 of all residents claimed Cayman Islands citizenship, followed by Jamaican (21.8%) and the United Kingdom (9.4%) citizenships.


Among the population, some indicated having a disability that limits their activities compared with most people of their same age level. The top two disabilities are sight and lower limb (leg) disabilities with incidence rates respectively of 14.6 and 9.6 per 1,000 persons. Meanwhile, the top three illnesses are high blood pressure (89.1 persons per 1,000), diabetes (43.0 per 1,000) and asthma (28.3 persons per 1,000).

Among the population, 86.8 percent have health insurance, 0.2 percent are deemed uninsurable while 12.1 percent have no insurance.

Among the residents 5 years old and above, a total of 11,441 attend school full-time (9,021), part-time (2,353) or home-schooling (67).

Among the residents 15 years and older, 51.0 percent are legally married while a significant percentage have never been married (36.3%). The marriage rate is generally higher among non-Caymanians (52.9%) than Caymanians (49.2%). However the divorce rate is almost twice among Caymanians (10.1%) than among non-Caymanians (5.1%).

Total employment was registered at 34,214; Caymanians accounted for 15,453 (45.2% of total employment) while non-Caymanians had 18,761 (or 54.8% of the total). Meanwhile, the unemployed reached 2,280 or 6.2 percent of the labour force. Unemployed Caymanians was counted at 1,676 while unemployed non-Caymanians was counted 604 resulting in unemployment rates of 9.8 per cent and 3.1 percent respectively.

By sex, male Caymanians have the highest unemployment rate (11.5%), followed by female Caymanians (8.1%), female non-Caymanians (3.6%) and male non-Caymanians (2.7%). Across age groups, the highest unemployment rate (25.1%) was recorded among male Caymanians aged 15-24 years.

The top five occupational groups in terms of total employment are service and sales (19.3%), professional (16.6%), elementary occupations (13.7%), technicians and associate professionals (13.3%) and craft and related occupations (11.6%). Of these top five occupations, only the professional group has more Caymanians than non-Caymanians.

The top five industries in terms of employment are wholesale and retail (12.1%), construction (11.3%), financial services (10.4%), households as employers (8.6%), and general public administration (8.2%). Of the top five industries, the financial services and general public administration have more Caymanians than non-Caymanians.

Among the employed Caymanians, 51.4 percent have earnings below the GDP per capita bracket ($38,400-$57,599) while 21.5 percent are within this bracket, and 23.6 percent are above this bracket. Among the employed non-Caymanians, 69.4 percent earn below the GDP per capita bracket, 11.8 percent are within this bracket while 15.9 percent earn higher than this bracket.

The number of households in the Cayman Islands increased by 52.7 percent from 14,907 in the 1999 Census to 22,760 in the 2010 Census, while the average household size declined from 2.6 persons in the 1999 Census to 2.4 persons in 2010.

At least 54.4 percent of all households in the Cayman Islands have housing insurance in 2010, while 35.4 percent had none. Among the districts, households in Bodden Town are most likely to be insured (63.6%), followed by George Town (54.8%) and West Bay (51.9%). However, the reverse was found in the other districts: most households in North Side, East End and the Sister Islands have no housing insurance.

The Premier and Minister of Finance urges all residents to ⫿take time and read the Report for evidence-based policy debate and design; decision-making at every level of society; investment and business transactions; and for all other positive purposes for the good of our beloved country.???

The full report as well as a powerpoint snapshot presentation with notes are available for downloading. Subscribe