With its success in the tourism and financial service industries, the Cayman Islands have attracted many international businesses and citizens to relocate. The largest numbers of expatriates living in the Cayman Islands hail from Jamaica (11,703), theUnited Kingdom (1,708), the Philippines (4,119), andIndia (1,218). Approximately 8,139 more residents are citizens of various other countries.[3] While the government does not restrict foreign land ownership, it does strongly enforce its immigration laws. Businesses are required to grant access to job openings to Caymanian citizens first; if none of them are suitable, the business may then seek employees from other countries. In order to work in the Cayman Islands, foreigners must have a job offer before immigrating. The Cayman Islands population is expected to reach 100,000 people before 2030, as an explosion in immigration after COVID-19 lockdowns continues to increase the population significantly.[4]
The vast majority of its residents live on the island ofGrand Cayman, at 67,493. According to the 2021 census, only 2,163 people lived onCayman Brac orLittle Cayman, bringing the total population to 69,656,[7]broken down as follows:
Although manyCaribbean islands were initially populated byAmerindian groups such as theTaíno andKalinago, no evidence of this has been found in the Cayman Islands. Therefore, native Caymanians do not have any Amerindian heritage from their own islands; however, a significant number of Jamaicans have settled in the Cayman Islands over the years, so they and their descendants may have some Amerindian blood via Jamaica.Slavery was less common on the Cayman Islands than in many other parts of the Caribbean, resulting in a more even division ofAfrican andEuropean ancestry. Those of mixed race make up 41.3% of the population, with white Caymanians and immigrants of European ancestry making up 24.1%, and black Caymanians and immigrants of African ancestry following at 23.9%. South Asians, mainly Filipinos and Indians, as well as Caymanians of South Asian descent, make up 8.1%, and the remaining 2.6% belong to various ethnic groups.[13]
The official language of the Cayman Islands is English. The Caymanian accent retains elements passed down from English, Scottish, and Welsh settlers (among others) in a language variety known asCayman Creole. Young Caymanians often borrow terms fromJamaican patois due to the popularity of Jamaican pop culture and influences from Jamaican immigrants in the islands. It is also quite commonplace to hear some residents converse in Spanish as many citizens have relocated from Latin America to work and live on Grand Cayman. The Latin American nations with greatest representation are Honduras, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Spanish speakers comprise almost 10% of the population and is predominantly of theCaribbean dialect. Tagalog is spoken by about 8% of inhabitants most of whom are Filipino residents on work permits. The remainder of the population converse in various languages, with some includingHindi,Afrikaans andPortuguese.
Hinduism is a minority religion in theCayman Islands and is one of the smallest religions. Although it is unknown as to when Hinduism was introduced to the Cayman Islands. There is no Hindu temple located in the CaymanIslands, but there is at least one home which is set aside for the purpose of worship.[19] There were only 98 Hindus in Cayman according to the 2000 census (about 0.25% of the population).[20] In the 2008 census, the number of Hindus increased to 510 (1% of the total population).[21] The 2010 Census showed the number of Hindus decreasing to 454 (0.8% of the total Cayman Islands population).[22]
