Cayman Islands
Updated: Oct 2, 2022
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Country Name
The Cayman Islands.
Location
The Cayman Islands is an independent British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea.
The island contains the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, the islands are located to the south of Cuba and northeast of Honduras, between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.
Capital
George Town.
Reason for naming the country
The name is derived from the Carib Indian word for the marine crocodile, which is now known to have lived on the islands. This name, or a variant, has been retained ever since. Thus, the word eventually developed into Cayman, and adding the word islands, we became the 'Cayman Islands.
Flag
The flag of the Cayman Islands was adopted on 14 May 1958, Prior to that, the Islands had used the British flag for all official occasions.
The current version of the flag was adopted on 25 January 1999.
The flag is composed of a dark blue background with the British Union Jack situated top left of the flag.
The flag also features a tortoise and a lion on its Coat of Arms. On the flag is the country’s motto “He hath founded it upon the sea” derived from the book of Psalm 24:2 in the Bible.
Language
The official language of the Cayman Islands is English, the Islanders' accents retain elements passed down from English, Scottish, and Welsh settlers in a language variety known as Cayman Creole.
The minority languages that are spoken in the Cayman Islands are Spanish & Tagalog.
Religion
The predominant religion in the Cayman Islands is Christianity.
Protestants account for 67.8%, while the Roman Catholic Church accounts for 14.1%. Denominations practiced include the United Church, Church of God, Anglican Church, Baptist Church, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Pentecostal Church. Roman Catholic churches are St. Ignatius Church, George Town, and Stella Maris Church, Cayman Brac. Many citizens are deeply religious, regularly going to church.
There are an active Synagogue and Jewish community on the island as well as places of worship in George Town for Jehovah's Witnesses and followers of the Bahá'í faith.
Currency
Cayman Islands dollar (KYD).
