Economy of the Cayman Islands

Economy of Cayman Islands
CurrencyCayman Islands dollar (KYD)
1.00 KYD = 1.20 USD
1 April – 31 March
Statistics
Population 84,738
GDP $7.139 billion (2023 est., nominal)
$2.507 billion (2021, PPP)
GDP rank161st (nominal)
191st (PPP)
GDP growth
4.0% (2023)
GDP per capita
$109,684 (2023)
GDP by sector
agriculture: 0.3%
industry: 28.2%
services: 71.5% (2014)
1% (2014)
Population below poverty line
<1%
0.3995 (2010)
0.984 (2022)
Labour force
60,513 (2023)
Labour force by occupation
Agriculture: 1.9%
Manual Industry: 19.1%
Finance, Law and Tourism: 79%
Unemployment 2.1% (2022)
External
Exports$15.2 million (2014 est.)
Export goods
turtle products, manufactured consumer goods
Imports$705.3 million (2014 est.)
Import goods
foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, is mainly fueled by the tourism sector and by the financial services sector, together representing 50–60 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The Cayman Islands Investment Bureau, a government agency, has been established with the mandate of promoting investment and economic development in the territory. Because of the territory's strong economy and it being a popular banking destination for wealthy individuals and businesses, it is often dubbed the ‘financial capital’ of the Caribbean. The Cayman Islands enjoys the strongest and one of the most stable economies in the Caribbean.

The emergence of what is now considered the Cayman Islands' "twin pillars of economic development" (tourism and international finance) started in the 1950s with the introduction of modern transportation and telecommunications.