News Break
Population at 60,000?
The absence of published reports on thepopulation census which was conducted in October 1999, has givenrise to uncertainty and disquiet in some quarters about the exactnumber of persons now residing in the Cayman Islands.
It is believed that the figure is closer to 60,000 than the officialfigure of 40 - 45,000 that is generally reported. Informationwhich has just come to hand and further investigation by CaymanNet News lend credibility to the higher figure.
Prompted by its recent elections poll, which turned up an overwhelmingnumber of 'Not Registered' responses - indicating the presenceof a significant number of expatriates without the right to vote-Cayman Net News sought to obtain accurate and up-to-date populationstatistics.
A former member of the civil service who worked closely with theStatistics Unit told Cayman Net News that data from the Censusconducted in October 1999, indicates a population count of approximately63,000.
Cayman Net News has made numerous attempts over several monthsto obtain population data from the Government's Statistics Unit,but to no avail. Further efforts to reach Mr. Brian Boxill, theGovernment's Chief Statistician, and the intercession of GovernmentInformation Service (GIS) to provide this information proved futileup to this issue's press time.
According to information contained in the Cayman Islands 1999Annual Report and Official Handbook produced by GIS, "the1999 year-end population for the Cayman Islands was estimatedat 40,000." This represented a 5.2 percent growth over the1998 figure of 38,000, the annual report states. Caymanians accountedfor 59 percent of the population.
The report noted that there were 604 live births in 1999. Thecrude birth rate in 1999 was 15.4 percent per 1,000 population,a slight increase from 14.8 in 1998. It also stated that the deathrate was 3.2 per 1,000 population, a slight decrease from 3.5in 1998.
"A significant factor in the population growth is the numberof non-Caymanians admitted to residence with work permits,"the report states. It noted that the employed labour force wasestimated at approximately 21,620, with a Caymanian compositionof 51 percent.
Data from the Immigration Department indicate that there are some14,000 work permit holders with head of household numbering around3,000, who in turn may have at least two dependents. This doesnot take into account permanent residents and their dependentsand persons of Caymanian Status who do not have voting rights.
A source from the Elections Office told Cayman Net News earlierthis week that during its house to house voter registration exercisefrom as far back as 1996 it was revealed that there were as manyas 46,000 residents in the islands.
Census data are an important part of the planning process forgovernments the world over. It is hoped that the new Governmentwhich takes office in a few days will make it a priority to havethe census published.