Four months after the Cayman Islands’ 2010 Census report was completed we finally have it revealed. Last Wednesday (4) it was laid on the table of the Legislative Assembly and is now an official document.

The Census reveals that the total population of the Cayman Islands is 55,456. The 2010 non-institutional population count represents approximately 59 times the population size of the Cayman Islands when the first census was taken in 1802, and 10 times the size almost a century ago.

The total population represents a 41% increase over the 1999 Census count. This decadal growth rate and its implied average annual growth rate are the lowest since the 1979 census when growth from 1970 was registered at the highest ever rate in the 20th century. All districts grew, however, only Bodden Town and North Side exceeded their 1999 census growth rates.

George Town pop. is 28,089 a 36.2% increase

West Bay pop. is 11,222 a 36.1% increase

Bodden Town pop. is 10,543 an 82.9% increase

North Side pop. is 1,479 a 37.1% increase

East End pop. is 1,407 a 2.6% increase

And the  Sister Islands pop. is 2,296 an18.5% increase.

Bodden Town grew in 2010 at a rate twice the national average; this also surpasses the district’s growth rate in 1999 although it is lower compared to that in 1989. In contrast, East End almost stalled with a growth rate of merely 2.6 percent which is also sharply lower compared to 1999 and 1989. The growth rate of North Side is lower than the national average in 2010; however, it is the only district other than Bodden Town that recorded a higher growth in 2010 compared to 1999. The growth rates of George Town (36.2%), West Bay (36.1%) and the Sister Islands (18.5%) are all lower compared to those registered in 1999 and 1989.

With the varied paces of population change across districts, population distribution is invariably impacted, the most significant of which is that Bodden Town now approximately has the same size as West Bay. West Bay has steadily declined its population share from 1979 to 2010, albeit at a gradual rate. In contrast, the Sister Islands’ steady decline is sharper at almost 6 percentage points from 1979 to 2010.

The country’s population in 2010 is made up of 30,979 Caymanians and 24,057 non- Caymanians. The overall growth in the country’s population from 1999 to 2010 is largely due to an increase in the Caymanian population: there were 10,488 more Caymanians or an increase of 51.2 percent, as compared to 5,604 more non-Caymanians or an increase of 30.4 percent. In other words, there were 187 Caymanians added to the population for every 100 non-Caymanians.

The status growth pattern that emerged from the 2010 census is in sharp contrast with the two previous censuses. In the 1989 and 1999 censuses, the non-Caymanian sub-population dominated and was growing at a rate more than twice the national population growth and 5-6 times the growth rate of the Caymanian population. In 1989, there were 3,511 more Caymanians versus 5,167 more non-Caymanians compared to 1979. In 1999, there were additional 3,523 Caymanians who were counted versus 10,066 additional non-Caymanians. With the deceleration of the non-Caymanian population in 2010, the uptrend of its share in the national population was broken bringing the structure to 56.3 percent Caymanian and 43.7 percent non-Caymanian. This 2010 population structure stands in sharp contrast with those recorded in the 1979 and 1989 censuses. Bodden Town has the highest increase in the number of Caymanians (3,814) and growth rate (99.8%), followed closely by George Town. The latter, however, has the highest increase in the number of non-Caymanians (3,710) although Bodden Town has the highest growth rate of non-Caymanians (51.0%).

Between the 1999 and 2010 census years, the highest population growth rates occurred in the age bracket 50 to 64 years. This grew twice the national growth rate. Consequently, this group rose in its share of total population from 11.5 percent in 1999 to 14.8 percent. Across districts, this age bracket also led the population growth particularly in Bodden Town where it grew by 150.0 percent.

Nonetheless, the 30 to 49 years remains the dominant group with its share of 42.1 percent in total population, albeit this is lower compared to the 40.9 percent share posted in 1999. It also accounted for the greatest increase in population in absolute terms. This pattern is seen across districts although it is most pronounced in George Town and least in North Side. Meanwhile, the youngest age group (0 to 14 years) grew at a rate lower than the average population growth. The 15 to 29 years group had the lowest growth rates among all age groups nationally whilst the elderly (65+ years) group has the second lowest growth rate.

George Town is home to most Caymanians (40.6%) and non-Caymanians (64.5%). Bodden Town has the next highest share of Caymanians (24.6%) while West Bay has the next highest share of non-Caymanians (17.1%).

The country’s population has slightly more females (50.5%) than males (49.5%). This is also shown in all districts, except George Town where the proportion of females is slightly lower than males. In Bodden Town, the percentage of females (52.9%) is relatively high compared to the other districts.

Children 14 years and under totalled 9,750 or 18.1 percent of the total population. There are slightly more males in this age group (4,967) than females (4,783). Majority of the country’s population belongs to the working age group (15+ years old), with a count of 44,084 or 81.9 percent of the country‟s population. The number of males and females in this group are almost even, with the females exceeding the males by 772 only. The youth (15 to 24 years) within this broad group number 5,633 or 10.5 percent of the population. The elderly (65 years old and above) total 2,923 or 5.4 percent of total residents. There are more females (1,579) in this group than males (1,344).

Across major age groups, non-Caymanians are more likely to live in George Town than Caymanians; for example, 71.1 percent of all non-Caymanian children under 5 while only 39.3 percent Caymanian children in this age group reside in the district.

The country’s population have citizenship from 135 countries and territories in the world. Jamaica being the highest with 11, 721 persons followed by the United Kingdom with 5,076 persons and the USA with 4,331 persons.

Overall, 90.0 percent of the country’s population belong to a religious denomination. The most frequently cited denominations across all population sub-groups were Church of God (22.6%), Roman Catholic (14.1%), Seventh-Day Adventist (9.4%), Presbyterian/United Church (8.6%) and Baptist (8.3%). In all these, except for the Roman Catholic, females have higher frequency rates than males. Status-wise, Caymanians have higher rates compared to non-Caymanians in these denominations except for the Roman Catholic.

Among the population, a number 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.

The overall incidence of diagnosed illness was 199.6 per 1000 persons, with the male population showing a lower rate (169.2 per 1,000) compared to the female population (229.3 per 1,000). The top three types of illness were high blood pressure (89.1 per 1,000), diabetes (43.0 per 1,000) and asthma (28.3 per 1,000). At the lower end, there were only 18 cases of HIV/AIDS which is equivalent to a rate of 0.3 persons per 1,000.

A total of 46,712 or 86.8 percent of the country’s residents have health insurance coverage while a mere 121 persons (0.2%) are deemed uninsurable and 6,512 (12.1%) have no coverage in 2010.

Among the 5 years old and above, a total of 11,441 attend school full-time (9,021), part time (2,353) or on home schooling (67). Among the various age groups, the younger ones (5 to 9, 10 to 14 years) have the highest schooling rates. The schooling rate declines sharply for the working age groups starting with 15 to 19 years old and 20 to 24 years. The schools that the country’s residents attend range from nursery/preschool to university and special education. Slightly over one third of those in school are in nursery/pre-school/primary, followed closely by middle/high/secondary school (30.4%) and university/college (25.7%). Focusing on the highest grade completed of the working age population, it is shown that the majority have completed at least high school (year 10 to 12) while 17.7 percent have post-secondary (vocational and community college) and 27.8 percent have college/university education. Caymanians comprise the majority of the working age population with no grade completed (83.8%), up to high school (59.2%) and special education/others (74.4%). Non-Caymanians comprise the majority among those with post secondary (vocational and community college) and college/university education.

Among the examinations, the top three in frequency are high school diploma or equivalent certificate (28.4%) followed by vocational/trade certificate or diploma (14.5%) and bachelor’s degree (13.4%). A significant number also have post graduate certificates or diploma or master’s degree (6.5%) and professional qualifications (5.7%).

Majority of the residents of the Cayman Islands with age 15 years and above are legally married (51.0%) while a significant percentage have never been married (36.3%). The overall divorce rate among the entire population is 7.7 percent while the rates of legal separation and widowhood are at 1.9 and 2.7 percent, respectively.

Union status is based on spouses’ or partners’ living arrangements of persons aged 15 years and above. A legally married person may not necessarily be living with a spouse, for example: the percentage of married persons living with a spouse (39.7%) is shown to be lower than the legally married above (51.0%).

Almost 60 percent of all women aged 15 to 49 years are mothers. The prevalence of motherhood among teens (15-19 years) is 4.6 percent, and rises more than 6 times for women in the early 20’s.

The country’s working age population was recorded at 44,084, of which 36,494 are in the labour force. The latter is comprised of those at working age (15+ years by international definition) who are working, or seeking work and available for work during the reference week (the week prior to October 10, 2010). The resulting labour force participation rate (ratio of labour force to total working age population) is estimated at 82.8 percent. Reflecting the overall population structure, there are more females (50.9%) in the working age population than males (49.1%). However, the reverse holds for the labour force where males (51.2%) exceed the females (48.8%), thus the labour force participation rate of the males is higher at 86.3 percent compared to the females’ 79.4 percent. Total employment was registered at 34,214, of which 51.2 percent were logged in by males and 48.8 percent by females. The unemployed reached 2,280, of which 54.8 percent were males while 45.2 percent were females. Thus, the overall unemployment rate is 6.2 percent; males have a higher unemployment rate at 6.7 percent compared to the females’ 5.8 percent. The indicators by sex and status show that male non-Caymanians in the labour force have the highest likelihood of employment (97.3%) in the Cayman Islands, followed by female non-Caymanians (96.4%), female Caymanians (91.9%) and male Caymanians (88.5%).

In 2010, the country had an average income (as measured by the gross domestic product per capita) of $44,184. There are more non-Caymanian employees than Caymanians in the lowest income brackets. There are relatively more Caymanians in the higher income brackets, particularly in the $38,400 – $57,599 where there are close to 67 non-Caymanians for every 100 Caymanians. The gap, however, is diminished in the highest earnings bracket.

A total of 22,760 households were counted in the 2010 Census. A comparison with the 1999 Census data shows that 7,853 households were added between 1999 and 2010, which represents a 52.7 per cent increase over the 11-year period.

Households in the Cayman Islands have generally high ownership ratios for telecommunication amenities: internet (65.2%), computers (73.8%), radio (80.1%), television (94.9%) and cell phones (98.5%). On the latter, approximately 71 percent of all homes have at least two (2) cell phones. However, only 39.0 percent have a fixed phone.

To download a copy of the full census go to: www.eso.ky/UserFiles/File/The%202010%20Cayman%20Islands%20Census%20Report.pdf