Caymanians are the status holders or born citizens of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. As a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

, citizens of the Cayman Islands will hold British Overseas Territories Citizenship. There is no record of a native people to the Cayman Islands, such as groups like the

Arawak The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

or Carib people who were native to most of the Caribbean; therefore most Caymanians today are of mixed European and African descent, coming from early British settlers and enslaved people from Africa. Since 21 May 2002, citizens of all the

British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

became British citizens under a new UK law, granting the people of every BOT, including the Cayman Islands, the right to live, study and work in the UK as a full citizen, as well as receive the same benefits given to British citizens in the UK.

Ethnicities

Most Caymanians are of mixed European and African ancestry. Although slavery occurred in the Cayman Islands, it was not as common in comparison to the rest of the Caribbean, therefore, when it was abolished, European and African residents seemed to integrate faster than other nations, resulting in a more mixed race population. There are also prominent black and white populations, with a sizable

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

population, mainly made up of immigrants from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

.Cayman Islands Census 2021
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Languages

English is the official language of the Cayman Islands. A large number of the population also converse in Spanish, as there are many mixed Caymanian families of Latin American origin. Tagalog is also spoken by Filipino-Caymanians and Filipino immigrants.

Religion

Most Caymanians identify as

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

(66.9%), with 25% belonging to no religion. There are also small numbers of

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

(1.7%),

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

(0.4%),

Rastafarians Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

(0.3%) and those of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

faith (0.2%). 5.5% have not specified.

Diaspora

The Caymanian diaspora population is roughly around 4,000, although the true number is not securely documented. Most Caymanians overseas live in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which would be due to the convenience of being British Overseas Territories citizens; along with many residing in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is common for many young Caymanians to travel to these countries for further education. A small number also reside in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. With its close proximity to the islands, many Caymanian families are of Jamaican origin or have Jamaican family members.

References

Cayman Islands {{Caymans-stub