Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
State
	Flag Seal
	Nickname: Turtle State
	Motto: "He hath founded it upon the sea"
Country	United States
British Control	July 1670
Self-Government	July 4, 1959
U.S. Territory	October 19, 1964
Statehood	November 19, 2020
Capital	George Town
Largest city	George Town
Government
• Body	Government of the Cayman Islands
• Governor	TBD
• Premier	Wayne Panton
Area
• Total	102 sq mi (264 km2)
Population (2021)
• Total	69,656
• Density	630/sq mi (244/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5:00 (EST)

The Cayman Islands (abbreviated CI) is a U.S. state in the Caribbean Sea. The state encompasses three islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. Altogether, the state is approximately 102 square-miles (264 square kilometers) and has a population of 68,076, making it the least populous U.S. state. The islands are situated to the south of Cuba, to the northwest of Jamaica, northeast of Honduras and Belize, and east of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The capital and largest city in the territory is George Town on Grand Cayman.

The Cayman Islands were administered as part of the Colony of Jamaica until 1962 when Jamaica gained its independence. In a 1963 Referendum the islands voted to join the United States as a dependent territory. Statehood debates continued but intensified in 2010 after a perceived lack of aid to the territory. Premier Alden McLaughlin promised a referendum in the subject in January of 2020. A semi-binding referendum was approved by the Continental Congress in July and was scheduled along for November 3, 2020. Seventy-seven percent of voters approved of statehood and a new statehood constitution was approved on November 8, 2020. On November 19, 2020 the Cayman Islands officially became a U.S. state.

The islands are the wealthiest U.S. state per capita, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of over four trillion in international dollars. Much of this stems from the Cayman Islands' lack of taxation, which has allowed the territory to become a major tax haven.