Cayman Islands Introduction

Background: The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica from 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent.

Cayman Islands Geography

Location: Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras

Geographic coordinates: 19 30 N, 80 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 259 sq km

land: 259 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC