As the fourth largest offshore financial center in the world, the Cayman Islands is located in the northern Caribbean, consisting of Grand Cayman and two nearby islands. Cuba is across the sea in the north and east, Jamaica in the southeast, the Caribbean in the south and Mexico and Belize in the west, with a land area of about 264 square kilometers and a total population of about 64,000. Georgetown is the capital. The Cayman Islands is a multi-ethnic region, with whites accounting for the majority of the population, and the rest are mainly black or mixed-race. Most residents believe in Protestantism and the official language is English.

The Cayman Islands used to be inhabited by Indians and Caribbean people, and its civilization history was relatively late. Until the invasion of western colonists, the local area remained in the primitive stage. 1May 503 10, the great navigator Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands and named it "Turtle Island" because there are many turtles in the surrounding waters. /kloc-around 0/530, Spanish colonists occupied the islands, and because of the large number of local crocodiles, they renamed it "Cayman" (Spanish means "crocodile").

1670, Spain, which failed in hegemonic activities, was forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid with Britain, thus ceding Jamaica and Cayman Islands to the latter. After the Cayman Islands belonged to Britain, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the British Governor in Jamaica for a long time. It was not until 1962 that Jamaica declared its independence that it became a British crown colony alone, and 198 1 was upgraded to an "overseas territory". Today, although the Cayman Islands is governed by a governor appointed by the British King, it has its own constitution, and the Legislative Assembly elected by the islanders has a great say in internal affairs, so the degree of autonomy is quite high.

To be fair, the living environment in the Cayman Islands is not good. In addition to a small land and a large population, disasters are frequent, and natural resources in the territory are very scarce, and there are basically no mineral resources. It is comforting to know that the Cayman Islands is rich in fishery resources, rich in sharks, lobsters, turtles, tortoises, sponges, shells and various aquatic products, as well as a small amount of forestry resources. In addition, St. Cayman Islands has beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, which is very suitable for developing tourism and is an ideal holiday destination for European and American tourists.

Due to the lack of innate conditions for economic development, the industrial and agricultural foundation of Cayman Islands is extremely weak, with only a small amount of building materials production, tourism-related light industrial products and processed food, and the only pillar industries are fishery and tourism. However, due to the great influence of climate on fisheries and tourism, once a serious natural disaster occurs, the consequences will be unimaginable. For this reason, in order to survive, the Cayman Islands began to vigorously develop financial services in the 1980s, which greatly promoted economic development.

After more than 30 years of development, the Cayman Islands has now become the fourth largest offshore financial center in the world. Up to now, the number of registered companies on the island has exceeded 654.38 million (far exceeding the population), including more than 700 banks, more than 800 insurance companies and nearly 10,000 hedge fund institutions. Among the companies registered in the Cayman Islands, there are many subsidiaries of large multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Intel and Oracle Bone Inscriptions, as well as major companies in China such as Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba, Sina.com, New Oriental, Evergrande Real Estate, Country Garden and Mengniu.

There are three main reasons why large global companies are keen to register in Cayman Islands, namely, low threshold for company registration, loose supervision, complete legal system, sound management system, extremely low or zero tax rate and excellent business environment. At present, the offshore financial industry has become a priority industry in Cayman Islands, bringing a rolling dividend to the local area every year. However, while providing convenience for large companies, the Cayman Islands also provides convenience for some enterprises, organizations and individuals to avoid taxes and illegally launder money, thus obtaining the title of "tax haven", which is often investigated and even sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.

It is precisely because the offshore financial industry and tourism industry have brought a steady stream of huge wealth to the Cayman Islands that this tiny place with few resources, a small population and frequent disasters can get rid of poverty and live a very rich life. According to the statistics of the World Bank, the per capita GDP of Cayman Islands in 20 18 years was as high as 85,477 US dollars (about 598,339 yuan), far exceeding the minimum standard of developed countries (12055 US dollars), and it has been increasing in recent years.

It is precisely because of its super wealth that the Cayman Islands government has the confidence to implement various high welfare policies in the areas of people's livelihood such as education, medical care and old-age care. In addition, the distribution of social wealth in relatively equal, political stability, good public safety and harmonious ethnic relations have led to a very high standard of living and an outbreak of happiness. Today's Cayman Islands, with its beautiful scenery, first-class infrastructure and relaxed society, is not only a tourist destination for tourists from all over the world, but also attracts a large number of highly skilled multinational talents to work, which is really envied by many international cities.

reference data

Ren Xiaoke: General Theory of World Geography, Chinese Publishing House, 2009.

Cayman Islands Government Network.