Editing Cayman Islands (section)

===Demographics and immigration===

{{bar box
|title= Population by background<ref name="demographic">{{cite web |url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/10/03/unemployment-rate-falls-to-3-in-first-half-of-2022/ |title=Demographic Characteristics |publisher=Cayman Islands Government |date=2021 |access-date=20 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004074655/https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/10/03/unemployment-rate-falls-to-3-in-first-half-of-2022/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Nationalities 
|right1=percent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Caymanian]]|Blue|39.6}}
{{bar percent|[[Jamaicans|Jamaican]]|Yellow|18.9}}
{{bar percent|[[Filipinos|Filipino]]|Orange|8.2}}
{{bar percent|[[Americans|American]]|Green|5.2}}
{{bar percent|[[British people|British]] |Red|4.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Hondurans|Honduran]]|Brown|3.5}}
{{bar percent|[[Canadians|Canadian]]|Blue|3.0}}
{{bar percent|[[Indian people|Indian]]|Green|2.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Cubans|Cuban]]|Yellow|1.7}}
{{bar percent|Other|Orange|12.8}}
}}
{{clear}}

While there are a large number of generational Caymanians, many Caymanians today have roots in almost every part of the world. Similarly to countries like the United States, the Cayman Islands is a melting pot with citizens of every background. 52.5% of the population is Non-Caymanian, while 47.5% is Caymanian. Jamaicans, who make up 24% of the population, form the largest immigrant community in the country, attributable to not only the close proximity of the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, but also the close cultural, economic and social ties that go back centuries between the two nations, with the Cayman Islands once being a dependency of Jamaica from 1863 until Jamaica's independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, resulting in the Cayman Islands choosing to separate from Jamaica and remain under British rule to this day.

According to the Economics and Statistics Office of the Government of the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands had a population of 71,432 at the Census of 10 October 2021, but was estimated by them to have risen to 81,546 as of December 2022, making it the most populous British Overseas Territory.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/08/31/caymans-population-grows-by-10-5-in-less-than-a-year/ | title=Premier: Census shows Cayman needs more careful, managed growth | date=28 July 2022 | access-date=1 September 2022 | archive-date=1 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901172211/https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/08/31/caymans-population-grows-by-10-5-in-less-than-a-year/ | url-status=live }}</ref> It was revealed in the 2021 census that 56% of the workforce is Non-Caymanian; this is the first time in the territory's history that the number of working immigrants has overtaken the number of working Caymanians.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/02/census-reveals-56-of-workers-not-caymanian/ |title=Census reveals 56% of workers not Caymanian |website=Caymannewsservice.com |date=2022-02-25 |access-date=2022-03-19 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408215006/https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/02/census-reveals-56-of-workers-not-caymanian/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most Caymanians are of mixed African and European ancestry. Slavery occurred but was not as common compared to other Caribbean islands, and once it was abolished, black and white communities seemed to integrate more compliantly than other Caribbean nations and territories resulting in a more mixed-race population.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Joanna |last=Boxall |date=January 11, 2023 |title=The History of Slavery in the Cayman Islands |url=https://caymanresident.com/about/government-history-politics/early-cayman-history/slavery |access-date=2023-05-23 |website=Cayman Resident |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2025}}

The country's demographics are changing rapidly. Immigration plays a large role, and the changing demographics in age have sounded alarm bells in the most recent census. In comparison to the 2010 census, the 2021 census has shown that 36% of Cayman's population growth has been in persons over age 65, while 8% growth was recorded in groups under age 15. This is due to extremely low birth rates among Caymanians, which almost forces the government to seek workers from overseas to sustain the country's economy. This has raised concerns among many young Caymanians, who worry about the workforce becoming increasingly competitive with the influx of workers, as well as rent and property prices going up.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/03/14/ageing-society-one-of-caymans-demographic-challenges/|title = Ageing society one of Cayman's demographic challenges| work=Cayman Compass |date = 14 March 2022|access-date = 14 March 2022|archive-date = 14 March 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220314171956/https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/03/14/ageing-society-one-of-caymans-demographic-challenges/|url-status = live | last1=Klein | first1=Michael }}</ref>

Because the population has skyrocketed over the last decade, former government officials have stressed that the islands need more careful and managed growth. Many have worried that the country's infrastructure and services cannot cope with the surging population. It is believed that given current trends, the population will reach 100,000 before 2030.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/07/28/premier-census-shows-cayman-needs-more-careful-managed-growth/ | title=Premier: Census shows Cayman needs more careful, managed growth | work=Cayman Compass | date=28 July 2022 | access-date=28 July 2022 | archive-date=28 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728232021/https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/07/28/premier-census-shows-cayman-needs-more-careful-managed-growth/ | url-status=live | last1=Klein | first1=Michael }}</ref>