Cayman Islands faces declining population
Friday March 25 2011 | 06:07 AM

 Preliminary results of the census conducted by the Economics and Statistics Office last year, reveal that the Cayman Islands' population now stands at 54,878, compared to a forecast total of over 57,000.

According to Premier McKeeva Bush, estimates received back in 2008 projected a total of just over 57,000 and the expectation, then, was that the population would continue to grow.

“But what we have been witnessing on the ground has been the opposite. And the preliminary 2010 census results now confirm that the Cayman Islands' population is declining,” Bush said.

He pointed out that this population downtrend has the potential to negatively impact local economic activity and is thus a matter of serious concern, one which needs immediate action.

The new census results accordingly compel government to continue pushing for policies that will promote sustainable population growth in the Cayman Islands. While we do not want a runaway population spiral, what we do need is sustainable growth that can spur healthy local economic growth,” Bush said.

The final census report is expected to be made available in the last quarter of this year.

“We need those figures in order to take focused action,” Bush said.