Who we are

The Cayman Islands’ Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) is a department of the Government of the Cayman Islands and is made up of two technically independent units:

• The Statistics Unit is responsible for producing the country’s official national statistics and providing statistical assistance to government organisations. It liaises with international and regional bodies on statistical matters. The Statistics Act (2016 Revision) governs its statistical operations.

• The Economics Unit generates the official macroeconomic forecasts mandated in the Public Management and Financial Law and the requisite macroeconomic modelling, monitoring, reporting, and research. It also provides research and other technical assistance to local and international agencies.

Staff: ESO is currently manned by professionals and statistical officers. Among our professional staff are statisticians and economists who have international or regional experience and training. Additionally, trained enumerators and field supervisors are hired on a temporary basis for surveys and censuses.

Vision. We envision the Cayman Islands being on par with other countries, having official statistics responsive to local needs and compliant with international standards. The latter primarily refer to those of the United Nations (UN) Statistical Commission and the International Monetary Fund’s General Data Dissemination Standards.

Mission. ESO’s mission is to facilitate evidence-based decision-making in the public and private sectors by providing relevant, credible, timely and user-friendly statistics and economic analysis.

Strategies. Our general approach to implementing our mission includes:

• Adhering to legal mandates, primarily the Statistics Act (2016 Revision), including its strict confidentiality provision.

• Developing new statistics based on local needs and according to international standards.

• Building internal human and statistical resources.

• Promoting community ownership through outreach programs and wider public access to information.

• Networking with regional and international statistical bodies and economic organisations.

What we do and what we offer

The Statistics Unit provides official statistics for the Cayman Islands, which adhere to internationally accepted standards. Some of these are mainly:

• Population and demography

• Labor force and employment

• Household expenditure, earnings and physical assets

• Housing characteristics (survey data)

• Business surveys and economic contribution

• Consumer price index (CPI)

• Overseas trade and external transactions

• Sector statistics compiled from various sources

The Economics Unit produces the following information sets to assist decision-making in the government and private sector:

• Forecasts of GDP growth, inflation, employment, and the current account of the balance of payments as presented in the government's Strategic Policy Statement.

• Quarterly economic reports: These summarise trends of national indicators (imports, employment, CPI, money supply and credit to sectors) and sector indicators (finance, tourism, housing and property transfers).

• Annual economic reports: these provide an overview of the state of the Cayman Islands economy as of year-end and consist of; The global and regional economic performance and outlook, including global tourism and finance; and Local macroeconomic performance, fiscal performance, sector developments and outlook for the following year.

• Country data: requested by international and regional agencies and the private sector

• Economic studies or research: commissioned by the government or regional organizations, including economic impact assessment.