Cayman Islands: Technical Assistance Report-Report on National Accounts Mission Rebasing of Gross Domestic Product (August 5–9, 2024)

A technical assistance (TA) mission was conducted from August 5 to 9, 2024, in response to a request from the Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) of the Cayman Islands, to support the improvement and rebasing of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The primary focus was to assist in updating the base year of the National Accounts Statistics through the development of Supply and Use Tables (SUT), with a 2023 Household Budget Survey (HBS) serving as a key new data source. As part of a concurrent initiative, the ESO will also compile the first six tables of a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) within the SUT framework. The mission provided guidance on updating the industry classification to the draft Revision 5 of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), especially regarding new classifications for Accommodation Services. Recommendations were also made to expand the product dimension of the SUT—particularly for transportation goods—to improve estimates of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE), and Intermediate Consumption (IC). Support was also given on TSA compilation, though data issues—especially in Balance of Payments—require further attention. Finally, the mission recommended enhancing backcasting methods by incorporating variable ratio approaches and defining a link year, to ensure improved historical consistency and methodological robustness.