Islands that it has the biggest income per head in the region.

The Caymans, a flourishing offshore banking centre, said yesterday that its per capita income had reached $25,300, topping that of the United States, Canada and the other nations in the Western Hemisphere -including Bermuda.

But Dr. Saul pointed out the announcement was using out of date figures.

Bermuda had a per capita income of about $27,000, he said.

The Island's figure is still believed to be the highest in the hemisphere.

"I would not make too many great comparisons between Bermuda and the Cayman Islands,'' said Dr. Saul. "Our area is international business and theirs is offshore banking.

"We're not looking over our shoulder.'' Economic growth last year in the Cayman Islands, a British dependency of around 26,000 people, was 4.4 percent, the government statistics office said.

The increase boosted the gross national product to $670 million in US dollar terms.

An important offshore financial centre, the Cayman Islands has more than 540 registered banks with deposits totalling $450 billion.

The Caymans used to be a dependency of Jamaica which, in turn, belonged to Britain. In 1962, Jamaica gained independence and the Caymans chose to remain a colony.

The new government drafted laws tailor-made for banks, trusts and corporations seeking relief from harsh taxation and strict regulation elsewhere in the world.

In 1991, its $25,300 per capita income was higher than that of the United States, which was $19,082 last year, according to the US Commerce Department.

Canada had a $18,635 per capita income in 1990.