British Virgin Islands Fact File
 

Introduction

British Virgin Islands
Background:

First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.

Geography

British Virgin Islands
Location:

Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates:

18 30 N, 64 30 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke

Area - comparative:

about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

80 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate:

subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain:

coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources:

NEGL

Land use:

arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67%
other: 73.33% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Natural hazards:

hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

Environment - current issues:

limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)

Geography - note:

strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

People

British Virgin Islands
Population:

23,098 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340)
65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 31.4 years
male: 31.6 years
female: 31.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.97% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

14.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

9.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 76.68 years
male: 75.56 years
female: 77.84 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.72 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander

Ethnic groups:

black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed

Religions:

Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)

Languages:

English (official)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government

British Virgin Islands
Country name:

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
abbreviation: BVI

Dependency status:

overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing

Government type:

NA

Capital:

Road Town

Administrative divisions:

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Independence:

none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:

Territory Day, 1 July

Constitution:

1 June 1977, amended in 2000

Legal system:

English law

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Dr. Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003)
cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor

Legislative branch:

unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5

Judicial branch:

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction

Political parties and leaders:

Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Diplomatic representation from the US:

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Flag description:

blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)

Economy

British Virgin Islands
Economy - overview:

The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$853.4 million (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

NA

GDP - real growth rate:

1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$38,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2%
services: 92% (1996 est.)

Labor force:

12,770 (2004)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Unemployment rate:

3% (1995)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.5% (2003)

Budget:

revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)

Agriculture - products:

fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish

Industries:

tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production:

34.55 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

32.13 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:

410 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:

NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:

NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:

$25.3 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:

rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

Exports - partners:

Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004)

Imports:

$187 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:

building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery

Imports - partners:

Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004)

Debt - external:

$36.1 million (1997)

Economic aid - recipient:

$NA

Currency (code):

US dollar (USD)

Currency code:

USD

Exchange rates:

the US dollar is used

Fiscal year:

1 April - 31 March

Communications

British Virgin Islands
Telephones - main lines in use:

11,700 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

8,000 (2002)

Telephone system:

general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA
international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:

9,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (plus one cable company) (1997)

Televisions:

4,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.vg

Internet hosts:

480 (2005)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

16 (2000)

Internet users:

4,000 (2002)

Transportation

British Virgin Islands
Airports:

3 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

Roadways:

total: 177 km
paved: 177 km (2002)

Merchant marine:

registered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2005)

Ports and terminals:

Road Town

Military

British Virgin Islands
Manpower available for military service:

males age 18-49: 6,410 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 18-49: 5,295 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:

males age 18-49: 201 (2005 est.)

Military - note:

defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues

British Virgin Islands
Disputes - international:

none

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering

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