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Guide to British Virgin Islands

Introduction

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

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
Area - comparative: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 80 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Terrain: coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: NEGL
Land use: arable land
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

Population: 22,643 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 2.06% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 14.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun
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

Government

Country name: conventional long form
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
Legal system: English law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections
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

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, is expected to make 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 dollar as its currency since 1959.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.498 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $38,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
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%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2003)
Budget: revenues
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: 36.28 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 33.74 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 420 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Exports: $25.3 million (2002)
Exports - commodities: rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Imports: $187 million (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
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

Telephones - main lines in use: 11,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,000 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
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 Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)
Internet users: 4,000 (2002)

Transportation

Highways: total
Ports and harbors: Road Town
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total

Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues

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
Last updated: 20 October, 2005