Map of British Virgin Islands | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.


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

Geographic coordinates: 18 30 N 64 30 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 151 km²
Rank: 219
Land: 151 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola Anegada Virgin Gorda Jost van Dyke
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
Extremes 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

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

Geography
Note: strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico


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Population: 24,491 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 215
Growth rate: 1.837% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 71
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: British Virgin Islander
Adjective: British Virgin Islander

Ethnic groups: black 83.4% white 7% other 9.6% (includes Indian and mixed) (2004 Census)

Languages: English (official)

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% other 2% none 2% (1991)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.8%
15-64 years: 74.4% (male 9,346/female 8,881)
65 years and over: 5.8% (male 734/female 689) (2009 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 32.3 years
Male: 32.4 years
Female: 32.2 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.837% (2009 est.)
Rank: 71

Birth rate: 14.62 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 144

Death rate: 4.37 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 203

Net migration rate: 8.13 migrant(s)/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 11

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 40% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

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)

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.65 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 129
Male: 16.61 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 12.58 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.26 years
Rank: 58
Male: 76.03 years
Female: 78.55 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 170

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 3.7% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 123

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.8% (1991 est.)
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 17 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 19 years (2005)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
Abbreviation: BVI

Government type: NA

Capital
Name: Road Town
Geographic coordinates: 18 27 N 64 37 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of the UK)

Dependent areas

Independence: none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday: Territory Day 1 July (1956)

Constitution: 13 June 2007

Legal system: English law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
Head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007)
Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly
Elections: 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 premier by the governor

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; 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 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011)
Election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2% NDP 39.6% independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10 NDP 2 independent 1

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]

International organization participation: Caricom (associate) CDB Interpol (subbureau) IOC OECS UNESCO (associate) UPU WFTU

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas territory of the UK)
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)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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 820,000 tourists mainly from the US visited the islands in 2005. 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $853.4 million (2004 est.)
Rank: 206

Real gdp growth rate: 1% (2002 est.)
Rank: 176

Real gdp per capita: $38,500 (2004 est.)
Rank: 23

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.8%
Industry: 6.2%
Services: 92% (1996 est.)

Agriculture products: fruits vegetables; livestock poultry; fish

Industries: tourism light industry construction rum concrete block offshore financial center

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 12,770 (2004)
Rank: 206
By occupation agriculture: 0.6%
By occupation industry: 40%
By occupation services: 59.4% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 3.6% (1997)
Rank: 43

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $204.7 million
Expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2% (2005)
Rank: 17

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: $134.3 million (1999)
Rank: 55

Exports: $25.3 million (2002)
Rank: 202
Commodities: rum fresh fish fruits animals; gravel sand

Imports: $187 million f.o.b.
Commodities: building materials automobiles foodstuffs machinery

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $36.1 million (1997)
Rank: 194

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: the US dollar is used


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Electricity
Production: 45 million kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 198
Consumption: 41.85 million kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 198
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 116
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 124
Exports: 0 m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 92
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 117
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2009 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 123

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 18,900 (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 196
Mobile cellular: 23,000 (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 204

Telephone system
General assessment: worldwide telephone service
Domestic: fixed line connections exceed 75 per 100 persons and mobile cellular subscribership is approaching 100 per 100 persons
International: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2008)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .vg
Hosts: 581 (2009)
Hosts rank: 169
Users: 4,000 (2002)
Users rank: 206

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 4 (2009)
Rank: 185
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2009)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 200 km
Rank: 206
Paved: 200 km (2007)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 1 (2008)
Rank: 153

Ports and terminals: Road Town


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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