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.

Geographic coordinates: 18 30 N 64 30 W

Area
Rank: 220
Land: 151 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: about 0.9 times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate: subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain: coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep hilly

Elevation
Extremes highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use
Permanent crops: 6.67%
Other: 86.67% (2011)

Irrigated land: NA

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

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

Population: 31,912 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 216
Growth rate: 2.4% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 34
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Adjective: British Virgin Islander

Ethnic groups: black 82% white 6.8% other 11.2% (includes Indian and mixed) (2008)

Languages: English (official)

Religions: Protestant 84% (Methodist 33% Anglican 17% Church of God 9% Seventh-Day Adventist 6% Baptist 4% other 15%) Roman Catholic 10% Jehovah's Witnesses 2% other 2% none 2% (1991)

Age structure
15-24 years: 14.8% (male 2,251/female 2,460)
25-54 years: 49.9% (male 7,549/female 8,384)
55-64 years: 10.3% (male 1628/female 1654)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 1180/female 1241) (2013 est.)

Median age
Male: 35.3 years
Female: 35.4 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.4% (2013 est.)
Rank: 34

Birth rate: 10.78 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 179

Death rate: 4.89 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 190

Net migration rate: 18.11 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 4

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 1.7% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: ROAD TOWN (capital) 10,000 (2011)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural freshwater resources except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola; most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 121
Male: 15.85 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.92 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 57
Male: 76.86 years
Female: 79.45 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.24 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 220

Drinking water source:

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Education expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 98

Literacy
Total population: 97.8%
Male: NA
Female: NA (1991 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 15 years
Female: 16 years (2009)

Country name
Conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
Abbreviation: BVI

Government type: NA

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 18 25 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)

Independence: none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday: Territory Day 1 July (1956)

Constitution: several previous; latest effective 15 June 2007 (2007)

Legal system: English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: Premier Orlando SMITH (since 9 November 2011)
Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly
Elections: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually appointed premier by the governor

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats a speaker elected by the 13 members of the House of Assembly 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 on 7 November 2011 (next to be held in 2015)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NDP 49.4% VIP 42% other 8.6%; seats by party - NDP 9 VIP 4

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court chief justice appointed by Her Majesty Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62
Subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts

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

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); the islands were named by COLUMBUS in 1493 in honor of Saint Ursula and her 11 virgin followers (some sources say 11,000) who reputedly were martyred by the Huns in the 4th or 5th century; the figure on the banner holding a lamp represents the saint the other lamps symbolize her followers

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. More than 934,000 tourists mainly from the US visited the islands in 2008. 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: $500 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 215

Real gdp growth rate: -0.6% (2008 est.)
Rank: 153

Real gdp per capita: $42,300 (2010 est.)
Rank: 20

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 8.4%
Investment in fixed capital: 23.9%
Investment in inventories: -2%
Exports of goods and services: 111.8%
Imports of goods and services: -77%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 11.6%
Services: 87.3% (2012 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: 214
By occupation industry: 40%
By occupation services: 59.4% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 8.7% (2010 est.)
Rank: 99

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Expenditures: $300 million (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 48

Taxes and other revenues: 27.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 111

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 53

Current account balance: $279.8 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 48

Exports: $25 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 202
Commodities: rum fresh fish fruits animals; gravel sand

Imports: $320 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 199
Commodities: building materials automobiles foodstuffs machinery

Debt external: $36.1 million (1997)
Rank: 195

Exchange rates: the US dollar is used

Electricity
Production: 50 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 206
Consumption: 46.5 million kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 206
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 145
Imports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 147
Installed generating capacity: 44,000 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 191
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 39
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 199
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 205
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 137

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 142
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 202
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 138
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 200

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 141
Products consumption: 1000 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 202
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 141
Products imports: 772.6 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 199

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 205
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 205
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 202
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 145
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 203

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 147,200 Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 202

Telephones
Main lines in use: 12,268 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 199
Mobile cellular: 48,700 (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 202

Telephone system
Domestic: fixed line connections exceed 80 per 100 persons and mobile cellular subscribership is roughly 150 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 (2011)

Broadcast media: 1 private TV station; multi-channel TV is available from cable and satellite subscription services; about a half dozen private radio stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .vg
Hosts: 505 (2012)
Hosts rank: 182
Users: 4,000 (2002)
Users rank: 207

Airports: 4 (2013)
Rank: 190
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2013)

Roadways
Rank: 208
Paved: 200 km (2007)

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