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

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 151 km²
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
Rank: 220
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; pleasant climate beaches foster tourism

Land use
Agricultural land: 46.7%
Forest: 24.3%
Other: 29%

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: 33,454 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 215
Growth rate: 2.32% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 33
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: British Virgin Islander
Adjective: British Virgin Islander

Ethnic groups: black 82% white 6.8% mixed 5.9% East Indian 3% other 1.6% unspecified 0.7% (2001 est.)

Languages: English (official)

Religions: Protestant 72.2% (Methodist 22.7% Anglican 11.6% Church of God 11.4% Pentecostal 9.1% Seventh Day Adventist 8.4% Baptist 8.2% other Protestant .9%) Roman Catholic 9.5% Jehovah's Witnesses 2.2% Hindu 2% other 5.2% none 6.4% unspecified 2.7% (2001 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.01%
15-24 years: 14.14%
25-54 years: 49.64%
55-64 years: 10.97%
65 years and over: 8.24% (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 35.9 years
Male: 35.8 years
Female: 36 years

Population growth rate: 2.32% (2015 est.)
Rank: 33

Birth rate: 10.91 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 179

Death rate: 4.99 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 190

Net migration rate: 17.28 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 2

Urbanization
Urban population: 46.2% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.8% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: ROAD TOWN (capital) 13,000 (2014)

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
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 0.97 male/female
15-24 years: 0.91 male/female
25-54 years: 0.89 male/female
55-64 years: 0.96 male/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male/female
Total population: 0.92 male/female

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.98 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 14.79 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.09 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 116

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.46 years
Male: 77.12 years
Female: 79.87 years
Rank: 57

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 219

Drinking water source:

Sanitation facility access:

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

Education expenditures: 4.4% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 96

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 16 years

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
Abbreviation: BVI
Etymology: the myriad islets cays and rocks surrounding the major islands reminded explorer Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 of Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgin followers which over time shortened to the Virgins (las Virgenes)

Government type: NA

Capital
Name: Road Town
Geographic coordinates: 18 25 N 64 37 W
Time difference: UTC-4

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 (2015)

Legal system: English common law

Citizenship: see United Kingdom

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor John DUNCAN (since 15 August 2014)
Head of government: Premier Orlando SMITH
Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed premier by the governor

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral House of Assembly ; note - the Assembly includes the attorney general a non-voting ex officio member
Elections: last held on 8 June 2015
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDP 9 VIP 3 PEP 1

Judicial branch
Highest court: the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to include the British Virgin Islands; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is headed by the chief justice and is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 16 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the 9 member states; 3 High Court judges reside in member states; 3 High Court judges reside on the British Virgin Islands
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: National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH];; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Julian FRASER]

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

National symbols: zenaida dove white cedar flower; national colors: yellow green red white blue

National anthem
Note: as a territory of the United Kingdom 'God Save the Queen' is official

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: 214

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 171

Real gdp per capita: $42,300 (2010 est.)
Rank: 37

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 33.4%
Government consumption: 8.6%
Investment in fixed capital: 24.6%
Investment in inventories: 0%
Exports of goods and services: 107.1%
Imports of goods and services: -73.7%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.1%
Industry: 12%
Services: 86.9%

Agriculture products: fruits vegetables; livestock poultry; fish

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (2014 est.)
Rank: 107

Labor force: 12,770 (2004)
Rank: 216
By occupation agriculture: 0.6%
By occupation industry: 40%
By occupation services: 59.4%

Unemployment rate: 8.7% (2010 est.)
Rank: 100

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Revenues: $300 million
Expenditures: $300 million
Surplus or deficit: 0% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 42

Taxes and other revenues: 27.4% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 102

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 102

Current account balance:
Rank: 54

Exports:
Rank: 206
Commodities: rum fresh fish fruits animals; gravel sand

Imports:
Rank: 200
Commodities: building materials automobiles foodstuffs machinery

Debt external: $36.1 million (1997)
Rank: 197

Exchange rates: the US dollar is used

Electricity
Production: 55 million kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 205
Consumption: 51.15 million kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 205
Exports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 212
Imports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 215
Installed generating capacity: 44,000 kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 192
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 33
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 204
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 210
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 140

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 206
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 206
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 144
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 206

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 144
Products consumption: 800 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 205
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 143
Products imports: 772.6 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products imports rank: 202

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 144
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 207
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 205
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 76
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 204

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 160,100 Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 200

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 11,800
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 36
Fixed lines rank: 197
Mobile cellular total: 48,400
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 148
Mobile cellular rank: 202

Telephone system
General assessment: good overall telephone service
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 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
Users total: 4,000
Users percent of population: 16.8%
Users rank: 207

Airports: 4 (2013)
Rank: 185
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2

Roadways
Total: 200 km
Paved: 200 km
Rank: 209

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Road Harbor

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