world
factbook
British Virgin Islands
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. On 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma devastated the island of Tortola. An estimated 80% of residential and business structures were destroyed or damaged, communications disrupted, and local roads rendered impassable.

geography

location

Central America and the Caribbean
18.30° N, 64. 30° W
Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

area

151 sq km
land
151 sq km
water
0 sq km

land boundaries

0 km

coastline

80 km

climate

subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

terrain

coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

elevation

lowest point
Caribbean Sea
0
highest point
Mount Sage
521

natural resources

  • NEGL
  • pleasant climate
  • beaches foster tourism

land use

arable land
6.7 %
permanent crops
6.7 %
permanent pasture
33.3 %
forest
24.3 %
other
29 %

population distribution

a fairly even distribution throughout the inhabited islands, with the largest islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke having the largest populations

people

population

  • 37,381
  • 215
    global rank

nationality

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

ethnic groups

African/black
76.3 %
Latino
5.5 %
white
5.4 %
mixed
5.3 %
Indian
2.1 %
East Indian
1.6 %
other
3 %
unspecified
0.8 %

languages

  • English
    official

religions

Protestant
70.2 %
Roman Catholic
8.9 %
Jehovah's Witness
2.5 %
Hindu
1.9 %
other
6.2 %
none
7.9 %
unspecified
2.4 %

birth rate

  • 11.1
    per 1,000 population
  • 177
    global rank

death rate

  • 5.4
    per 1,000 population
  • 184
    global rank

urban population

48.5 %

major urban areas

  • Road Town
    pop. 15,000

life expectancy

  • 79.2
    total population
  • 57
    global rank
77.7
male
80.8
female

government

government type

parliamentary democracy; self-governing overseas territory of the UK

capital

Road Town
18.25 N, 64.37 W

independence

national holidays

  • Territory Day
    1 July

legal system

English common law

age of suffrage

18

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 colors

  • yellow
  • green
  • red
  • white
  • blue

economy

overview

The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, which generates an estimated 45% of the national income. More than 934,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2008. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. 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.

GDP

500,000,000 USD
2017

agriculture products

  • fruits
  • vegetables
  • livestock
  • poultry
  • fish

budget

  • 400,000,000
    revenue (USD)
  • 400,000,000
    expenditures (USD)

communications

telephones

    fixed lines

  • 6,222
    total subscriptions
  • 202
    global rank

    mobile cellular

  • 39,954
    total subscriptions
  • 206
    global rank

broadcast media

1 private TV station; multi-channel TV is available from cable and satellite subscription services; about a half-dozen private radio stations

internet

.vg
country code

    users

  • 14,600
    total
  • 43.6
    % of population
  • 209
    global rank

energy

This entry doesn't have any available energy data.

transportation

air transport

    airports

  • 4
    total
  • 2
    paved

roadways

200 km
total length

military

This entry doesn't have any available military data.