British Virgin Islands

§1. 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.

§2. British Virgin Islands 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: 153 km²
  land: 153 km²
  water: 0 km²
  note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands;
    includes the island of Anegada

Area - 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
  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

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

§3. British Virgin Islands People

Population:
  23,098 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
  15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340)
  65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 31.4 years
  male: 31.6 years
  female: 31.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.97% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  14.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  9.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.68 years
  male: 75.56 years
  female: 77.84 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.72 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  NA

Nationality:
  noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
  adjective: British Virgin Islander

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: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 97.8% (1991 est.)
  male: NA%
  female: NA%

§4. British Virgin Islands Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
  abbreviation: BVI

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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by
    Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
  head of government: Chief Minister Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003)
  cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the
    Legislative Council
  elections: none; 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 chief
    minister by the governor

Legislative branch:
  unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; 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 16 May 2003 (next to be held in 2007)
  election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8,
    VIP 5

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)

§5. British Virgin Islands 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, 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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $2.498 billion (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  NA

GDP - real growth rate:
  1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $38,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 1.8%
  industry: 6.2%
  services: 92% (1996 est.)

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%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  2.5% (2003)

Budget:
  revenues: $121.5 million
  expenditures: $115.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)

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:
  34.55 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  32.13 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
  410 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Exports:
  $25.3 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:
  rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

Exports - partners:
  Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004)

Imports:
  $187 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery

Imports - partners:
  Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004)

Debt - external:
  $36.1 million (1997)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $NA

Currency (code):
  US dollar (USD)

Exchange rates:
  the US dollar is used

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. British Virgin Islands Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  11,700 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  8,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: worldwide telephone service
  domestic: NA
  international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 (plus one cable company) (1997)

Internet country code:
  .vg

Internet hosts:
  480 (2005)

Internet users:
  4,000 (2002)

§7. British Virgin Islands Transportation

Airports:
  3 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 2
  914 to 1,523 m: 1
  under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

Roadways:
  total: 177 km
  paved: 177 km (2002)

Merchant marine:
  registered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Road Town

§8. British Virgin Islands Military

Military - note:
  defense is the responsibility of the UK

§9. British Virgin Islands 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


<Factbook 2006>
