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.

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

about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

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

strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

black 82%, white 6.8%, other 11.2% (includes Indian and mixed) (2008)

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)

31,148 (July 2012 est.)

10.69 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

4.82 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

18.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

ROAD TOWN (capital) 9,000 (2009)

1.22 children born/woman (2012 est.)

overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing

none (overseas territory of the UK)

Territory Day, 1 July (1956)

18 years of age; universal

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)

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

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]

The Family Support Network; The Women's Desk

Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU

none (overseas territory of the UK)

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

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.

$853.4 million (2004 est.)

$1.095 billion (2008)

27.4% of GDP (2011 est.)

0% of GDP (2011 est.)

fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish

tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center

$362.6 million (2010 est.)

$279.8 million (2010 est.)

$20.1 million (2010 est.)

$33.6 million (2009 est.)

rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

$296.1 million (2010 est.)

$217.6 million (2009 est.) (2002 est.)

building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery

$36.1 million (1997)

the US dollar is used

50 million kWh (2009 est.)

46.5 million kWh (2009 est.)

10,000 kW (2009 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

783 bbl/day (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

147,800 Mt (2010 est.)

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

defense is the responsibility of the UK

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