CIA World Fact Book, 2004/British Virgin Islands


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!| 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.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada water: 0 sq km land: 153 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Mount Sage 521 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Geography - note:
 * Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
 * 18 30 N, 64 30 W
 * Central America and the Caribbean
 * total: 153 sq km
 * about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 80 km
 * territorial sea: 3 nm
 * subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
 * coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
 * lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
 * NEGL
 * arable land: 20%
 * NA sq km
 * hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
 * 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)
 * strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 73.5% (male 8,395; female 7,911) 65 years and over: 5% (male 594; female 524) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 31.1 years female: 30.7 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 75.24 years female: 77.36 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: British Virgin Islander !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA female: NA
 * 22,187 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 21.5% (male 2,402; female 2,361)
 * total: 30.9 years
 * 2.06% (2004 est.)
 * 14.96 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 76.27 years
 * 1.72 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
 * black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed
 * 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)
 * English (official)
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI !| Dependency status: !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: 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 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 !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: none
 * overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
 * NA
 * Road Town
 * none (overseas territory of the UK)
 * none (overseas territory of the UK)
 * Territory Day, 1 July
 * 1 June 1977
 * English law
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
 * unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four 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]
 * NA
 * Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU
 * none (overseas territory of the UK)
 * 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)
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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, is expected to make 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 dollar as its currency since 1959.
 * purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.)
 * 1% (2002 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.)
 * agriculture: 1.8%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 2.5% (2002)
 * 4,911 (1980)
 * agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
 * 3% (1995)
 * revenues: $121.5 million
 * fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
 * tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
 * NA
 * 38.1 million kWh (2001)
 * 35.43 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 420 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $25.3 million (2002)
 * rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
 * Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
 * $187 million (2002 est.)
 * building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
 * Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
 * $36.1 million (1997)
 * NA
 * US dollar (USD)
 * USD
 * the US dollar is used
 * 1 April - 31 March
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 11,700 (2002)
 * 8,000 (2002)
 * general assessment: worldwide telephone service
 * AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
 * 9,000 (1997)
 * 1 (plus one cable company) (1997)
 * 4,000 (1997)
 * .vg
 * 16 (2000)
 * NA
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!| Highways: paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: registered in other countries: 32 (2004 est.) by type: cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Norway 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 177 km
 * Road Town
 * total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT
 * 3 (2003 est.)
 * total: 2
 * total: 1
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!| Military - note:
 * defense is the responsibility of the UK
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