Chief
of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952), represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18
April 2006)
Head of Government: Chief Minister
Dr. Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003)
Government Type: NA |
Population:
23,098 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: English (official)
Religion: 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)
Life Expectancy: 76.68 |
Currency:
US dollar
GDP(per capita): $38,500 (2004
est.)
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.
Exports: rum, fresh fish, fruits,
animals; gravel, sand
Import: building materials,
automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
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Location:
Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Area: total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited
islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin
Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
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.
Independence Day: none (overseas
territory of the UK)
Capital City: Road Town
Administrative divisions: none
(overseas territory of the UK) |
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