British Virgin Islands
parliamentary democracy (House of Assembly)Independence none (overseas territory of the UK)
British Virgin Islands as the 2018 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 132 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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
Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
18 fieldsLand use
- agricultural land:
- 46.7% (2011 est.)
- arable land:
- 6.7% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 6.7% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 33.3% (2011 est.)
- forest:
- 24.3% (2011 est.)
- other:
- 29% (2011 est.)
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
Environment - current issues
- limited natural freshwater resources except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola;
- most of the islands' water supply comes from desalination plants;
- sewage and mining/industry waste contribute to water pollution, threatening coral reefs
People and Society
25 fieldsPer 1,000 population
Male · female(2018 est.)
Ethnic groups(2010 est.)
Religions(2010 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 16.72% (male 2,949 /female 3,036)
- 15-24 years:
- 12.98% (male 2,223 /female 2,425)
- 25-54 years:
- 49.05% (male 8,230 /female 9,330)
- 55-64 years:
- 11.93% (male 2,073 /female 2,199)
- 65 years and over:
- 9.32% (male 1,611 /female 1,726) (2018 est.)
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
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
- 0-14 years:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
- 15-24 years:
- 0.92 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
- 25-54 years:
- 0.89 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
- 55-64 years:
- 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
- 65 years and over:
- 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
- total population:
- 0.92 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
- total:
- 14 years (2015)
- male:
- NA (2015)
- female:
- NA (2015)
Government
Parliamentary democracy (House of Assembly); Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Premier Orlando SMITH (since 9 November 2011)
21 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
House of Assembly, 13 seats, elected 8 June 2015one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- British Virgin Islands
- abbreviation:
- BVI
- etymology:
- the myriad islets, cays, and rocks surrounding the major islands reminded explorer Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 of Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgin followers (Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes), which over time shortened to the Virgins (las Virgenes)
Government type
parliamentary democracy (House of Assembly); self-governing overseas territory of the UK
Capital
- name:
- Road Town
- geographic coordinates:
- 18 25 N, 64 37 W
- time difference:
- UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Constitution
several previous; latest effective 15 June 2007 (The Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007) (2018)
Judicial branch
- highest courts:
- the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States;
- the ECSC - headquartered on St. Lucia - consists of the Court of Appeal - headed by the chief justice and 4 judges - and the High Court with 18 judges;
- the Court of Appeal is itinerant, travelling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts;
- High Court judges reside at the member states with 3 on the British Virgin Islands
- judge selection and term of office:
- Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court chief justice appointed by Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II;
- other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission;
- Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65;
- High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62
- subordinate courts:
- Magistrates' Courts
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Gus JASPERT (since 22 August 2017)
- head of government:
- Premier Orlando SMITH (since 9 November 2011)
- cabinet:
- Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly
- elections/appointments:
- the monarchy is hereditary;
- governor appointed by the monarch;
- following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed premier by the governor
Legislative branch
- description:
- unicameral House of Assembly (13 seats; 9 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies and 4 at-large seats by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms);
- note - the Assembly includes the attorney general, a non-voting ex officio member
- elections:
- last held on 8 June 2015 (next to be held in 2019)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - NDP 60.2%, VIP 30.2%, PEP 4%, other 5.6%; seats by party - NDP 11, VIP 2
Political parties and leaders
- National Democratic Party or NDP [Myron WALWYN]
- People's Empowerment Party or PEP [Alvin CHRISTOPHER]
- Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Julian FRASER]
International organization participation
Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU
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 symbol(s)
zenaida dove, white cedar flower; national colors: yellow, green, red, white, blue
National anthem
note: as a territory of the United Kingdom, "God Save the Queen" is official (see United Kingdom)
Economy
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.
27 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2017 est.)
By end use% of GDP · (2017 est.)
Budget(2017 est.)
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.
Energy
23 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 45,200 kW(2016 est.)
Communications
6 fieldsPer 100 inhabitants(2016–17 est.)
Telephone system
- general assessment:
- good overall telephone service;
- major expansion sectors include the mobile telephony and data segments, which continue to appeal to operator investment;
- several operators licensed to provide services within individual markets, most of them are small and localised (2017)
- domestic:
- fixed-line connections exceed 29 per 100 persons and mobile cellular subscribership is roughly 125 per 100 persons (2017)
- international:
- country code - 1-284;
- connected via submarine cable to Bermuda;
- the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean
Broadcast media
- 1 private TV station;
- multi-channel TV is available from cable and satellite subscription services;
- about a half-dozen private radio stations (2007)
Transportation
8 fieldsMerchant marine, 20 ships by typeone square, one ship · (2017)
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
National air transport system
number of registered air carriers: 1 (2015); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3 (2015)
Military and Security
1 fieldTransnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit drugs
transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “British Virgin Islands.” The World Factbook 2018. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/british-virgin-islands/2018.