Location: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico.
Area: total: 151 sq km, land: 151 sq km, water: 0 sq km, comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke.
Natural resources: NEGL; pleasant climate, beaches foster tourism.
Population: 35,015 (July 2017 est.).
Capital: Road Town 15,000 (2018).
Time Zone: UTC−4.
Language: English (official).
Government type: Parliamentary democracy (House of Assembly); self-governing overseas territory of the UK.
Legal system: English common law.
International organization participation: Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU.
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. 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. 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 BVI even more attractive to international business.
Currency: US dollar.