a look at the british virgin islands

Below is a summary of the British Virgin Islands for your reference to give you an understanding of the islands and inhabitants.

Map

Click on the thumbnail below to open a larger, detailed interactive map of the BVI from the BVI's official website.

Official currency:

U.S. Dollar (US$)

Location:

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

Geographic coordinates:

18 30 N, 64 30 W

Time zone:

GMT -4 (no adjustment for daylight savings time in the summer)

Climate:

subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Surface area (square km):

151 square kilometers over approx. 70 islands

Population:

24,491 (July 2009 est.)

Ethnic groups:

black 83.4%, white 7%, other 9.6% (includes Indian and mixed) (2004 Census)

Government:

Overseas territory of the U.K., internal self-governing

Economy:

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 700,000 companies were on the offshore registry by year-end 2009. Financial services, through offshore incorporations now generates more than 5% of the national income of the government. 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.

GDP per capital:

US$51,273 (2007 est. - http://data.un.org)

(source: CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise stated)