Useful facts and figures about the British Virgin Islands.

Economy
The BVI has one of the most stable and prosperous economies in the Caribbean. It 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.

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 offences, made the BVI more attractive to international business.

Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; however, poor soils limit the islands’ ability to meet domestic food requirements. The BVI has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959.

Dependency status: overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Location: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Area: 151 sq km in total
Transport – airports: 4 in 2010; 2 with paved runways
Ports and terminals: Road Town
Currency: US dollar
GDP (purchasing power parity): $38,500 (2004 est)
Language: English (official)
Population: 24,939 (2010 est)
Population growth: 1.784% (2010 est)
Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write): 97.8% of the total population (1991 est)
Net migration rate: 7.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est)
Nationality: noun: British Virgin Islander(s); adjective: British Virgin Islander
Land use: arable land: 20%; permanent crops: 6.67%; other: 73.33% (2005 est)
Natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Ethnic groups: black 82%; white 6.8%; other 11.2% (includes Indian and mixed) (2008 est)
Religions: 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%; other 2%; none 2% (1991 est)
Telephone system (general assessment): domestic fixed-line connections exceed 80 per 100 persons, and mobile subscribers are approaching 100 per 100 persons; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2008)
International: country code: 1-284
Broadcast media: one private TV station; multi-channel TV is available from cable and satellite subscription services; about a half dozen private radio stations operating (2007 est)
Internet country code: .vg