Capital:  Road Town

Population:  24,491 (July 2009 est.)

Currency:  US Dollar        

Language:  English (official)

Time zone:   GMT-4

Government:  Overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing

Chief of State:  Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)

          Represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)         

• GDP real growth rate :  1% (2002 est.)

• Exports:  $25.3 million (2002)

• Imports:  $187 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

• Dialing Country code: +1-284

• Voltage:  110V

Detailed country profile

ECONOMY

GDP real growth rate: 1% (2002 est.)

GDP-Composition by sector(1996)

• Agriculture: 1.8%
• Industry: 6.2%
• Services: 92%

Labor force by occupation(2005):

• Agriculture: 0.6%
• Industry: 40%
• Services: 59.4%

Agriculture products:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Livestock
• Poultry
• Fish

Industries:

• Tourism
• Light industry
• Construction
• Rum
• Concrete block
• Offshore financial center

Exports: $25.3 million (2002)

Export Commodities

• Rum
• Fresh fish
• Fruits
• Animals
• Gravel
• Sand

Imports:$187 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Import commodities:

• Building materials
• Automobiles
• Foodstuffs
• Machinery

Ports and Terminal:Road Town

Unemployment rate:3.6% (1997)

GOVERNMENT

Government Type:

Overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing

Executive Branch:

Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
Head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007)
Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly
Elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor

Legal system: English law

GEOGRAPHY

Climate:

• Subtropical
• Humid
• Temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain:Coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

Elevation Extremes:

• Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
• Highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources:NEGL

Environment and current issues:

Limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)

PEOPLE

Ethnic groups(2004 census):

• Black 83.4%
• White 7%
• Other 9.6% (includes Indian and mixed)

Languages:English (official)

Religion(1991 census):

• 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%

HISTORY

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.

Source: The world factbook www.cia.gov

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