World Atlas: British Virgin Islands. On this page you can see the map, country flag and many detailed information about the people, history and economy of British Virgin Islands.
Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of British Virgin Islands. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of British Virgin Islands. But let's start with the flag of British Virgin Islands here:
British Virgin Islands - Overview:
What you should know about British Virgin Islands? Let's start with this: 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 of British Virgin Islands
Where on the globe is British Virgin Islands? The location of this country is Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico. Total area of British Virgin Islands is 151 sq km, of which 151 sq km is land. So this is quite a small country. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly. The lowest point of British Virgin Islands is Caribbean Sea 0 m, the highest point Mount Sage 521 m. And the climate is subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds.
Inhabitants of British Virgin Islands
Let's take a look how many people live in British Virgin Islands. The number is: 35,015 (July 2017 est.). So not so many people live here. Who lives here? African/black 76.3%, Latino 5.5%, white 5.4%, mixed 5.3%, Indian 2.1%, East Indian 1.6%, other 3%, unspecified 0.8% (2010 est.). What are the languages in British Virgin Islands? English (official). And the religions: Protestant 70.2% (Methodist 17.6%, Church of God 10.4%, Anglican 9.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 9.0%, Pentecostal 8.2%, Baptist 7.4%, New Testament Church of God 6.9%, other Protestant 1.2%), Roman Catholic 8.9%, Jehovah's Witness 2.5%, Hindu 1.9%, other 6.2%, none 7.9%, unspecified 2.4% (2010 est.). How old are the people in average? 36.5 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 78.8 years. Where the people live in British Virgin Islands? Here: 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. The major urban areas of British Virgin Islands are: ROAD TOWN (capital) 13,000 (2014).
Government and Economy of British Virgin Islands
The capital of British Virgin Islands is Road Town and the government type parliamentary democracy (House of Assembly); self-governing overseas territory of the UK. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - none (overseas territory of the UK). Regarding the economy of British Virgin Islands, important industrial products are tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore banking cente. Important agricultural products are fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish. The most important export commodities are rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand and the most important export partners are unknown. The most important import commodities are building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery and the most important import partners are unknown. How rich is British Virgin Islands and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $42,300 (2010 est.). This means the people are rich on average here. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: NA%.