The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, to the east of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and the

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a Territories of the United States, territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Isl ...

and north-west of

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

. The islands are geographically part of the

Virgin Islands archipelago The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean islands or West Indies. Geologically separate ...

and are located in the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

and part of the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Geography Located at about 18 degrees, 30 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area o ...

Anegada Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies about north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from ...

and Jost Van Dyke, along with more than 50 other smaller islands and

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Grea ...

s. About 16 of the islands are inhabited. The capital,

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital and largest town of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is d ...

, is on Tortola, the largest island, which is about long and wide. The islands had a population of 28,054 at the 2010 Census, of whom 23,491 lived on Tortola; current estimates put the population at 35,802 (July 2018). The economy of the territory is overwhelmingly dominated by tourism and financial services. In terms of financial services, the territory is known as a leading hub for tax evasion and concealment of assets. British Virgin Islanders are

British Overseas Territories citizen A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the populated British Overseas Territor ...

s and, since 2002, also

British citizens The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nort ...

Etymology

The islands were named "Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes" by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

in 1493 after the legend of

Saint Ursula Ursula (Latin for 'little she-bear') was a Romano-British virgin and martyr possibly of royal origin. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Her feast day in the pre-1970 G ...

and the 11,000 virgins. The name was later shortened to "the Virgin Islands". The official name of the territory is still simply the "Virgin Islands", but the prefix "British" is often used. This is commonly believed to distinguish it from the neighbouring American territory which changed its name from the "

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

" to "

Virgin Islands of the United States The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

" in 1917. However, local historians have disputed this, pointing to a variety of publications and public records dating from between 21 February 1857 and 12 September 1919 where the territory is referred to as the ''British'' Virgin Islands. British Virgin Islands government publications continue to begin with the name "The territory of the Virgin Islands", and the territory's passports simply refer to the "Virgin Islands", and all laws begin with the words "Virgin Islands". Moreover, the territory's Constitutional Commission has expressed the view that "every effort should be made" to encourage the use of the name "Virgin Islands". But various public and quasi-public bodies continue to use the name "British Virgin Islands" or "BVI", including BVI Finance, BVI Electricity Corporation, BVI Tourist Board, BVI Athletic Association,

BVI Bar Association The BVI Bar Association is a voluntary membership organisation for members of the legal profession in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The Association was founded on 8 May 1976. Of the eight founder members, half would go on to serve as presi ...

and others. In 1968 the British Government issued a memorandum requiring that the postage stamps in the territory should say "British Virgin Islands" (whereas previously they had simply stated "Virgin Islands"), a practice which is still followed today. This was likely to prevent confusion following on from the adoption of US currency in the territory in 1959, and the references to US currency on the stamps of the territory.

History

It is generally thought that the Virgin Islands were first settled by the

Arawak The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

from South America around 100 BC to AD 200, though there is some evidence of

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

presence on the islands as far back as 1500 BC. The Arawaks inhabited the islands until the 15th century when they were displaced by the

Kalinago The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language know ...

(Island Caribs), a tribe from the

islands. The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by the Spanish expedition of

in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas, who gave the islands their modern name. The

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

claimed the islands by discovery in the early 16th century, but never settled them, and subsequent years saw the English, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Danish all jostling for control of the region, which became a notorious haunt for

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. There is no record of any native Amerindian population in the British Virgin Islands during this period; it is thought that they either fled to safer islands or were killed. The Dutch established a

permanent settlement The Permanent Settlement, also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, was an agreement between the East India Company and landlords of Bengal to fix revenues to be raised from land that had far-reaching consequences for both agricultural m ...

on the island of

by 1648, frequently clashing with the Spanish who were based on nearby Puerto Rico. In 1672, the English captured Tortola from the Dutch, and the English annexation of

and

followed in 1680. Meanwhile, over the period 1672–1733, the Danish gained control of the nearby islands of Saint Thomas,

Saint John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...

and

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

(i.e. the modern US Virgin Islands). The British islands were considered principally a strategic possession. The British introduced

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

which was to become the main crop and source of foreign trade, and large numbers of

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

were forcibly brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations. The islands prospered economically until the middle of the nineteenth century, when a combination of the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

in the British Empire in 1834, a series of disastrous hurricanes, and the growth in the

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

crop in Europe and the United States significantly reduced sugar cane production and led to a period of economic decline. In 1917, the United States purchased the

Danish Virgin Islands The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

for US$25 million, renaming them the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

. Economic linkages with the US islands prompted the British Virgin Islands to adopt the US dollar as its currency in 1959. The British Virgin Islands were administered variously as part of the

British Leeward Islands The British Leeward Islands was a British colony from 1671 to 1958, consisting of the English overseas possessions, English (later British) overseas possessions in the Leeward Islands. It ceased to exist from 1816 to 1833, during which time it ...

or with

St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

, with an administrator representing the British Government on the islands. The islands gained separate colony status in 1960 and became autonomous in 1967 under the new post of Chief Minister. Since the 1960s, the islands have diversified away from their traditionally agriculture-based economy towards tourism and financial services, becoming one of the wealthiest areas in the Caribbean. The constitution of the islands was amended in 1977, 2004 and 2007, giving them greater local autonomy. In 2017

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Hurricane Maria, Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered ...

struck the islands, causing four deaths and immense damage.

Geography

The British Virgin Islands comprise around 60 tropical Caribbean islands, ranging in size from the largest, Tortola, being long and wide, to tiny uninhabited

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s, altogether about in extent. They are located in the

, a few miles east of the

, and about from the Puerto Rican mainland. About east south-east lies

. The

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

lies to the east of the islands, and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

lies to the west. Most of the islands are volcanic in origin and have a hilly, rugged terrain. The highest point is

Mount Sage Sage Mountain National Park is a protected area of the British Virgin Islands. It is named after the highest peak of the island of Tortola, Mount Sage. The Mount Sage volcanic peak rises to a height of , and is thus the highest point in all of the ...

on Tortola at 521m. Anegada is geologically distinct from the rest of the group, being a flat island composed of limestone and coral. The British Virgin Islands contain the

Leeward Islands moist forests The Leeward Islands moist forests ecoregion (WWF ID: NT0134) covers the forested areas of the Leeward Islands on the northeastern edge of the Caribbean Sea, stretching from the Virgin Islands in the west to Guadeloupe to the southeast. The forest ...

and Leeward Islands xeric scrub terrestrial ecoregions. In the British Virgin Islands

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with clos ...

is around 24% of the total land area, equivalent to 3,620 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 3,710 hectares (ha) in 1990.

Climate

The British Virgin Islands have a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

, moderated by

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

. Temperatures vary little throughout the year. In the capital,

, typical daily maxima are around in the summer and in the winter. Typical daily minima are around in the summer and in the winter. Rainfall averages about per year, higher in the hills and lower on the coast. Rainfall can be quite variable, but the wettest months on average are September to November and the driest months on average are February and March.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes occasionally hit the islands, with the

Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when Tropical cyclone, tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention ...

running from June to November.

Hurricane Irma

On 6 September 2017,

struck the islands, causing extensive damage, especially on Tortola, and killing four people. The

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is an inter-regional supportive network of independent emergency units throughout the Caribbean region. Formed on September 1, 2005, as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency ( ...

declared a state of emergency. Visiting Tortola on 13 September 2017, UK Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

said that he was reminded of photos of Hiroshima after it had been hit by the atom bomb. Post Hurricane Maria work starts on BVI MOD 45162994

By 8 September, the UK government sent troops with medical supplies and other aid. More troops were expected to arrive a day or two later, but , carrying more extensive assistance, was not expected to reach the islands for another two weeks. Entrepreneur

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

, a resident of Necker Island, called on the UK government to develop a massive disaster recovery plan to include "both through short-term aid and long-term infrastructure spending". Premier

Orlando Smith Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE (born 28 August 1944) is a British Virgin Islands politician and the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2011 to 2019 and from 2003 to 2007. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British V ...

also called for a comprehensive aid package to rebuild the territory. On 10 September UK Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

pledged £32 million to the Caribbean for a hurricane relief fund and promised that the UK government would match donations from the public to the British Red Cross appeal. Specifics were not provided to the news media as to the amount that would be allocated to the Virgin Islands. Boris Johnson's visit to Tortola on 13 September 2017 during his Caribbean tour was intended to confirm the UK's commitment to helping restore British islands but he provided no additional comments on the aid package. He did confirm that HMS ''Ocean'' had departed for the BVI carrying items like timber, buckets, bottled water, food, baby milk, bedding and clothing, as well as ten pick-up trucks, building materials and hardware. The UK offered to underwrite rebuilding loans up to US$400m as long as there was accountability as to how the monies were spent. Successive NDP and VIP governments declined, despite there having been created a Recovery & Development Authority led by highly skilled infrastructure personnel, many of whom were ex-military with decades of infrastructure rebuilding expertise from war zones and natural disaster sites. Many wealthy residents also proposed a large rebuilding plan, starting with key infrastructure, such as the high school. Nearly five years later, there was no sign of any such rebuilding of the high school or certain other key infrastructure.

Politics

The territory operates as a

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

. Ultimate executive authority in the British Virgin Islands is vested in the King, and is exercised on his behalf by the

Governor of the British Virgin Islands The governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The r ...

. The governor is appointed by the King on the advice of the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. Defence and most foreign affairs remain the responsibility of the United Kingdom. The most recent constitution was adopted in 2007 (the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007) and came into force when the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

was dissolved for the 2007 general election. The head of government under the constitution is the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

(before the new constitution the office was referred to as

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

), who is elected in a general election along with the other members of the ruling government as well as the members of the opposition.

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

are held roughly every four years. A

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

is nominated by the Premier and appointed and chaired by the Governor. The Legislature consists of the King (represented by the Governor) and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

made up of 13 elected members plus the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. The current Governor is

Daniel Pruce Daniel Pruce (born 1966) is a British career public servant and diplomat who is currently serving as Governor of the Virgin Islands. The oath of office was administered by Justice Angelica Teeluckingh. He was previously, from 2021 to 2022, the ...

(since 29 January 2024). The current Premier is

Natalio Wheatley Natalio Dixon Wheatley (born 2 June 1980) is a British Virgin Islands politician currently serving as Premier of the Virgin Islands, Premier of the British Virgin Islands. He is the grandson of former Chief Minister, Willard Wheatley. He has at t ...

(since 5 May 2022), who is leader of the

Virgin Islands Party The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a List of political parties in the British Virgin Islands, political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Natalio Wheatley. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin I ...

. On 8 June 2022, subordinate UK legislation was made allowing for direct rule for the islands. However, the

decided on that date not to implement direct rule.

Subdivisions

The British Virgin Islands is a unitary territory. The territory is divided into nine electoral districts, and each voter is registered in one of those districts. Eight of the nine districts are partly or wholly on Tortola, and encompass nearby neighbouring islands. Only the ninth district (Virgin Gorda and Anegada) does not include any part of Tortola. At elections, in addition to voting their local representative, voters also cast votes for four candidates who are elected upon an at-large territory-wide basis.

Law and criminal justice

Crime in the British Virgin Islands is comparatively low by Caribbean standards. While statistics and hard data are relatively rare, and are not regularly published by governmental sources in the British Virgin Islands, the then-Premier did announce that in 2013 there was a 14% decline in recorded crime compared to 2012. Homicides are rare, with just one incident recorded in 2013. The Virgin Islands Prison Service operates a single facility, His Majesty's Prison in East End, Tortola. The British and US Virgin Islands sit at the axis of a major drugs transshipment point between Latin America and the continental United States. The American

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

regards the adjacent US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area".

Military

As a British Overseas territory, defence of the islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

Economy

The twin pillars of the economy are financial services (60%) and tourism (roughly 40–45% of GDP). Economically however, financial services associated with the territory's status as an offshore financial centre are by far the more important. 51.8% of the Government's revenue comes directly from licence fees for offshore companies, and considerable further sums are raised directly or indirectly from payroll taxes relating to salaries paid within the trust industry sector (which tend to be higher on average than those paid in the tourism sector). According to Transparency International, the British Virgin Islands is one of the top incorporation hubs for anonymous companies used to conceal assets and stolen funds. The official currency of the British Virgin Islands has been the

United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

(US$) since 1959, the currency also used by the

. The British Virgin Islands enjoys one of the more prosperous economies of the Caribbean region, with a per capita average income of around $47,000 (2022 est.) Although it is common to hear criticism in the British Virgin Islands' press about

income inequality In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes ...

, no serious attempt has been made by economists to calculate a

Gini coefficient In economics, the Gini coefficient ( ), also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio, is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution, income inequality, the wealth distribution, wealth inequality, or the ...

or similar measure of income equality for the territory. A report from 2000 suggested that, despite the popular perception, income inequality was actually lower in the British Virgin Islands than in any other OECS state, although in global terms income equality is higher in the Caribbean than in many other regions.

Tourism

Tourism accounts for approximately 45% of national income. The islands are a popular destination for US citizens. Tourists frequent the numerous white sand beaches, visit The Baths on Virgin Gorda, snorkel the

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s near Anegada, or experience the well-known bars of Jost Van Dyke. The BVI are known as one of the world's greatest sailing destinations, and charter sailboats are a very popular way to visit less accessible islands. Established in 1972, the BVI hosts the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival. A substantial number of the tourists who visit the BVI are

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

passengers, and although they produce far lower revenue per head than charter boat tourists and hotel based tourists, they are nonetheless important to the substantial – and politically important – taxi driving community.

Financial services

Financial services account for over half of the income of the territory. The majority of this revenue is generated by the licensing of

offshore companies The term "offshore company" or "offshore corporation" is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, Corporate group, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshorin ...

and related services. The British Virgin Islands is a significant global player in the offshore financial services industry. Since 2001, financial services in the British Virgin Islands have been regulated by the independent Financial Services Commission. The BVI is relied upon for its sophisticated Commercial Court division of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, as well as the more recent BVI Arbitration Centre. Caribbean KCs and British KCs preside over the majority of important cases and the laws of the Virgin Islands are based on English laws, meaning the jurisdiction provides clarity and consistency should parties require commercial disputes to be resolved. Owing to the international nature of BVI companies' operations and asset holdings, the BVI Commercial Court routinely hears highly sophisticated matters at the cutting edge of cross-border litigation and enforcement, where billions of dollars are at issue.

Citco Citco, also known as the Citco Group of Companies and the Curaçao International Trust Co., is a privately owned global hedge fund administrator headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, founded in 1948.Halah Touryalai (April 6, 2011)"Protecti ...

, also known as the Citco Group of Companies and the Curaçao International Trust Co., is a privately owned global

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, founded in 1948.Halah Touryalai (6 April 2011)
"Protection Racket,"
''Forbes''. It is the world's largest hedge fund administrator, managing over $1 trillion in assets under administration. In May 2022, the banking sector of the British Virgin Islands comprised only seven commercial banks and one restricted bank, 12 authorised custodians, two licensed money services businesses and one licensed financing service provider. The British Virgin Islands is frequently referred to as a "

tax haven A tax haven is a term, often used pejoratively, to describe a place with very low tax rates for Domicile (law), non-domiciled investors, even if the official rates may be higher. In some older definitions, a tax haven also offers Bank secrecy, ...

" by campaigners and NGOs, including Oxfam. Successive governments in the British Virgin Islands have implemented tax exchange agreements and verified beneficial ownership information of companies following the 2013 G8 summit putting their governance and regulatory regimes far ahead of many "onshore" jurisdictions. On 10 September 2013, British Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

said "I do not think it is fair any longer to refer to any of the Overseas Territories or Crown Dependencies as tax havens. They have taken action to make sure that they have fair and open tax systems. It is very important that our focus should now shift to those territories and countries that really are tax havens." Yet journalist and author for The Economist, Nicholas Shaxson, writes in his 2016 ''Treasure Islands, tax havens and the men who stole the world'': "...Britain sits, spider-like, at the centre of a vast international web of tax havens, which hoover up trillions of dollars' worth of business and capital from around the globe and funnel it up to the City of London. The British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories – ...the British Virgin Islands... are some of the biggest players in the offshore world."(pp. vii-viii) Shaxson points out that despite BVI having fewer than 25000 inhabitants, hosts over 800,000 companies. In the April 2016

Panama Papers The Panama Papers () are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) published beginning April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. These document ...

leak, while all of the wrongdoing by Mossack Fonseca personnel occurred in Panama and the US, the British Virgin Islands was by far the most commonly-used jurisdiction by clients of

Mossack Fonseca Mossack Fonseca & Co. () was a Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider.sanctions against Russia and Belarus, enabling the efficient identification and seizure of yachts, real estate and businesses.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

On 30 June 2014, The British Virgin Islands was deemed to have an Inter- Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States of America with respect to the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act" of the United States of America. The Model 1 Agreement (14 Pages) recognises that: ''The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland provided a copy of the Letter of Entrustment which was sent to the Government of the British Virgin Islands, to the Government of the United States of America "via diplomatic note of 28 May 2014".'' The Letter of Entrustment dated 14 July 2010 was originally provided to the Government of the British Virgin Islands and authorised the Government of the BVI "to negotiate and conclude Agreements relating to taxation that provide for exchange of information on tax matters to the OECD standard" (Paragraph 2 of the FATCA Agreement). Via an "Entrustment Letter" dated 24 March 2014, The Government of the United Kingdom, authorised the Government of the BVI to sign an agreement on information exchange to facilitate the Implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. On 27 March 2017, the US Treasury site disclosed that the Model 1 agreement and related agreement were "In Force" on 13 July 2015.

Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act

Under the UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2018, beneficial ownership of companies in British overseas territories such as the British Virgin Islands must be publicly registered for disclosure by 31 December 2020. The Government of the British Virgin Islands has not yet formally challenged this law, yet has criticised it, noting that it violates the Constitutional sovereignty granted to the islands, and would in practice be relatively ineffective in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, while raising serious privacy and human rights issues. Further, this would put the British Virgin Islands in a position where it would be at a severe disadvantage because other International Finance Centres do not have this in place, and in the case of the US and the UK, there is very little near-term prospect of the same. In late 2022, both of the US and EU appeared to have endorsed the British Overseas Territories' beneficial ownership register regimes. In a judgement dated 22 November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has at last decided that open public access to the beneficial owner registers of EU member state companies is no longer valid, as it is in contravention of articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter). The US appears to have come to a similar conclusion regarding balancing confidentiality and legitimate privacy with the Anti-Money Laundering advantages of having verified beneficial ownerships registers. The resultant goal appears to be to bring the US in line with the current Cayman and BVI regimes. The UK's Crown Dependencies have already stated that they will not implement public registers without beforehand having received fresh legal advice on the matter and it is thought that the Overseas Territories would logically take a similar position. The UK is yet to come out in support of the BOTs and CDs and their current gold standard regulatory positions.

Agriculture and industry

Agriculture and industry account for only a small proportion of the islands' GDP. Agricultural produce includes fruit, vegetables, sugar cane, livestock and poultry, and industries include rum distillation, construction and boat building. Commercial fishing is also practised in the islands' waters.

Workforce

The British Virgin Islands is heavily dependent on migrant workers, and over 50% of all workers on the islands are of a foreign descent. Only 37% of the entire population were born in the territory. The national labour-force is estimated at 12,770, of whom approximately 59.4% work in the service sector but less than 0.6% are estimated to work in agriculture (the balance working in industry). The British Virgin Islands has met challenges in recruiting sufficient numbers in recent years, having been affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria, and having continued to lag behind other jurisdictions in providing a reliable permanent residence regime. This has had a knock-on effect in limiting schooling and amenities when compared to IFCs like Cayman, UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

CARICOM status and the CARICOM Single Market Economy

As of 2 July 1991, the British Virgin Islands holds Associate Member status in CARICOM, the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). In recognition of the CARICOM (Free Movement) Skilled Persons Act which came into effect in July 1997 in some of the CARICOM countries such as Jamaica and which has been adopted in other CARICOM countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, it is possible that CARICOM nationals who hold the "A Certificate of Recognition of Caribbean Community Skilled Person" may be allowed to work in the BVI under normal working conditions.

Transport

There are of roads. The main airport,

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport , previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territories, British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the ...

, also known as Beef Island Airport, is located on Beef Island, which lies off the eastern tip of Tortola and is accessible by the

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...

Cape Air Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean and Eastern Montana. ...

, and

Air Sunshine Air Sunshine was an airline based in the United States and in Puerto Rico. It operated scheduled service to and from San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Dominica, Sint Maarten, Nevis, St. Kitts, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in ...

are among the airlines offering scheduled service.

and

have their own smaller airports. Private air charter services operated by Island Birds Air Charter fly directly to all three islands from any major airport in the Caribbean. Helicopters are used to get to islands with no runway facilities; Antilles Helicopter Services is the only helicopter service based in the country. The main harbour is in

. There are also ferries that operate within the British Virgin Islands and to the neighbouring United States Virgin Islands. Cars in the British Virgin Islands

drive on the left Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes called the ' ...

just as they do in the United Kingdom and the United States Virgin Islands. However, most cars are

left hand drive Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes called the ' ...

, because they are from the United States. The roads are often quite steep, narrow and winding, and ruts, mudslides and rockfall can be a problem when it rains.

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, the population of the territory was 28,054. Estimates put the population at 35,800 (July 2018) yet in 2022, it is thought to be much less than 30,000 post-Irma and with people having left during COVID lockdowns due to unemployment in the tourism industry. The majority of the population (76.9%) are

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

, descended from slaves brought to the islands by the British. Other large ethnic groups include

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

(5.6%), those of

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

ancestry (5.4%), Mixed ancestry (5.4%) and Indian (2.1%). The 2010 Census reports: *76.9% African *5.6%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

*5.4% European/Caucasian *5.4% Mixed *2.1% East Indian *4.6% Others* The 2010 Census reports the main places of origin of residents as follows: *39.1% local born (though many locals go to St. Thomas or the United States for maternity services) *7.2% Guyana *7.0% St. Vincent and the Grenadines *6.0% Jamaica *5.5% United States *5.4% Dominican Republic *5.3% United States Virgin Islands The islands are heavily dependent upon migrant labour. In 2004, migrant workers accounted for 50% of the total population. 32% of workers employed in the British Virgin Islands work for the government. In the late 2000s the first

Overseas Filipino Worker Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

came to the British Virgin Islands, by 2020 total British Filipino population was about 800. Unusually, the territory has one of the highest drowning mortality rates in the world, being higher than other high-risk countries such as China and India. 20% of deaths in the British Virgin Islands during 2012 were recorded as drownings,The BVI Beacon, Thursday, 15 August 2013 article entitled "Report: Passports up, marriages down last year". all of them being tourists. Despite this, the territory's most popular beach still has no lifeguard presence.

Religion

Over 90% of the population who indicated a religious affiliation at the 2010 Census were ChristianThe BVI Beacon "Portrait of a population: 2010 Census published" pg. 6, 20 November 2014 with the largest individual Christian denominations being

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

(17.6%),

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

(9.5%), Church of God (10.4%), Seventh-Day Adventists (9.0%) and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(8.9%). The largest non-Christian faiths in 2010 were Hinduism (1.9%) and Islam (0.9%). However

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s constitute each approximately 1.2% of the population according to Word Religion Database 2005. The

Constitution of the British Virgin Islands The Constitution of the British Virgin Islands is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The 2007 Constitution was the fourth w ...

commences with a professed national belief in

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Education

The British Virgin Islands operates several government schools as well as private schools. There is also a community college,

H. Lavity Stoutt Community College The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (often referred to locally as HLSCC) is a community college in the British Virgin Islands. At present there are only two tertiary institutions in the territory: The University of the West Indies, and H. La ...

, that is located on the eastern end of Tortola. This college was named after

Lavity Stoutt Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (7 March 1929 – 14 May 1995) was a British Virgin Islander politician and the first and longest serving Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands. He won five general elections (1967, 1979, 1986, 1990 and 1995) ...

, the first Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands. There remains segregation in the school system; while BVIslander and

Belonger Belonger status is a legal classification normally associated with British Overseas Territories. It refers to people who have close ties to a specific territory, normally by birth or ancestry. The requirements for belonger status, and the right ...

children make up a significant proportion of pupils in private schools, Non-Belongers are prohibited from attending government schools. It is extremely common for students from the British Virgin Islands to travel overseas for secondary and tertiary education, either to the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, or to colleges and universities in either the United Kingdom, United States or Canada. Coaching in certain sports, such as athletics, squash and football is of a high level. The literacy rate in the British Virgin Islands is high at 98%. There is a

Open campus in the territory and a Marine Science educational facility.

Culture

Language

The primary language is English, although there is a

local dialect Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. Spanish is spoken by Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Hispanic immigrants.

Music

The traditional music of the British Virgin Islands is called ''fungi'' after the local

cornmeal Maize meal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize. It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Editi ...

dish with the same name, often made with

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

. The special sound of fungi is due to a unique local fusion between African and European music. The fungi bands, also called "scratch bands", use instruments ranging from

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvest ...

, washboard,

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

and

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

, to more traditional western instruments like keyboard, banjo, guitar, bass, triangle and saxophone. Apart from being a form of festive dance music, fungi often contains humorous social commentaries, as well as BVI oral history.

Sport

Because of its location and climate, the British Virgin Islands has long been a haven for sailing enthusiasts. Sailing is regarded as one of the foremost sports in all of the BVI. Calm waters and steady breezes provide some of the best sailing conditions in the Caribbean. Many sailing events are held in the waters of this country, the largest of which is a week-long series of races called the Spring Regatta, the premier sailing event of the Caribbean, with several races hosted each day. Boats include everything from full-size mono-hull yachts to dinghies. Captains and their crews come from all around the world to attend these races. The Spring Regatta is part race, part party, part festival. The Spring Regatta is normally held during the first week of April. Since 2009, the BVI have made a name for themselves as a host of international basketball events. The BVI hosted three of the last four events of the

Caribbean Basketball Championship The CBC Championship or CaribeBasket is a FIBA-sponsored international basketball tournament where national teams from the Caribbean participate. These countries are members of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC). The top three or four t ...

(''FIBA CBC Championship'').

References

External links

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. ; Wikimedia content * {{Coord, 18, 26, 42, N, 64, 32, 24, W, display=title Dependent territories in the Caribbean .British Virgin Virgin Islands British Leeward Islands British West Indies English-speaking countries and territories Former Dutch colonies Member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Small Island Developing States States and territories established in 1672 1672 establishments in the British Empire 1672 establishments in North America 1670s establishments in the Caribbean