Careers, Jobs and Education Resources for: British Virgin Islands

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. (from the CIA)
 
 
 

Economic Overview

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. an estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the us, visited the islands in 2005. 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 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. 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.

Environmental 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)

Government Type

Na

Population

24,041 (july 2008 est.)

Location

Caribbean, between the caribbean sea and the north atlantic ocean, east of puerto rico

Area

Total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of tortola, anegada, virgin gorda, jost van dyke

About 0.9 times the size of washington, dc

Country Aliases

Conventional long form: none conventional short form: british virgin islands abbreviation: bvi

Capital

Name: road town geographic coordinates: 18 27 n, 64 37 w time difference: utc-4 (1 hour ahead of washington, dc during standard time)

International Disputes

None

Sources: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)