| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
abbreviation: BVI |
| Capital: |
Road Town |
| Location: |
Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
18 30 N, 64 30 W |
| 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 island of Anegada |
| Area
Comparative: |
about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
80 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Terrain: |
coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
NEGL |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Independence |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Territory Day, 1 July |
| Constitution: |
1 June 1977 |
| Legal
System; |
English law |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003)
cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council
elections: none; 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 chief minister by the governor |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
22,187 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 21.5% (male 2,402; female 2,361)
15-64 years: 73.5% (male 8,395; female 7,911)
65 years and over: 5% (male 594; female 524) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 30.9 years
male: 31.1 years
female: 30.7 years (2004 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Ethnic groups: |
black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
| 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%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
| Languages: |
English (official) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
8,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA
international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.vg |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
NA |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 177 km
paved: 177 km
unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Road Town |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT
by type: cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: Norway 1
registered in other countries: 32 (2004 est.) |
| Airports: |
3 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
