g the 17th century, the archipelago was divided
into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish.
Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy
during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased
the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the
abolition of slavery in 1848.

Virgin Islands Geography

Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 18 20 N, 64 50 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 352 sq km

land: 349 sq km

water: 3 sq km

Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 188 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively
low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season
May to November

Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level
land

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m

Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

Land use: arable land: 15%

permanent crops: 6%

permanent pastures: 26%

forests and woodland: 6%

other: 47% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and
severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes

Environment - current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources

Geography - note: important location along the Anegada Passage - a
key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the
best natural, deepwater harbors in the Caribbean

Virgin Islands People

Population: 122,211 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.27% (male 17,121; female 16,204)

15-64 years: 63.92% (male 35,391; female 42,727)

65 years and over: 8.81% (male 4,638; female 6,130) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.06% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 15.9 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 5.47 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.83 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.43 deaths/1,000 live bi