ore
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,
is expected to make 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
dollar as its currency since 1959.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.498 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $38,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2%
services: 92% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
12,770 (2004)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate:
3% (1995)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.5% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(1997)

Agriculture - products:
fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish

Industries:
tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block,
offshore financial center

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
36.28 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
33.74 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
420 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Exports:
$25.3 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:
rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

Exports - partners:
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US

Imports:
$187 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery

Imports - partners:
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US

Debt - external:
$36.1 million (1997)

Economic aid - recipient:
NA

Currency (code):
US dollar (USD)

Cur