,
DC

_#_Land boundaries: none

_#_Coastline: 188 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly tradewinds, relatively
low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to
November

_#_Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level
land

_#_Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

_#_Land use: arable land 15%; permanent crops 6%; meadows and pastures
26%; forest and woodland 6%; other 47%

_#_Environment: rarely affected by hurricanes; subject to frequent
severe droughts, floods, earthquakes; lack of natural freshwater
resources

_#_Note: important location 1,770 km southeast of Miami and 65 km east
of Puerto Rico, 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

_*_People
_#_Population: 99,404 (July 1991), growth rate 0.7% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 19 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 76 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Virgin Islander(s); adjective--Virgin Islander

_#_Ethnic divisions: West Indian (45% born in the Virgin Islands and
29% born elsewhere in the West Indies) 74%, US mainland 13%, Puerto
Rican 5%, other 8%; black 80%, white 15%, other 5%; Hispanic origin 14%

_#_Religion: Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%,
other 7%

_#_Language: English (official), but Spanish and Creole are widely
spoken

_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)

_#_Labor force: 45,500 (1988)

_#_Organized labor: 90% of the government labor force

_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Virgin Islands of the United States

_#_Type: organized, unincorporated territory of the US administered by
the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of the
Interior

_#_Capital: Charlotte Amalie

_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

_#_Independence: none (territory of the US)

_#_Constitution: Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 serves as the
constit