the exclusive US military
lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest island in
the chain;

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

======================================================================

@British Virgin Islands

Introduction British Virgin Islands

Background:
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.

Geography British Virgin Islands

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

Geographic coordinates:
18 30 N, 64 30 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

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

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources:
NEGL

Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67%
other: 73.33% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

Environment - current 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)

Geography - note:
strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

People British Virgin Islands

Population:
23,098 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340)
65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 31.4 years
male: 31.6 years
female: 31.2 years (2006 est.)