ry with Cambodia are in dispute; sections of land
border with China are indefinite

Illicit drugs: minor producer of opium poppy with 3,000 hectares
cultivated in 1998, capable of producing 20 metric tons of opium;
probably minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for
the US and Europe; growing opium/heroin addiction; possible
small-scale heroin production

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

@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

Environment--international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

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

People

Population: 119,827 (July 1999 est.)
note: 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%

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 17,454; female 16,585)
15-64 years: 63% (male 34,712; female 41,325)
65 years and over: 9% (male 4,237; female 5,514) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.19% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 17.08 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death