Cruising in the British Virgin IslandsBackgroundFirst settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. GeographyLocation: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east of Puerto Rico Coastline80 km Maritime claimsTerritorial sea: 3 nm ClimateSubtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds TerrainCoral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly Elevation extremesLowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m EconomyThe economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore 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, made 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 US dollar as its currency since 1959. TransportationAirports: 3 (2005) Merchant marineRegistered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2005) Sailing Specifics: Ports and terminalsRoad Town Other Sailing Destinations in the RegionAnguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba - Bahamas - Barbados - British Virgin Islands - Cayman Islands - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Grenada - Guadeloupe - Haiti - Jamaica - St. Kitts and Nevis - St. Lucia - Martinique - Montserrat - Netherlands Antilles - Puerto Rico - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Virgin Islands (USA) Further Reading |
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