|
British Virgin Islands: Economy
Economy - overview:
The economy, one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, which generates an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1997. 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. An estimated 250,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 1997. 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 - $287 million (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.8% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $15,000 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
1.8%
industry:
6.2%
services:
92% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.3% (1998)
Labor force:
4,911 (1980)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate:
3% (1995)
Budget:
revenues:
$121.5 million
expenditures:
$115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)
Industries:
tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Industrial production growth rate:
4% (1985)
Electricity - production:
42 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro:
0%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption:
39 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products:
fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Exports:
$6 million (1998)
Exports - commodities:
rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners:
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Imports:
$175 million (1998)
Imports - commodities:
building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners:
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Debt - external:
$36.1 million (1997)
Economic aid - recipient:
$2.6 million (1995)
Currency:
1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
US currency is used
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
Source: CIA World Factbook 2000
(In general, information available as of 1 January 2000 was used in the preparation of this edition.)
Related Information:
Geography |
People |
Government |
Economy |
Communications |
Transportation |
Military
| 
Section Home 
