British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands Economy

Economy - overview
The 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, 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 - $320 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate
1% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 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
2.5% (2002)

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)

Agriculture - products
fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish

Industries
tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center

Industrial production growth rate
NA

Electricity - production
38.1 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption
35.43 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption
420 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports
NA (2001)

Oil - imports
NA (2001)

Exports
$25.3 million (2002)

Exports - commodities
rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

Exports - partners
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US

Imports
$187 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities
building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery

Imports - partners
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US

Debt - external
$36.1 million (1997)

Currency
US dollar (USD)

Currency code
USD

Exchange rates
the US dollar is used



- Info Provided by the CIA World Factbook -