Economy Of British Virgin Islands

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.)
Investment gross fixed
Population below poverty line	NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Distribution of family income - Gini index
Inflation rate consumer prices	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)
Public debt
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 production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
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)
Oil proved reserves
Natural gas production
Natural gas consumption
Natural gas exports
Natural gas imports
Natural gas proved reserves
Current account balance
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
Reserves of foreign exchange gold
Debt external	$36.1 million (1997)
Economic aid recipient	NA
Currency	US dollar (USD)
Currency code	USD
Exchange rates	the US dollar is used
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March

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This information was reproduced in part from the CIA World Fact book.

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