British Virgin Islands Economy

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 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. 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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):$853.4 million (2004 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):$839.7 million (2003)

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

GDP - per capita (PPP):$38,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.)

Labor force:12,770 (2004)

Labor force - by occupation:agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005)

Unemployment rate:3.6% (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):2% (2005)

Budget:revenues: $204.7 million expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)

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

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