How big are the British Virgin Islands?
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands comprise around 60 tropical Caribbean islands, ranging in size from the largest, Tortola, being long and wide, to tiny uninhabited islets, altogether about in extent. They are located in the Virgin Islands archipelago, a few miles east of the US Virgin Islands, and about from the Puerto Rican mainland. About east south-east lies Anguilla. The North Atlantic Ocean lies to the east of the islands, and the Caribbean Sea lies to the west. Most of the islands are volcanic in origin and have a hilly, rugged terrain. Anegada is geologically distinct from the rest of the group and is a flat island composed of limestone and coral.
Outline of the British Virgin Islands
Administrative divisions of the British Virgin Islands
Henley Cay
Henley Cay, previously known as Women's Cay, is an 11-acre tropical islet in the United States Virgin Islands. The cay is 300 yards in diameter and the largest and southernmost of the Durloe Cays in the Virgin Islands National Park. Henley Cay is situated 2,200 feet northwest of Turtle Bay on the island of Saint John, separated from the island by the Durloe Channel. The cay is 70 feet high and has a pier on its southern side, although it is uninhabited. The only person said to be born here is Elsa Andersen, the wife of Rudy De Windt. The island is known as a snorkeling and kayaking destination, but is also visited for its white sandy beaches. Arawak Expeditions is one of several companies that offer guided kayak tours from Cruz Bay and Caneel Bay to Henley- and Lovango Cays.
British Virgin Islands at the 2011 Pan American Games
The British Virgin Islands competed at the 2011 Pan American Games iheld n Guadalajara, Mexico from October 14 to 30, 2011. The British Virgin Islands has qualified just three athletes, the smallest of the forty-two nations competing.
British Virgin Islands
Unusually, the territory has one of the highest drowning mortality rates in the world being higher than other high risk countries such as China and India. 20% of deaths in the British Virgin Islands during 2012 were recorded as drownings, all of them being tourists. Despite this, the territory's most popular beach still has no lifeguard presence.
British Virgin Islands company law
British Virgin Islands company law is primarily codified in the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004, and to a lesser extent by the Insolvency Act, 2003 and the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010. The British Virgin Islands has approximately 30 registered companies per head of population, which is probably the highest ratio of any country in the world. Annual company registration fees provide a significant part of Government revenue in the British Virgin Islands, which accounts for the comparative lack of other taxation. Accordingly, company law forms a much more prominent part of the law of the British Virgin Islands than might otherwise be expected.
Economy of the British Virgin Islands
According to official statistics 447,801 BVI companies were 'active' (i.e. incorporated and not yet struck-off, liquidated or dissolved) as at 30 June 2012. There are no recent official statistics on total numbers of incorporations (including struck, liquidated and dissolved companies) but these are estimated at approximately 950,000. Many of these companies were originally formed under the International Business Companies Act, 1984, but have now been consolidated into the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004. In 2000, KPMG were commissioned by the British Government to produce a report on the offshore financial industry generally, and the report indicated that nearly 45% of the offshore companies in the world were formed in the British Virgin Islands. The British Virgin Islands is now one of the world's leading offshore financial centres, and boasts one of the highest incomes per capita in the Caribbean.
Virgin Islands Party
The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by former Minister Andrew Fahie. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands, and it has won more general elections (six) than any other political party in the British Virgin Islands.
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic off the north-western coast of continental Europe that consist of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and over six thousand smaller isles. They have a total area of about 315,159 km and a combined population of just under 70 million, and include two sovereign states, the Republic of Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of Ireland) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The islands of Alderney, Jersey, Guernsey and Sark, and their neighbouring smaller islands, are sometimes also taken to be part of the British Isles, even though, as islands off the coast of France, they do not form part of the archipelago.
Manushi Chhillar
After this, Chhillar along with the Miss World team landed in the British Virgin Islands. They met the governor of British Virgin Islands and worked to raise funds for the beauty with the purpose project of Miss British Virgin Islands 2017, Helina Hewlet. They were physically involved in the cleaning campaign of Eslyn Henley Richiez School, the only school for differently abled children in British Virgin Islands territory which was destroyed by Hurricane Maria and raised money for its restoration.
Tortola
Although the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are under the British flag, it uses the US dollar as its official currency due to its proximity to and frequent trade with the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The island is home to many offshore companies that do business worldwide. Financial services are a major part of the country's economy.
United States Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, about east of Puerto Rico and immediately west of the British Virgin Islands. They share the Virgin Islands Archipelago with the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands of Vieques and Culebra (administered by Puerto Rico), and the British Virgin Islands.
History of the British Virgin Islands
In 2000, KPMG were commissioned by the British Government to produce a report on the offshore financial industry generally, and the report indicated that nearly 41% of the offshore companies in the world were formed in the British Virgin Islands. The British Virgin Islands is now one of the world's leading offshore financial centres, and boasts one of the highest incomes per capita in the Caribbean.
British West Indies
The British West Indies, sometimes abbreviated to the BWI, is a collective term for the British territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands. Before the decolonization period in the later 1950's and 1960's it included all British colonies in the region, together with two mainland colonies, as part of the British Empire.
British Virgin Islands
The official name of the territory is still simply the "Virgin Islands", but the prefix "British" is often used. This is commonly believed to distinguish it from the neighbouring American territory which changed its name from the "Danish West Indies" to "Virgin Islands of the United States" in 1917. However, local historians have disputed this, pointing to a variety of publications and public records dating from between 21 February 1857 and 12 September 1919 where the Territory is referred to as the "British" Virgin Islands. British Virgin Islands government publications continue to begin with the name "The territory of the Virgin Islands", and the territory's passports simply refer to the "Virgin Islands", and all laws begin with the words "Virgin Islands". Moreover, the territory's Constitutional Commission has expressed the view that "every effort should be made" to encourage the use of the name "Virgin Islands". But various public and quasi-public bodies continue to use the name "British Virgin Islands" or "BVI", including BVI Finance, BVI Electricity Corporation, BVI Tourist Board, BVI Athletic Association, BVI Bar Association and others.
Politics of the British Virgin Islands
The two main political parties in the British Virgin Islands at present at the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) and the National Democratic Party (NDP). The only parties other than the VIP and the NDP which has ever won power at a general election in the British Virgin Islands is the now defunct United Party, which won the 1967, 1975 and 1983 general elections, and the now defunct VI Democratic Party, which won the 1971 general election as part of a coalition government.
British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee
The British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (IOC code: IVB) is the National Olympic Committee representing the British Virgin Islands. It is also the body responsible for the British Virgin Islands's representation at the Commonwealth Games.
British Isles
There are two sovereign states in the isles: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ireland, sometimes called "the Republic of Ireland", governs five sixths of the island of Ireland, with the remainder of the island forming Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, usually shortened to simply "the United Kingdom", which governs the remainder of the archipelago with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The Isle of Man and the two states of the Channel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey, are known as the Crown dependencies. They exercise constitutional rights of self-government and judicial independence; responsibility for international representation rests largely upon the UK (in consultation with the respective governments); and responsibility for defence is reserved by the UK. The United Kingdom is made up of four constituent parts: England, Scotland and Wales, forming Great Britain, and Northern Ireland in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Of these, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have "devolved" governments, meaning that each has its own parliament or assembly and is self-governing with respect to certain areas set down by law. For judicial purposes, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England and Wales (the latter being one entity) form separate legal jurisdiction, with there being no single law for the UK as a whole.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of , the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
Taxation in the British Virgin Islands
Taxation in the British Virgin Islands is relatively simple by comparative standards; photocopies of all of the tax laws of the British Virgin Islands would together amount to about 200 pages of paper. Taxation in the British Virgin Islands is mostly notable for what is "not" subject to taxation. The British Virgin Islands has:
Geography of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately , the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands. The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61°N), and longitudes 8°W to 2°E. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, in South East London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
Geography of the British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an archipelago of 55 islands in the Indian Ocean South of India, it is situated approximately halfway between Africa and Indonesia. The islands form a semicircular group with an open sea towards the east. The largest, Diego Garcia, is located at the southern extreme end. It measures and accounts for almost three-quarters of the total land area of the territory. Diego Garcia is the only inhabited island and is home to the joint UK-US naval support facility. Other islands within the archipelago include Danger Island, Three Brothers Islands, Nelson Island, and Peros Banhos, as well as the island groups of the Egmont Islands, Eagle Islands, and the Salomon Islands.
Geography of the British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands have tropical rainforest climate, moderated by trade winds. Temperatures vary little throughout the year. In the capital, Road Town, typical daily maxima are around in the summer and in the winter. Typical daily minima are around in the summer and in the winter. Rainfall averages about per year, higher in the hills and lower on the coast. Rainfall can be quite variable, but the wettest months on average are September to November and the driest months on average are February and March. Hurricanes occasionally hit the islands, with the hurricane season running from June to November.
Virgin Islands
In the 1990s, a Puerto Rican tourism campaign renamed the Passage Islands as the Spanish Virgin Islands, though they are seldom identified as such on maps and atlases. They are part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, located east of the main island of Puerto Rico. They are closer to St. Thomas than St. Thomas is to St. Croix.
British Virgin Islands
Entrepreneur Richard Branson, a resident of Necker Island (British Virgin Islands), called on the UK government to develop a massive disaster recovery plan for British islands that were damaged. That should include "both through short-term aid and long-term infrastructure spending", he said. Premier Orlando Smith also called for a comprehensive aid package to rebuild the BVI. On 10 September, PM Theresa May pledged £32 million to the Caribbean for a Hurricane relief fund; the UK government would also match donations made by the public via the British Red Cross appeal. Specifics were not provided to the news media as to the amount that would be allocated to the Virgin Islands. Boris Johnson's visit to Tortola on 13 September 2017 during his Caribbean tour was intended to confirm the UK's commitment to helping restore British islands but he provided no additional comments on the aid package. He did confirm that HMS Ocean (L12) was on the way to the BVI items like timber, buckets, bottled water, food, baby milk, bedding and clothing, as well as ten pickup trucks, building materials and hardware.
British Virgin Islands
Over 90% of the population who indicated a religious affiliation at the 2010 Census were Christian with the largest individual Christian denominations being Methodist (17.6%), Anglican (12%), Church of God (11%) and Roman Catholic (9%). The Constitution of the British Virgin Islands commences with a professed national belief in God. Hindus and Muslims constitute each approximately 1.2% of the population according to Word Religion Database 2005.
Carvel Rock (British Virgin Islands)
Carvel Rock is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, less than in size. It lies at the southern edge of the archipelago, south of and roughly between Ginger Island and Cooper Island.
List of rodents of the Caribbean
The United States Virgin Islands are a group of islands east of Puerto Rico, centered around the three main islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix. No native rodents are known, but several species have been introduced.Anguilla is a British island with some native rodents, including the giant "Amblyrhiza".
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport , previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of the islands within the BVI. The airport is also a gateway for inter-Caribbean travelers headed to the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands. Many travellers fly into Beef Island, with the intention of taking a ferry to the other smaller British Virgin Islands. The airport is located on Beef Island, a small island off the main island of Tortola, to which it is connected by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
History of the United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands are located in the Lesser Antilles] of the Eastern Caribbean (between the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea), the United States Virgin Islands are actually approximately 50 islands and cays (pronounced "keys"), the largest of which are St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, respectively.
Little Tobago, British Virgin Islands
At in size, it is surrounded by steep cliffs that also extend below the water. Since the 1990s, Great Tobago, Little Tobago islands, and nearby Mercurious and Watson Rocks are protected as part of the National Parks Trust.
Geography of the United States Virgin Islands
The hilly, volcanic islands of Saint Thomas () and Saint John () border the North Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. The larger island of Saint Croix () lies to the south across the Virgin Islands Trough and is entirely in the Caribbean Sea.
British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia, and directly south of the Maldives. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islandsmany very smallamounting to a total land area of . The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia, , the site of a joint military facility of the United Kingdom and the United States.
Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles
The Marilyns are mountains and hills in the British Isles that have a topographical prominence of at least , regardless of absolute height or other merits. As at October 2018, there were 1,552 Marilyns in Great Britain: 1,219 in Scotland, 175 in England, and 158 in Wales (Black Mountain, on the England-Wales border, is counted as being in Wales). There are 454 Marilyns in Ireland (389 in the Republic of Ireland and 66 in Northern Ireland), and 5 on the Isle of Man, bringing the total for the British Isles to 2,011. The list was first compiled in 1992 by Alan Dawson. The name was coined as an ironic contrast to the designation "Munro", which is homophonous with "(Marilyn) Monroe". The Marilyns are one of the most popular lists for peak baggers.The Marilyns were expanded in 2007 by the HuMPs (Hundred and upwards Metre Prominence) which reduces the prominence requirement to . Therefore, all British Isles Marilyns are British Isles HuMPS (but not vice versa). The list was compiled by Mark Jackson from a number of sources and published online in 2010 in "More Relative Hills of Britain". There are 2,986 HuMPs in the British Isles: 2,168 in Scotland, 833 in Ireland, 444 in England, 366 in Wales and 11 in the Channel Islands.
Eustatia Island
Eustatia Island is located at latitude 18.51 north and longitude 64.36 west in the eastern section of the British Virgin Islands slightly to the north of Virgin Gorda and Prickly Pear and to the south of Necker Island. The BVI are a group of islands located approximately 1,100 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, 60 miles due east of Puerto Rico and about 120 miles northwest of St. Barts. The island was purchased in 2000 by Mike Hahn, a financier and avid sailor who grew up on Lake Erie. The island is leased by the British Crown to a company registered in the BVI named Eustatia Corporation (company # 1512465) and is entered into the Land Registry as Block 5547A. The head lease granted by the Crown also includes a lease that includes neighboring Saba Rock, a popular restaurant/bar/boutique hotel frequented by sailors, kiteboarders, musicians/actors and creative types. The underlying shareholders of companies in the BVI are not required to register with the Company Registry therefore no definitive information is available on who the underlying owner is. Although the following statement cannot be corroborated by any authentic or reliable information source, it is widely thought among local BVI residents that the island is owned by Larry Page (Page was married on nearby Necker Island).
Demographics of the British Virgin Islands
A July 2009 estimate placed the population of the British Virgin Islands at 24,491. In 2003, 21.9% of the population was under 15 (male 2,401; female 2,358), 73.1% between 15 and 64 (male 8,181; female 7,709), and 5% over 64 (male 578; female 503). 40% of the total population lived in urban areas, with an estimated 1.7% annual rate of urbanization. In 2014, the average woman produced 1.25 children.
The estimated population of is ().
British Virgin Islands
The official currency of the British Virgin Islands has been the United States dollar (US$) since 1959, the currency also used by the United States Virgin Islands.
Anegada
At about 15 square miles (38 square kilometers), Anegada is the second largest of the British Virgin Islands, but it is also the most sparsely populated of the main islands, with a population of 285 as at the 2010 Census. Most of the population on Anegada live in the only village, The Settlement.
Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles
The P600s are mountains in the British Isles that have a topographical prominence of at least , regardless of absolute height or other merits. The list was also developed by Alan Dawson in 2004 (creator of the Marilyn list), and refined in 2004 and 2006. Dawson initially used a 2,000 ft metric (or 610 m, the P610s), and called his list the "Majors", as it is one of the shortest of the noted lists of mountains in the British Islands, and one of the most testing requirements. The term "Major" is often used by others when listing the P600 peaks. In 2006, 93 P600s were identified in Great Britain: 82 in Scotland, 4 in England and 7 in Wales; together with 1 in Northern Ireland, 1 on the Isle of Man, and 24 P600s in the Republic of Ireland, which brought the total number of P600 mountains in the British Isles to 119. However, since 2006, Welsh peak Moel Siabod's prominence was recalculated to 600 metres, and the list of P600s was expanded to 120.
Great Tobago Island
Great Tobago is an uninhabited island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, located, along with sister island Little Tobago, approximately six miles west of Jost Van Dyke. The Tobagos are the westernmost of the British Virgin Islands.
Transport in the British Virgin Islands
The systems of transport in the British Virgin Islands include 113 kilometres of highway and a harbour at Road Town.
Flag of the British Virgin Islands
The flag of the British Virgin Islands features a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and defaced with the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands. The coat of arms, which date to the early nineteenth-century, features Saint Ursula holding a flaming gold oil lamp and surrounded by a further eleven lamps, which represent her 11,000 virgin followers. The islands were named after these virgin followers by Christopher Columbus when he discovered the islands in 1493, the multiplicity of islands reminding him of the numerous followers. The motto present on the flag reads "Vigilate", which translated from Latin is "be watchful". The flag was modified in 1999, when the shield was enlargened and outlined in white.
History of the British Virgin Islands
The first recorded settlement of the Territory was by Arawak Indians who came from South America, in around 100 BC. Vernon Pickering places the date later, at around 200 AD, and suggests that the Arawak may have been preceded by the Ciboney Indians. They are thought to have settled in nearby St. Thomas as early as 300 BC. There is some evidence of Amerindian presence on the islands. perhaps in seasonal fishing camps, as far back as 1500 BC. There is little academic support for the idea of a permanent settlement on any of the current British Virgin Islands at that time.
Anegada
Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies approximately north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from coral and limestone, rather than being of volcanic origin. While the other islands are mountainous, Anegada is flat and low. Its highest point is only about above sea level, earning it its name, which is the Spanish term for the flooded land, "tierra anegada".
Economy of the British Virgin Islands
In 2015, a total of 922,372 people visited the islands (of whom 529,354 were cruise ship passengers and 393,018 were overnight visitors), mainly from the United States. The bulk of the tourism income in the British Virgin Islands is generated by the yacht chartering industry. The Territory has relatively few large hotels compared to other tourism centres in the Caribbean. The British Virgin Islands also entertain cruise ships, although these generate relatively little revenue. However, cruise ship passengers are an important source of revenue for taxi drivers, who represent a politically important voice in the Territory.
Geography of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island state in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean Sea in North America. The country consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, a chain of small islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada. Its total land area is 390 km² of which 342.7 km² is the main island of Saint Vincent. The country's capital is at Kingstown on Saint Vincent.
Postage stamps and postal history of the British Virgin Islands
The British colony of the British Virgin Islands has issued its own stamps since 1866. The first Post Office was opened in Tortola in 1787, at this time postage stamps were not invented yet and it was not until 1858 that a small supply of adhesive stamps issued by Great Britain depicting Queen Victoria was utilized by the local Post Office. These stamps were cancelled by an " A13" postmark and as such they are extremely rare.
Drowned Island
Drowned Island is a loose translation of the Spanish name, Anegada, one of the largest and flattest islands of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.
Districts of the British Virgin Islands
Tortola, the surrounding islets, and the Little Sisters/Southern Islands are directly administered by the BVI Government, as an "Island". The 3 "Sister Islands", including the neighbouring islets, are administered through 3 Districts, run by District Officers, under the Deputy Governor of the BVI "in order to monitor, promote and facilitate the delivery of Government services to the sister islands of Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke". This administrative setting is similar to that of some existing or former British dependencies - The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, or the Cook Islands - among others.
1993 United Kingdom–United States Maritime Boundary Treaties
The second treaty delimits the boundary between the British Virgin Islands and the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The boundary is a simplified equidistant line that runs in a south–south-east direction until it terminates at the tripoint of Anguilla. It is far longer and more complicated than the Anguilla – U.S. Virgin Islands boundary: it is about 200 nautical miles long and consists of 49 straight-line segments defined by 50 individual coordinate points. The full name of the treaty is "Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America on the Delimitation in the Caribbean of a Maritime Boundary between Puerto Rico/US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands".
Education in the British Virgin Islands
Education in the British Virgin Islands is largely free and is a requirement for children ages 5 to 17. The British Virgin Islands has a total of 15 public primary schools and 4 secondary public schools. In addition to the public schools, there are 10 primary private schools and 3 secondary private schools. The School year is from September to June. The British Virgin Islands is a part of the British Overseas Territories and therefore the educational system is very similar to the traditional learning system in the United Kingdom. Primary schools are focused on establishing the basics of an academic curriculum and host students between the ages of 5 to 12. After the completion of Primary school, students move on to Secondary school. Secondary school is for students between the ages of 13 and 17. Following the completion of secondary education, students may write their Caribbean secondary education certificate examination. There are approximately 2,700 students who attend primary school for the first 7 years of their required education, however less than 1,800 students successfully finish the following 5 required years of secondary school and complete their certificate exam. Tertiary Education is by no means required in the British Virgin Islands. Students who chose to continue their education after Secondary Education may move on to an additional 2 years of schooling. After 2 years of Tertiary Education is completed, students may take their Caribbean advanced placement examinations. Passing the exams entitles students the right to continue their studies even further at the University of the Virgin Islands. At the University, students can obtain associate, bachelors, and master's degrees in the departments of business, education, liberal arts and social sciences, or science and mathematic.
List of birds of the British Virgin Islands
This is a list of the bird species recorded in the British Virgin Islands. The avifauna of the British Virgin Islands include a total of 204 species, according to 
"Bird Checklists of the World" as of July 2018. Of them, seven have been introduced by humans and 118 are rare or accidental. Two species are known to be extirpated and one is globally threatened. In addition, one species thought to be extirpated has an eBird record.
British Virgin Islands
In 1917, the United States purchased St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix from Denmark for US$25 million, renaming them the United States Virgin Islands.
Eustatia Island
Eustatia Island is a 30-acre island of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the Caribbean. The word "Eustatia” is a Greek derived word meaning, “good place to stay.” The entire island, and a small neighboring island, Saba Rock, are under the same long term lease. The island is regularly featured and photographed for several publications and was listed as one to top 20 most beautiful islands in the world in the December 2004 issue of Islands magazine.
Outline of the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
Politics of the British Virgin Islands
Politics of the British Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The British Virgin Islands (officially the "Virgin Islands") are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands
"Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" is the official territorial song of the Virgin Islands (often called the British Virgin Islands or BVI). The song was composed by the brother and sister team, Kareem Nelson Hull and Ayana Hull, both Virgin Islanders. The song was adopted as the territorial song by resolution of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands on 24 July 2012. As a British Overseas Territory, the Virgin Islands retains "God Save the Queen" as its official national anthem.
Tommy Vile
British Isles
Vancouver Island Ranges
The Vancouver Island Ranges, formerly called the Vancouver Island Mountains, are a mountain range extending along the length of Vancouver Island which has an area of 31,788 km² (12,273 sq; mi). The Vancouver Island Ranges comprise the central and largest part of the island. The Geological Survey of Canada refers to Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the Alaska Panhandle as the Insular Belt including the sea floor out to 100 km (62 mi) west of Vancouver Island. The Vancouver Island Ranges are a sub-range of the Insular Mountains.
United States Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, and many other surrounding minor islands. The total land area of the territory is . The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.
List of islands of the British Isles
This page is a list of the larger islands that form the British Isles, listing area and population data.
The total area of the islands is 314,965 km. Great Britain accounts for the larger part of this area at 66%, with Ireland accounting for 26%, leaving the remaining 8%—an area of 23,996 km—comprising thousands of smaller islands. The largest of the other islands are to be found in the Hebrides and Northern Isles to the north, and Anglesey and the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland. Not included are the Channel Islands which are positioned off the coast of France.
Economy of the British Virgin Islands
On 12 April 2007, the "Financial Times" reported that the British Virgin Islands was the second largest source of foreign direct investment in the world (behind Hong Kong) with over US$123,000,000,000. Almost all of these sums are directly attributable to investment through the Territory's offshore finance industry.
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI; also called the American Virgin Islands), officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, is a group of islands in the Caribbean and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
Law of the British Virgin Islands
The early legal history of the British Virgin Islands is somewhat hampered by the fact that in the days of colonisation, it was often unclear who controlled the islands. The islands were first settled in modern times by the Dutch, but in 1628 the English crown granted patents for the settlement of what is now the British Virgin Islands to Lord Willoughby. The British expelled the Dutch in 1672 during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, but later evinced an intention to return the islands to the Dutch. They later resiled from this position and in 1698 the British government took the view that the territory was a British possession (see generally: History of the British Virgin Islands).
Great Dog Island
Great Dog Island is an uninhabited islet of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is located in a smaller sub-group of islands referred to as the Dog Islands, or more commonly, "The Dogs". Other islets in The Dogs include Little Seal Dog Island, East Seal Dog Island, West Dog Island and George Dog Island, all of which are to the northwest of Virgin Gorda.
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, along with over 50 other smaller islands and cays. About 15 of the islands are inhabited. The capital, Road Town, is on Tortola, the largest island, which is about long and wide. The islands had a population of about 28,000 at the 2010 Census, of whom approximately 23,500 lived on Tortola. For the islands, the latest United Nations estimate () is .
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island, and the ninth-largest island in the world. In 2011, Great Britain had a population of about 61 million people, making it the world's third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of Great Britain, and together these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, form the British Isles archipelago.
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands (Norman: "Îles d'la Manche"; French: "Îles Anglo-Normandes" or "Îles de la Manche") are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and some smaller islands. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and, although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands. The Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations or of the European Union. They have a total population of about , and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207, respectively. The total area of the islands is 198 km.
Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)
Necker Island is located at latitude 18.55 north and longitude 64.35 west in the eastern section of the British Virgin Islands. It is about north of Virgin Gorda and north-east of Prickly Pear Island and also Mosquito Island (sometimes spelled Moskito Island), which is also owned by Branson. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a group of islands about south-east of Miami, Florida, due east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and about north-west of St. Barts.
BVI Airways
BVI Airways is a possibly defunct airline of the British Virgin Islands. Its headquarters are located at its hub at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport serving the territory's main island of Tortola with the capital, Road Town. It suspended inter-island operations in late 2014, shortly after a change of ownership to concentrate on a non stop schedule directly to the United States.
Government of the British Virgin Islands
As at 2014 public debt in the British Virgin Islands is approximately US$111 million, which is approximately 36.6% of recurrent revenues. In recent years problems have arisen because of repeated unbudgeted expenditure by Ministerial departments; the problem became sufficiently acute that in 2016 the Territory's Financial Secretary wrote an open letter to all Ministers warning them against such practices.
History of the British Virgin Islands
None of the later European visitors to the Virgin Islands reported encountering Amerindians in what would later be the British Virgin Islands. Christopher Columbus did have a hostile encounter with the Carib natives of St. Croix.
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is 50.8 km² (19.61 sq mi) in area with a population of 4,170 (2010 census). As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the total population of the US Virgin Islands territory was 106,405, comprising mostly persons of Afro-Caribbean descent.
Outline of the British Virgin Islands
History of the British Virgin Islands
Great Camanoe
Great Camanoe is a small island just north of Beef Island and northeast of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that forms part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
History of the British Virgin Islands
The islands were struck by Hurricane Irma on 6 September 2017, causing extensive damage (particularly on Tortola), as well as four deaths in the BVI. The Governor, Gus Jaspert, declared a state of emergency under the Territory's constitution, the first time this had ever happened.A state of emergency was also declared by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. The most significant damage was on Tortola. The UK's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Tortola on 13 September 2017 and said that he was reminded of photos of Hiroshima after it had been hit by the atom bomb.
British Virgin Islands
Tourism accounts for approximately 45% of national income. The islands are a popular destination for US citizens. In 2006 a total of 825,603 people visited the islands, of whom 443,987 were cruise ship passengers. Tourists frequent the numerous white sand beaches, visit The Baths on Virgin Gorda, snorkel the coral reefs near Anegada, or experience the well-known bars of Jost Van Dyke. The BVI are known as one of the world's greatest sailing destinations, and charter sailboats are a very popular way to visit less accessible islands. Every year since 1972 the BVI has hosted the Spring Regatta, which is a seven-day collection of sailing races throughout the islands. A substantial number of the tourists who visit the BVI are cruise ship passengers, and although they produce far lower revenue per head than charter boat tourists and hotel based tourists, they are nonetheless important to the substantial - and politically important - taxi driving community. Only Virgin Islanders are permitted to work as taxi drivers.
Economy of the British Virgin Islands
Historically the British Virgin Islands has normally produced a Government budget surplus, but during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 the Territory began to run at a deficit, which continued after the global recession receded. In 2011 the Territory had its largest ever budget deficit, of US$29 million (approximately 2.6% of GDP). By 2012 public debt had quadrupled from pre-crisis levels to approximately US$113 million (approximately 10.3% of GDP). Nearly 84% of that public debt was attributable to a new public hospital built in Road Town between 2003 and 2014. "The Economist" argued that deteriorating economic conditions in the British Virgin Islands were caused "not [by] sagging revenues but public-sector profligacy". By 2014 public debt had been reduced to US$106 million and the annual deficit reduced to US$25 million (including budgeted capital expenditure).
Law of the British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands is a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. Although the local legislature and courts are independent from the United Kingdom, the British government deals with most international relations on behalf of the territory, although authority has been delegated to the territory to negotiate on its own behalf in certain areas (see below under Constitutional law). The British Virgin Islands does not have a separate vote at the United Nations.
Eastern Caribbean dollar
The other two associate members of the OECS do not use the Eastern Caribbean dollar as their official currency: the British Virgin Islands and Martinique. The British Virgin Islands were always problematic for currency purposes due to their proximity to the Danish West Indies which became the US Virgin Islands in 1917. Officially, the British Virgin Islands used to use sterling, but in practice the situation was more complicated and involved the circulation of francs and U.S. dollars. In 1951, the British Virgin Islands adopted the British West Indies dollar which at that time operated in conjunction with the sterling coinage, and in 1959 they changed over officially to the U.S. dollar.
British Virgin Islands
The islands were struck by Hurricane Irma on 6 September 2017, causing extensive damage, as well as four deaths in the BVI. A state of emergency was declared by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. The most significant damage was on Tortola. The UK's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Tortola on 13 September 2017 and said that he was reminded of photos of Hiroshima after it had been hit by the atom bomb.
Geography of the United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands are a group of several dozen islands and cays located in the Caribbean, about southeast of Florida, north of Venezuela, east of Puerto Rico, and immediately west and south of the British Virgin Islands.
Tortola
Although the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are under the British flag, it uses the US dollar as its official currency due to its proximity to and frequent trade with the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The island is home to many offshore companies that do business worldwide.
List of P600 mountains in the British Isles
British Isles mountain cartographer, Alan Dawson, developer of the Marilyns designation, labelled "Majors" as having a prominence of over , but no other criteria. Dawson's "prominence threshold" was the normal "height threshold" for a British Isles mountain, and 111 mountains met his definition. In 2004, Dawson's prominence was converted into a metric threshold of by Rob Woodall & Jonathan de Ferranti, and labelled the "P600s", a term used by the UIAA for major mountains; the P600s expanded to 119 mountains. The current list has 120 mountains.
Coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands
The arms consist of a shield, featuring a lady dressed in white holding a golden lamp, with 11 other golden lamps surrounding her on a green field. It is a representation of the semi-legendary Saint Ursula, a Christian saint who is said to have taken a pilgrimage across Europe with 11,000 virgin handmaidens. When Christopher Columbus sighted the islands in 1493, the islands were said to have reminded him of the story of Saint Ursula, and that is how the islands got their name. The arms were chosen as a representation of this story. The Latin motto under the coat of arms, Vigilate, means “Be Vigilant”.
House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands
Pursuant to the Elections Act, 1994 the British Virgin Islands introduced four Territorial at-large seats in addition to the nine district seats, creating a total of 13 elected members to sit alongside the two "ex officio" members (the Speaker and the Attorney General). The introduction of the Territorial at-large seats was bitterly opposed by the Chief Minister of the day, Lavity Stoutt.
Gabriel Zucman
The only tax havens from the Tørsløv-Wier-Zucman list that have ever appeared on an OECD list of tax havens, are some Caribbean locations, namely The British Virgin Islands (but not the Cayman Islands). Nine of the top ten locations from the Tørsløv-Wier-Zucman list, match the top ten on the James R. Hines 2010 list (assuming that Zucman's "Caribbean" is mostly two locations, The Cayman Islands and The British Virgin Islands; Zucman lists Bermuda separately).
(*) Identified as one of the largest 10 tax havens by James R. Hines Jr. in 2010 (the Hines 2010 List).
(†) Identified as one of the 5 Conduits (Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), by CORPNET in 2017.
(‡) Identified as one of the largest 5 Sinks (British Virgin Islands, Luxemburg, Hong Kong, Jersey, Bermuda), by CORPNET in 2017.
(Δ) Identified on the first, and the largest, OECD 2000 list of 35 tax havens (the OECD list only contained Trinidad & Tobago by 2017); only some Caribbean territories were listed by the OECD in 2000.
Flag of the British Virgin Islands
The civil ensign (seen below) is a red ensign with the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands. The red ensign is to be flown on board vessels either registered in the British Virgin Islands or by vessels visiting the British Virgin Islands. The flag was authorised in 2001 and Section 70 of the British Virgin Islands Merchant Shipping Act, 2001 reads:The blue ensign shall only be used on vessels which belong to or are in the service of the government.
Demographics of the British Virgin Islands
In 2009, the infant mortality rate in the British Virgin Islands was 14.65/1000 births (16.61/1000 for females and 12.58/1000 for males). Life expectancy at birth was 77.26 years: 76.03 years for males and 78.55 years for females.
The official language of the British Virgin Islands is English. In 1991, 97.8% of people aged 15 and over could read and write. Education expenditures represented 3.7% of total GDP in 2006.
Scrub Island (British Virgin Islands)
The European discovery of the British Virgin Islands is attributed to Christopher Columbus. During his second voyage on November 2, 1493, small islands now known as the Lesser Antilles were discovered, one of which was Scrub Island. For many years after the discovery, the islands were untouched until privateers, pirates and buccaneers used the island as a haven. Concrete evidence also shows buried pirate treasures. During the early 17th century, the Dutch expressed interest in the copper mines that were discovered, but due to the Dutch’s interest in piracy and a Spanish attack, the settlement was economically unsuccessful. In 1672, the British took control. Presently, Scrub Island is occupied by Scrub Island Resort Marina and Spa which first development in the British Virgin Islands in the last 15 years.
British Virgin Islands
Crime in the British Virgin Islands is comparatively low by Caribbean standards (and indeed compared to the neighbouring US Virgin Islands). Whilst statistics and hard data are relatively rare, and are not regularly published by governmental sources in the British Virgin Islands, the Premier did announce that in 2013 there has been a 14% decline in recorded crime as against 2012. Homicides are rare, with just one incident recorded in 2013. The British and US Virgin Islands sit at the axis of a major drugs transshipment point between Latin America and the continental United States. The American DEA regards the adjacent US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area". A co-operation agreement exists between the British Virgin Islands and the US Coast Guard allowing American forces to pursue suspected drug traffickers through the territorial waters of the British Virgin Islands. In August 2011 a joint raid between the American DEA and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force arrested a number of British Virgin Islands residents who are accused of being involved in major drugs transshipments, although their extradition to the United States has become bogged down in protracted legal wrangling.
Geography of Ireland
Politically, the island consists of the Republic of Ireland, with jurisdiction over about five-sixths of the island; and Northern Ireland, a constituent country (and an unconfirmed "practical" exclave) of the United Kingdom, with jurisdiction over the remaining sixth. Located west of the island of Great Britain, it is located at approximately . It has a total area of . It is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and from mainland Europe by the Celtic Sea.
Ireland and Great Britain, together with nearby islands, are known collectively as the British Isles; as the term British Isles is controversial in relation to Ireland, the alternative term 'Britain and Ireland' is increasingly preferred.
Geography of the British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands are located in the Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico.Its geographic coordinates are . Map references include Central America and the Caribbean. The area totals 151 km² (about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC) and comprises 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost van Dyke. There are no bodies of water on the land.
There are no land boundaries. There is 80 km of coastline. Maritime claims include of territorial sea and exclusive a fishing zone. It has a tropical, humid climate, with temperatures moderated by trade winds. Its terrain consists of coral islands, and is relatively flat. It has volcanic islands and is steep and hilly. Its lowest point is the Caribbean Sea and its highest point is Mount Sage at above sea level. Its natural resources are negligible. In terms of land use, it is 20% arable land, 6.67% permanent crops and 73.33% other as of a 2005 figure. Its natural hazards consist of hurricanes and tropical storms from July to October.
There is limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments). It has strong ties to nearby U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Flag of the British Virgin Islands
The flag of the British Virgin Islands was adopted by Royal Warrant on 15 November 1960 after the islands were made into a separate British colony. Previously, the territory was administered as part of the British Leeward Islands.
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands is a unitary territory. The territory is divided into nine electoral districts, and each voter is registered in one of those districts. Eight of the nine districts are partly or wholly on Tortola, and encompass nearby neighbouring islands. Only the ninth district (Virgin Gorda and Anegada) does not include any part of Tortola. At elections, in addition to voting their local representative, voters also cast votes for four "at-large" candidates who are elected upon a territory-wide basis.
Women in the British Virgin Islands
Women in the British Virgin Islands are women who were born in, who live in, and are from the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean. According to "Countries and Their Culture", women of the British Virgin Islands are characteristically with "strong independent and entrepreneurial spirit".
British Virgin Islands
Financial services account for over half of the income of the territory. The majority of this revenue is generated by the licensing of offshore companies and related services. The British Virgin Islands is a significant global player in the offshore financial services industry. In 2000 KPMG reported in its survey of offshore jurisdictions for the United Kingdom government that over 45% of the world's offshore companies were formed in the British Virgin Islands. Since 2001, financial services in the British Virgin Islands have been regulated by the independent Financial Services Commission.
Law of the British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands is part of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court circuit. Unusually for its size, the British Virgin Islands has two permanent judges. The British Virgin Islands hosts the Commercial Court of the East Caribbean Supreme Court, which was opened on 9 April 2009. Justice Edward Bannister QC was sworn in, and after initially sitting in temporary accommodation, the new Commercial Court building was officially opened on 4 November 2009.
Appeals from the High Court lie to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. Final appeal lies to the Privy Council. Unusually, the British Virgin Islands is one of the relatively few jurisdictions in the region which is opposed to the Caribbean Court of Justice. The British Virgin Islands Bar Association has always expressed a strong disinclination to abandon a right of final appeal to the Privy Council.
British Virgin Islands
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the territory was 28,054. At the time of the 2003 census the population was around 21,730. The majority of the population (83%) are Afro-Caribbean, descended from slaves brought to the islands by the British. Other large ethnic groups include those of British and other European origin.
Wickams Cay
Wickams Cay and Little Wickam's Cay (sometimes spelled Wickhams Cay) were former islands of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. They were both located in Road Harbour, but due to reclamation of land projects in Tortola, Wickhams Cay now makes up part of Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Islands. The areas are known as Wickhams Cay and Wickhams Cay II (for Little Wickhams Cay). Also included in the same reclamation projects were former islands known as Bird Cay and Dead Horse Cay.
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, British Virgin Islands
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, sometimes called the Beef Island Bridge, is a bridge, 70 meters (230 ft) long, that links Beef Island with Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The original bridge was opened in 1966, and was replaced by a new bridge in 2003.