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 Virgin Islands (2003)World (2002)
 Virgin IslandsWorld
Administrative divisions none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas 268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Age structure 0-14 years: 26% (male 16,685; female 15,794)


15-64 years: 64.4% (male 36,241; female 44,157)


65 years and over: 9.5% (male 5,078; female 6,823) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle -
Airports 2 (2002) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002)
-
Area total: 352 sq km


land: 349 sq km


water: 3 sq km
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative twice the size of Washington, DC land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 15.8 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 21.16 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $364.4 million


expenditures: $364.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
-
Capital Charlotte Amalie -
Climate subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 188 km 356,000 km
Constitution Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 -
Country name conventional long form: United States Virgin Islands


conventional short form: Virgin Islands


former: Danish West Indies
-
Currency US dollar (USD) -
Death rate 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $NA $2 trillion for less developed countries (2001 est.)
Dependency status organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (territory of the US) -
Diplomatic representation in the US none (territory of the US) -
Disputes - international none -
Economic aid - recipient $NA official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion (2001 est.)
Economy - overview Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for more than 70% of GDP and 70% of employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, support construction projects in the private sector, expand tourist facilities, reduce crime, and protect the environment. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001. The causes: slowdowns in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (20% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.3% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 7.3% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 5.2% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations were strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2001, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 957.9 million kWh (2001) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production 1.03 billion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues lack of natural freshwater resources large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Ethnic groups black 78%, white 10%, other 12%


note: West Indian 81% (49% born in the Virgin Islands and 32% born elsewhere in the West Indies), US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 4%, other 2%
-
Exchange rates the US dollar is used -
Executive branch chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (Since 20 January 2001)


head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) and Lieutenant Governor Vargrave RICHARDS (since NA January 2003)


cabinet: NA


elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006)


election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4%
-
Exports NA (2001) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities refined petroleum products the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners US, Puerto Rico in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September -
Flag description white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel -
GDP purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2001 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $47 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2% (2001 est.) 2.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 20 N, 64 50 W -
Geography - note important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Highways total: 856 km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km


note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2000)
total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
Imports NA (2001) $6.3 trillion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners US, Puerto Rico in value, about 75% of imports into the developed countries
Industrial production growth rate NA% 6% (2000 est.)
Industries tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate total: 9 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 10.12 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 7.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
51.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (1992) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2001 est.); national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
International organization participation ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 50 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land NA sq km 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) -
Labor force 49,000 (2002 est.) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 1%, industry 20%, services 79% (1990 est.) agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries 0 km the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land: 15%


permanent crops: 6%


other: 79% (1998 est.)
arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
Languages English (official), Spanish, Creole Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Legal system based on US laws all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Legislative branch unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)


elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 8, ICM NA, no party affiliation NA


note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 78.59 years


male: 74.73 years


female: 82.68 years (2003 est.)
total population: 63.94 years


male: 62.28 years


female: 65.67 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
Location Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico -
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Merchant marine none (2002 est.) -
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the US -
Military expenditures - dollar figure - aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
National holiday Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) -
Nationality noun: Virgin Islander(s)


adjective: Virgin Islander
-
Natural hazards several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources sun, sand, sea, surf the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate 0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -
Political parties and leaders Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 124,778 (July 2003 est.) 6,233,821,945 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 1.02% (2003 est.) 1.23% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 5, FM 11, shortwave 0 (2002) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios - NA
Railways 0 km total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Religions Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% Christians 32.88% (of which Roman Catholics 17.39%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.54%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.54%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.6%, non-religious 12.63%, atheists 2.47% (2000 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.82 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female


total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal; note - indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections -
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: modern, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay


international: submarine cable and satellite communications; satellite earth stations - NA
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 65,000 (1997) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 2,000 (1992) NA
Television broadcast stations 2 (2002) NA
Terrain mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 2.22 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 4.9% (March 1999) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2001 est.)
Waterways none -
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