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Economy overview:
The economy, one of the most prosperous in the
Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, which generates an
estimated 45% of the national income. In 1985, the government
began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to
incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate
substantial revenues. An estimated 210,000 companies were on
the offshore registry by yearend 1996. 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 traditional close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British
Virgin Islands has used the dollar as their currency since 1959.
GDP: purchasing
power parity $144 million (1996 est.)
GDP real growth
rate: 4.5% (1996 est.)
GDP per capita:
purchasing power parity $11,000 (1996 est.)
GDP composition
by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 14%
services: 83% (1989)
Inflation rate
consumer price index: 2.5% (1990 est.)
Labor force:
total: 4,911 (1980)
by occupation: tourism NA%
Unemployment rate:
3% (1995)
Budget:
revenues: $77.1 million
expenditures: $76.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94)
Industries:
tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete
block, offshore financial center
Industrial production
growth rate: 4% (1985)
Electricity capacity:
13,000 kW (1995)
Electricity production:
42 million kWh (1995)
Electricity consumption
per capita: 3,224 kWh (1995)
AgricultureÚproducts:
fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Exports:
total value: $3.4 million (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities: rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Imports:
total value: $11.5
million (c.i.f., 1988)
commodities: building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs,
machinery
partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto
Rico, US
DebtÚexternal:
$4.5 million (1985)
Economic aid:
$NA
Currency:
1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
US currency is used
Fiscal year:
1 April 31 March
©
CIA 1999
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