British Virgin Islands Economy 2008

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 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)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
45 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
41.85 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - consumption:
600 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
604.3 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$134.3 million (1999)

Exports:
$25.3 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:
rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand

Exports - partners:
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)

Imports:
$187 million (2002 est.)

Imports - partners:
Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Debt - external:
$36.1 million (1997)

Currency (code):
US dollar (USD)

Exchange rates:
the US dollar is used