| Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, which generates an estimated 45% of the national income. More than 934,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2008. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. 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. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $500 million (2017 est.) $490.2 million (2016 est.) $481.1 million (2015 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $1.028 billion (2017 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2017 est.) 1.9% (2016 est.) 1.8% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $34,200 (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 25.1% (2017 est.) government consumption: 7.5% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 21.7% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 20.4% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 94.7% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -69.4% (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.2% (2017 est.) industry: 6.8% (2017 est.) services: 93.1% (2017 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA |
| Labor force | 12,770 (2004) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6% industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.9% (2015 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA |
| Budget | revenues: 400 million (2017 est.) expenditures: 400 million (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 38.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | 0% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.1% (2017 est.) 1.1% (2016 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore banking center |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.1% (2017 est.) |
| Current Account Balance | $362.6 million (2011 est.) $279.8 million (2010 est.) |
| Exports | $23 million (2017 est.) $23 million (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | recreational boats, aircraft, diamonds, paintings, precious stones (2019) |
| Exports - partners | Malta 30%, Seychelles 29%, Switzerland 14% (2019) |
| Imports | $300 million NA (2017 est.) $210 million (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | recreational boats, aircraft, refined petroleum, cars, furniture (2019) |
| Imports - partners | Germany 32%, United States 22%%, Italy 9%, France 7%, Seychelles 7% (2019) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
