Virgin Islands - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Virgin Islands was 106,290 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 108,642 in 2000 and a minimum value of 32,500 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 32,500
1961 34,300
1962 35,000
1963 39,800
1964 40,800
1965 43,500
1966 46,200
1967 49,100
1968 55,700
1969 60,300
1970 63,476
1971 70,937
1972 76,319
1973 84,121
1974 89,941
1975 94,484
1976 96,166
1977 93,203
1978 95,929
1979 96,183
1980 99,636
1981 99,853
1982 100,068
1983 100,348
1984 100,600
1985 100,760
1986 100,842
1987 100,901
1988 100,952
1989 101,041
1990 103,963
1991 104,807
1992 105,712
1993 106,578
1994 107,318
1995 107,818
1996 108,095
1997 108,357
1998 108,537
1999 108,599
2000 108,642
2001 108,549
2002 108,509
2003 108,505
2004 108,466
2005 108,453
2006 108,369
2007 108,337
2008 108,397
2009 108,404
2010 108,357
2011 108,290
2012 108,188
2013 108,041
2014 107,882
2015 107,712
2016 107,516
2017 107,281
2018 107,001
2019 106,669
2020 106,290

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population