| Economy - overview | Tourism, trade, other services, and rum production are the primary economic activities of the US Virgin Islands (USVI), accounting for most of its GDP and employment. The USVI receives between 2.5 and 3 million tourists a year, mostly from visiting cruise ships. The islands are vulnerable to damage from storms, as evidenced by the destruction from two major hurricanes in 2017. Recovery and rebuilding have continued, but full recovery from these back-to-back hurricanes is years away. The USVI government estimates it will need $7.5 billion, almost twice the territory’s GDP, to rebuild the territory. The agriculture sector is small and most food is imported. In 2016, government spending (both federal and territorial together) accounted for about 27% of GDP while exports of goods and services, including spending by tourists, accounted for nearly 47%. Federal programs and grants, including rum tax cover-over totaling $482.3 million in 2016, contributed 32.2% of the territory’s total revenues. The economy picked up 0.9% in 2016 and had appeared to be progressing before the 2017 hurricanes severely damaged the territory’s infrastructure and the economy. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $3.872 billion (2016 est.) $3.759 billion (2015 est.) $3.622 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2013 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $5.182 billion (2016 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0.9% (2016 est.) 0.3% (2015 est.) -1% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $37,000 (2016 est.) $35,800 (2015 est.) $34,500 (2014 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 68.2% (2016 est.) government consumption: 26.8% (2016 est.) investment in fixed capital: 7.5% (2016 est.) investment in inventories: 15% NA (2016 est.) exports of goods and services: 46.7% (2016 est.) imports of goods and services: -64.3% (2016 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2% (2012 est.) industry: 20% (2012 est.) services: 78% (2012 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 28.9% (2002 est.) |
| Labor force | 48,550 (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1% industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 10.4% (2017 est.) 11% (2016 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA |
| Budget | revenues: 1.496 billion (2016 est.) expenditures: 1.518 billion (2016 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 28.9% (of GDP) (2016 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -0.4% (of GDP) (2016 est.) |
| Public debt | 53.3% of GDP (2016 est.) 45.9% of GDP (2014 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2016 est.) 2.6% (2015 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle |
| Industries | tourism, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, electronics |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA |
| Exports | $1.81 billion (2016 est.) $1.537 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | refined petroleum, jewelry, recreational boats, watches, rum (2019) |
| Exports - partners | Haiti 14%, Guadeloupe 7%, Malaysia 7%, Martinique 7%, Barbados 7%, British Virgin Islands 5% (2019) |
| Imports | $2.489 billion (2016 est.) $1.549 billion (2015 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | refined petroleum, crude petroleum, rubber piping, jewelry, beer (2019) |
| Imports - partners | India 18%, Algeria 14%, South Korea 9%, Argentina 9%, Sweden 7%, Brazil 5% (2019) |
| Debt - external | NA |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
