dependent territory of the United Kingdom in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is part of an island chain collectively known as the Virgin Islands, which makes up the northeastern extremity of the Greater Antilles. Puerto Rico lies to the west. The Virgin Islands are divided administratively between the United Kingdom and the United States, the British territory lying to the north and east of the U.S. islands. The British colony consists of four larger islands ( Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda (Virgin Gorda Island), and Jost Van Dyke (Jost Van Dyke Island)) and 32 smaller islands and islets, of which more than 20 are uninhabited. The chief town and port is Road Town on Tortola (21 square miles 【54 square km】), the largest of the islands. The total area of the colony is 59 square miles (153 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 18,000.

For information about regional aspects of the British Virgin Islands, see Virgin Islands.

The British Virgin Islands are a geologic extension of the central fault-block mountains of Puerto Rico and present a variety of physical features, including low mountains, lagoons with coral reefs and barrier beaches, and landlocked harbours. Except for Anegada, the islands are hilly. The highest point is Mount Sage on Tortola, reaching an elevation of 1,709 feet (521 m). The long and narrow Virgin Gorda, with an area of approximately 8 square miles (21 square km), rises to an elevation of more than 1,300 feet (400 m). Jost Van Dyke is a rugged island only about 3 square miles (9 square km) in area. Anegada, the northernmost extension of the colony, is a flat coral island surrounded by dangerous reefs. The British Virgin Islands have no rivers. Their subtropical climate is pleasant and healthy for most of the year, a factor in the islands' important tourist industry. The climate is unvaryingly warm and mild, with temperatures averaging 78° F (26° C) annually. The average annual rainfall is about 50 inches (1,300 mm), much of it occurring from September to December. Hurricanes are infrequent. Much of the islands' original tropical vegetation has been replaced by secondary scrub growth.

The great majority of British Virgin Islanders are blacks and mulattoes, the descendants of African slaves. Whites constitute a small minority, although their number has grown markedly since 1960. Tortola, of all the islands, has by far the largest population, some four-fifths of the total. About a fourth of all Tortolans live in Road Town. English, the official language and the chief tongue of the people, is often spoken in a Calypso dialect. Religious affiliations are mostly with Protestant denominations, the Methodists being the largest single group.

The economic mainstay of the British Virgin Islands is tourism, based on the nearly perfect climate, sparkling beaches, tropical vegetation, and undersea coral reefs. Tourism provides about half of the colony's income and is the largest employer in the islands. Agriculture was the backbone of the economy until tourism replaced it in the 1970s. The most important agricultural activity is livestock raising. The main crops are bananas, sugarcane, citrus fruits, coconuts, mangoes, and various root crops. Some fruits and vegetables continue to be exported, but most crops are grown for local consumption. Fishing in the well-endowed coastal waters is a growing industry, and fresh fish have also become a significant export. Manufacturing is restricted to the production of rum, paint, and building materials (sand and gravel). Cottage industries produce woven baskets and other items that appeal to the tourist trade.

A bridge connects Tortola on the east to Beef Island, site of the main airport. Direct flights from the Virgin Islands of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the eastern Caribbean are accommodated. Road Harbour on Tortola is a deepwater port.

The British Virgin Islands are a colony of the United Kingdom. The country is administered under the constitution that came into effect in 1977. The chief executive officer is the governor, who is appointed by the British monarch. The governor is advised by an Executive Council and by a Legislative Council, most of whose members are elected. The general health of the population is good, and literacy is almost 100 percent.

The Arawak Indians who probably initially occupied the Virgin Islands had been expelled by the warlike Caribs (Carib) by the time Christopher Columbus arrived at the islands in 1493, naming them Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes (“St. Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins”). In 1555 the Habsburg Holy Roman emperor Charles V sent a Spanish invasion force to claim the islands, and by 1596 most of the Caribs had fled or been killed. The islands were an early haunt for buccaneers and pirates. Dutch buccaneers held Tortola until it was taken over in 1666 by English planters. Tortola was annexed by the British-administered Leeward Islands in 1672. The English planters' slave-based sugar plantations declined after slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century. In 1872 the islands became part of the Colony of the Leeward Islands, retaining that status until the colony was defederated in 1956. Thereafter, the British Virgin Islands became a separate colony. The colony was given a ministerial form of government in 1967, which was continued under the new constitution of 1977.