// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs the Virgin Islands a chaste place? No, it's an isle-land.
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Satellite image, October 2008 | |
 Interactive map of Virgin Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 18°12′N 64°48′W / 18.2°N 64.8°W |
| Archipelago | Leeward Islands |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | |
| Puerto Rico | |
| British Virgin Islands | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 150,000 (estimation) (2022) |
| Languages | English Virgin Islands Creole Spanish |
| Ethnic groups | Afro-Caribbean White-Caribbean Hispanic-Caribbean Asian-Caribbean Indo-Caribbean |
The Virgin Islands (Spanish: Islas Vírgenes) is an archipelago between the North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, located to the immediate east of the main island of Puerto Rico. It generally forms part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies of the Caribbean region.
Geologically separated from the Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the Greater Antilles by the Mona passage, all the islands except for Saint Croix lie on the same carbonate platform and insular shelf, known as the Puerto Rico Bank, and same tectonic plate, known as the Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate.
Politically, the islands fall into three jurisdictions: the easternmost British overseas territory of the Virgin Islands, commonly referred to as the British Virgin Islands; the central unincorporated American territory of the Virgin Islands of the United States, commonly known as the U.S. Virgin Islands; and the westernmost island-municipalities of the unincorporated American territory of Puerto Rico, officially named Vieques and Culebra but generally called the Spanish Virgin Islands or Puerto Rican Virgin Islands.
Etymology
[edit]
Christopher Columbus named the islands after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins[1] (Spanish: Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes), shortened to the Virgins (las Vírgenes). The official name of the British territory is the Virgin Islands, and the official name of the U.S. territory is the Virgin Islands of the United States. In practice, the two island groups are almost universally referred to as the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
History
[edit]The Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the Arawak and Carib, many of whom are thought to have perished during the colonial period due to enslavement, foreign disease, and war brought about by European colonists.[2]
European colonists later settled here and established sugar plantations and at least one tobacco plantation, and brought slaves from Africa. The descendants of the enslaved people remain the bulk of the population, sharing a common African-Caribbean heritage with the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean.
Like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands that belonged to Spain were ceded to the United States in 1898. The United States took possession of the islands after the signing of the armistice that put an end to military operations in the Spanish–American War.
A 1916 treaty in-between the United States and Denmark (not ratified by the United States until 1917) resulted in Denmark selling the Danish West Indies to the United States for $25 million in gold.
Historical affiliations
[edit] |
The Virgin Islands have been under the sovereignty of several nations and groups throughout history. Below is a table which represents the affiliation of the various islands:
* Largely under control of pirates.
** Coexisting claim.
*** Leased/shared territory.
Demographics
[edit] |
 | This section needs to be updated. (September 2026) |
The total population of the Virgin Islands is 147,778: 87,146 in the U.S. Virgin Islands[3], 31,758 in the British, and 11,119 in the Spanish. Roughly three-quarters of islanders are black in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, while the majority of inhabitants in Culebra and Vieques are Puerto Rican of European descent, with a significant Afro-Puerto Rican community. The main languages are English and Virgin Islands Creole in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Spanish in the Puerto Rican territory. St. Thomas is the most populous island, with St. Croix close behind (51,634 and 50,601, respectively).
| Name | Sovereign State | Subdivisions | Area (km2) |
Population (2005 est.) |
Population density (per km2) |
Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Virgin Islands | United Kingdom | Districts | 153.0 | 31,758 | 207.6 | Road Town |
| Spanish Virgin Islands (Puerto Rico) | United States | Barrios | 165.1 | 11,119 | 67.3 | San Juan, PR |
| United States Virgin Islands | United States | Districts | 346.4 | 104,901 | 302.8 | Charlotte Amalie |
| Total | 664.5 | 147,778 | 222.4 | |||
Traffic control
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Motor vehicles are driven on the left-hand side of the road in both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands,[4] although the steering wheels on most cars are located on the left side[5] (as is the norm for drive-on-the-right localities). In the Spanish Virgin Islands, vehicles are driven on the right-hand side of the road.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]
Citations
[edit]- ↑ "The Past, Present and Future of the BVI". British Virgin Islands Tourism. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Pereña, Luciano (1992). Genocidio en América. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE. p. 351. ISBN 84-7100-453-4.
- ↑ "Census Bureau Releases 2020 Census Population and Housing Unit Counts for the U.S. Virgin Islands". United States Census Bureau. October 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Tips for Safe Driving in the U.S. Virgin Islands". NHSA Online Drivers Ed. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Country Fast Facts: U.S. Virgin Islands". CBC News. September 19, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
General sources
[edit]- Colin Thomas, J.; Allard, William Albert; Wolinsky, Cary (February 1981). "Paradise Comes of Age: The U.S. Virgin Islands". National Geographic. Vol. 159, no. 2. pp. 225–243.
External links
[edit]
Virgin Islands.
- BVI.gov: British Virgin Islands government website
- U.S. Office of Insular Affairs: United States Virgin Islands government website
- Digital Library of the Caribbean: University of the Virgin Islands information
- U.S. Virgin Islands: Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. XXIV (9th ed.). 1888.
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