United States Virgin Islands

Not to be confused with British Virgin Islands or Spanish Virgin Islands.

Virgin Islands of the United States
Unincorporated and organized U.S. territory
Flag of Virgin Islands of the United States
Flag
Official seal of Virgin Islands of the United States
Seal
Motto: 
"United in Pride and Hope"
Anthem: "Virgin Islands March"
Location of the United States Virgin Islands
Location of the United States Virgin Islands
Country United States[a]
Before purchaseDanish West Indies
Transfer from DenmarkMarch 31, 1917
Capital
and largest city
Charlotte Amalie
18°21′N 64°56′W / 18.350°N 64.933°W / 18.350; -64.933
Official languagesEnglish
Ethnic groups
(2020)[2]
By race
By ethnicity
Religion
(2022)[3]
Demonym(s)Virgin Islander; U.S. Virgin Islander
GovernmentDevolved presidential constitutional dependency
• President
Joe Biden (D)
• Governor
Albert Bryan (D)
Tregenza Roach (D)
LegislatureLegislature of the Virgin Islands
United States Congress
• House delegate
Stacey Plaskett (D)
Area
• Total
133.73 sq mi (346.4 km2)
• Water (%)
negligible
Highest elevation
474 m (1,555 ft)
Population
• 2020 census
87,146[4]
• Density
653.6/sq mi (252.4/km2)
GDP (PPP)2019 estimate
• Per capita
$38,136[5]
GDP (nominal)2019 estimate
• Total
US$4.068 billion[6]
HDI (2019)Increase 0.892[7]
very high · 31st
CurrencyUnited States dollar (US$) (USD)
Time zoneUTC−4:00 (AST)
Date formatmm/dd/yyyy
Driving sideleft
Calling code+1–340
USPS abbreviation
VI
Trad. abbreviation
U.S.V.I.
ISO 3166 code
Internet TLD.vi

The United States Virgin Islands,[b] officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States.[8] The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.[9] The islands have a tropical climate.

The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas and 50 other surrounding minor islands and cays.[10] The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km2).[8] The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.

Previously known as the Danish West Indies of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway (from 1754 to 1814) and the independent Kingdom of Denmark (from 1814 to 1917), they were sold to the United States by Denmark for $25,000,000 in the 1917 Treaty of the Danish West Indies[8] ($595 million in 2023) and have since been an organized, unincorporated United States territory. The U.S. Virgin Islands are organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands and have since held five constitutional conventions. As with other territories in the United States, the Virgin Islands elects a delegate who can participate in debates in the House of Representatives but cannot vote.[11]

Tourism and related categories are the primary economic activities.[8]

  1. ^ "U.S. Territories - Developments in the Law". Harvard Law Review. April 10, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "2020 Island Areas Censuses Data on Demographic, Social, Economic and Housing Characteristics Now Available for the U.S. Virgin Islands". Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Religions in U S Virgin Islands - PEW-GRF". www.globalreligiousfutures.org. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "2020 Island Areas Censuses: U.S. Virgin Islands". United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Gross Domestic Product Per Capita for U.S. Virgin Islands (Report). May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  6. ^ "Virgin Islands (U.S.) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Forgotten Isles: A Risk Assessment of the United States' Island Territories, 2008-2020" (PDF). sites.tufts.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference WorldFactbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "United States Virgin Islands". Britannica. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "Virgin Islands". britannica.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Leibowitz, Arnold H. (1989). Defining status : a comprehensive analysis of United States territorial relations. Dordrecht: Nijhoff. ISBN 0-7923-0069-6. OCLC 18779202.


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