- published: 31 Mar 2014
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The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands (BVI), is a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constitute the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The official name of the country is still simply the "Virgin Islands", but the prefix "British" is often used to distinguish it from the neighbouring American territory which changed its name from the "Danish West Indies" to "Virgin Islands of the United States" in 1917. British Virgin Islands government publications had traditionally continued to commence with "The Territory of the Virgin Islands", and passports simply refer to the "Virgin Islands", but recently, more legislation now refers to the country as the "British Virgin Islands".
The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays. About 15 of the islands are inhabited. The capital, Road Town, is situated on Tortola, the largest island, which is approximately 20 km (12 mi) long and 5 km (3 mi) wide. The islands have a population of about 27,800, of whom approximately 23,000 live on Tortola.
Coordinates: 18°5′37″N 64°49′49″W / 18.09361°N 64.83028°W / 18.09361; -64.83028 The Virgin Islands are the eastern island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Politically, the eastern islands form the British Virgin Islands and the western ones form the United States Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom comprising Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada to the northeast. The United States Virgin Islands is an unincorporated territory of the United States comprising St. Croix to the south, with St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island. The Virgin Passage separates the U.S. Virgin Islands from the "Passage Islands" or sometimes called the Spanish Virgin Islands, Vieques and Culebra, which are the easternmost islands of Puerto Rico. The United States dollar is the official currency on both the British and U.S. Virgin Islands.