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road town administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of the uk) independence: none (overseas territory of the uk) national holiday: territory day. 1 july constitution: 1 june 1977 legal system: english law suffrage: 18 years of age; universal executive branch: chief of state: queen elizabeth ii (since 6 february 1952). represented by governor tom macan (since 14 october 2002) head of government: chief minister orlando d. smith (since 17 june 2003) cabinet: executive council appointed by the governor from members of the legislative council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections. the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor legislative branch: unicameral legislative council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote. one member from each of 9 electoral districts. four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 16 may 2003 (next to be held na 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - na%; seats by party - ndp 8. vip 5 judicial branch: eastern caribbean supreme court. consisting of the high court of justice and the court of appeal (one judge of the supreme court is a resident of the islands and presides over the high court); magistrate's court; juvenile court; court of summary jurisdiction political parties and leaders: concerned citizens movement or ccm [ethlyn smith]; national democratic party or ndp [orlando smith]; united party or up [gregory maduro]; virgin islands party or vip [ralph t. o'neal] political pressure groups and leaders: na international organization participation: caricom (associate). cdb. interpol (subbureau). ioc. oecs (associate). unesco (associate). upu diplomatic representation in the us: none (overseas territory of the uk) diplomatic representation from the us: none (overseas territory of the uk) flag description: blue. with the flag of the uk in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the virgin islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the latin word vigilate (be watchful) economy - overview: the economy. one of the most stable and prosperous in the caribbean. is highly dependent on tourism. generating an estimated 45% of the national income. an estimated 350.000 tourists. mainly from the us. visited the islands in 1998. tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster us economy. in the mid-1980s. the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands. and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. roughly 400.000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. the adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994. which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses. is expected to make the british virgin islands even more attractive to international business. livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. because of traditionally close links with the us virgin islands. the british virgin islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. gdp (purchasing power parity): $2.498 billion (2004 est.) gdp (official exchange rate): na gdp - real growth rate: 1% na (2002 est.) gdp - per capita: purchasing power parity - $38.500 (2004 est.) gdp - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.8% industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) labor force: 12.770 (2004) labor force - by occupation: agriculture na%. industry na%. services na% unemployment rate: 3% (1995) population below poverty line: na household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: na highest 10%: na inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2003) budget: revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million. including capital expenditures of na (1997) agriculture - products: fruits. vegetables; livestock. poultry; fish industries: tourism. light industry. construction. rum. concrete block. offshore financial center industrial production growth rate: na% electricity - production: 34.55 million kwh (2003) electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) electricity - consumption: 32.13 million kwh (2003) electricity - exports: 0 kwh (2003) electricity - imports: 0 kwh (2003) oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2003) oil - consumption: 410 bbl/day (2003 est.) oil - exports: na (2001) oil - imports: na (2001) exports: $25.3 million (2002) exports - partners: virgin islands (us). puerto rico. us (2004) imports: $187 million (2002 est.) imports - partners: virgin islands (us). puerto rico. us (2004) debt - external: $36.1 million (1997) economic aid - recipient: na currency (code): us dollar (usd) currency code: usd exchange rates: the us dollar is used fiscal year: 1 april - 31 march telephones - main lines in use: 11.700 (2002) telephones - mobile cellular: 8.000 (2002) telephone system: general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: na international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to bermuda radio broadcast stations: am 1. fm 5. shortwave 0 (2004) radios: 9.000 (1997) television broadcast stations: 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) televisions: 4.000 (1997) internet country code: .vg internet service providers (isps): 16 (2000) internet users: 4.000 (2002) airports: 3 (2004 est.) airports - with paved runways: total: 2 914 to 1.523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2005 est.) airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 914 to 1.523 m: 1 (2005 est.) roadways: total: 177 km paved: 177 km (2002) merchant marine: total: 1 ships (1.000 grt or over) 83.825 grt/155.909 dwt by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2005) ports and terminals: road town military - note: defense is the responsibility of the uk disputes - international: none illicit drugs: transshipment point for south american narcotics destined for the us and europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering
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