The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
Tortola is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of 55.7 square kilometres with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in Road Town. Mount Sage is its highest point at 530 metres above sea level.
Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands, measuring roughly 8 square kilometres. It rests in the northern portion of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Jost Van Dyke lies about 8 km (5 mi) to the northwest of Tortola and 8 km (5 mi) to the north of Saint John. Little Jost Van Dyke lies off its eastern end.
The National Democratic Party is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. In the 2019 general election the NDP was voted out of office; it most recently held power after winning the 2015 general election.
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of the islands within the BVI. The airport is also a gateway for inter-Caribbean travelers headed to the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands. Many travellers fly into Beef Island, with the intention of taking a ferry to the other smaller British Virgin Islands. The airport is located on Beef Island, a small island off the main island of Tortola, to which it is connected by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 7 November 2011. The result was a decisive victory for the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) led by Orlando Smith over the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP), led by Premier Ralph T. O'Neal. No minor parties or independent candidates won any seats.
"Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" is the official territorial song of the British Virgin Islands. The song was composed by brother and sister team Kareem Nelson Hull and Ayana Hull, both Virgin Islanders. It was adopted as the territorial song by resolution of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands on 24 July 2012. As a British Overseas Territory, the Virgin Islands retains "God Save the King" as its official national anthem.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 8 June 2015 to elect members to the House of Assembly. The result was a landslide victory for the incumbent National Democratic Party (NDP) over the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP). No minor parties or independent candidates won any seats. Unusually, every single incumbent candidate who stood in their original seat was victorious.
Healthcare in the British Virgin Islands is predominantly provided by private healthcare providers with an overlay of public support. There is a single public hospital in the British Virgin Islands - Peebles Hospital in Road Town on Tortola. There is also one private hospital - the Bougainvillea clinic. On Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, there are day clinics to serve non-emergency medical needs of residents of those islands. Although there is periodic discussion about the possibility of building another hospital on Virgin Gorda, to date there has been no commitment to doing so. For emergency medical evacuations from other islands a boat is maintained.
There are presently five principal British Virgin Islands news websites publishing news focused upon current affairs in the Territory:
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 25 February 2019. For the first time, four parties with at least one incumbent member were contesting an election.
Eileene Lucia Parsons OBE is a former British Virgin Islands Government Minister. She was one of the first woman ministers and the first deputy speaker of that government. In local press she is frequently referred to as being a "cultural icon" for her work with the BVI Heritage Dance Company and other local cultural groups.
Andrew Alturo Fahie was a British Virgin Islands politician who served as Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands from 2016 to 2022. He was convicted of a range of charges relating to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States in 2024.
McWelling "Mac" Todman, was a civil servant and lawyer from the British Virgin Islands who played an important role in the early political history of the Territory.
Events from the year 2018 in the British Virgin Islands.
Events from the year 2019 in the British Virgin Islands.
The Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Ronnie Skelton.
Events from the year 2022 in the British Virgin Islands.
Alvera Maduro-Caines is a British Virgin Islands politician. She is a member of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands for the Sixth District, a position that she has held since the 2011 general election. She was originally elected as a representative of the National Democratic Party but in 2020, she crossed the floor to join the Virgin Islands Party. She is the current Junior Minister for Culture and Tourism.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 24 April 2023. The governing Virgin Islands Party (VIP) remained the largest party in the House of Assembly but lost its majority resulting in a hung parliament.
