The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The islands have a tropical climate.
Virgin Islands of the United States | |
|---|---|
| Motto: "United in Pride and Hope" | |
| Anthem: "Virgin Islands March" (regional) "The Star-Spangled Banner" (official) | |
.svg) Location of the United States Virgin Islands | |
| Sovereign state |  United States |
| Before purchase | Danish West Indies |
| Transfer from Denmark | March 31, 1917 |
| Capital and largest city | Charlotte Amalie 18°21′N 64°56′W / 18.350°N 64.933°W |
| Official languages | English |
| Vernacular language | Virgin Islands Creole |
| Ethnic groups (2020) | By race
By ethnicity
|
| Religion (2022) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Virgin Islander; U.S. Virgin Islander |
| Government | Devolved presidential constitutional dependency |
| Donald Trump (R) | |
• Governor | Albert Bryan (D) |
| Tregenza Roach (D) | |
| Legislature | Legislature of the Virgin Islands |
| United States Congress | |
| 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 |
• Density | 653.6/sq mi (252.4/km2) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
• Per capita | $38,136 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | US$4.068 billion |
| HDI (2019) |  0.892very high · 31st |
| Currency | United States dollar (US$) (USD) |
| Time zone | UTC−04:00 (AST) |
| Date format | mm/dd/yyyy |
| Driving side | Left |
| Calling code | +1 |
| USPS abbreviation | VI |
| Trad. abbreviation | U.S.V.I. |
| ISO 3166 code | |
| Internet TLD | .vi |
| Website | vi.gov |
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. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km2). 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 ($614 million in 2024) in which the United States also recognized Denmark's control over Greenland, 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 U.S. Virgin Islands elects a delegate who can participate in debates in the House of Representatives but cannot vote.
The primary economic activities on the islands are tourism and services.
