]! ^! During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. 
]" ^" Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico ^# 18 20 N, 64 50 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 352 sq km `" 349 sq km `# 3 sq km ^& twice the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 188 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November ^+ mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Crown Mountain 474 m ^- sun, sand, sea, surf ^. `' 11.76% `( 2.94% `) 85.3% (2001) ^/ NA ^0 several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes ^1 lack of natural freshwater resources ^2 important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean 
]# ^3 108,708 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 23.1% (male 12,676/female 12,421) `+ 66.2% (male 34,069/female 37,918) `, 10.7% (male 5,125/female 6,499) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 36.52 years `- 35.6 years `. 37.33 years (2005 est.) ^6 -0.07% (2005 est.) ^7 14.2 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.06 male(s)/female `0 1.02 male(s)/female `+ 0.9 male(s)/female `, 0.79 male(s)/female `1 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 8.03 deaths/1,000 live births `- 9.11 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 78.91 years `- 75.08 years `. 82.96 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Virgin Islander(s) `3 Virgin Islander ^B black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 census) ^C Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% ^D English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census) ^E `M NA `1 NA% `- NA% `. NA% 
]$ ^F `4 United States Virgin Islands `5 Virgin Islands `X Danish West Indies ^G organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior ^H NA ^I Charlotte Amalie ^J none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas ^L Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) ^M Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 ^N based on US laws ^O 18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections ^P `6 President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) `7 Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) `8 NA `9 US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held November 2006) `: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4% ^Q unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) `9 last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, ICM 2, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected ^R US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) ^S Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] ^T NA ^U Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU ^V none (territory of the US) ^W none (territory of the US) ^X white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel 
]% ^Y Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. ^Z $2.5 billion (2002 est.) ^[ 2% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2002 est.) ^] `; 1% `< 19% `= 80% (2003 est.) ^^ 48,900 (2003 est.) ^_ agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (2003 est.) ^` 9.3% (2003 est.) ^a NA% _! `> NA `? NA _" 2.2% (2003) _# `@ $560 `A NA (2003) _$ fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle _% tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics _& NA% _' 1.035 billion kWh (2002) _( 962.6 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 66,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ NA _0 refined petroleum products _1 US, Puerto Rico _2 NA _3 crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials _4 US, Puerto Rico _5 NA _6 NA _7 US dollar (USD) _8 the US dollar is used _9 1 October - 30 September 
]& _: 69,400 (2002) _; 41,000 (2002) _< `B modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay `C full range of services available `D country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA _= AM 6, FM 17, shortwave 0 (2004) _> 16 (2004) _? .vi _A 30,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 1,257 km `E 1,192 km `F 65 km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2003) _C Charlotte Amalie, Limetree Bay _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `^ 2 (2004 est.) 
]( _G defense is the responsibility of the US 
]) _H none 