Forgotten world (51): British Virgin Islands
On ten occasions now, I’ve had a week-long feature on NightHawk devoted to parts of the world that tend to be under-reported or even forgotten. You can check out the previous 50 entries here. This week, I am going to run an 11th series of postings on this theme.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) comprise around 60 semi-tropical Caribbean islands, ranging in size from the largest, Tortola (approximately 12 miles by 3 miles), to tiny uninhabited islets. They are located in the Virgin Islands archipelago, a few miles east of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Around 15 of the islands are inhabited, but the islands only have a total population of about 22,000.
The BVI is a British overseas territory. Therefore executive authority is invested in the British Queen and is exercised on her behalf by the Governor of the islands. Defence and foreign affairs remain the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
The Head of Government is the Chief Minister, who is elected in a general election along with the other members of the ruling government as well as the members of the opposition. An Executive Council is nominated by the Chief Minister and appointed by the Governor. There is a unicameral Legislative Council made up of 13 seats.
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 2000.