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The USVI officially has 108,612 inhabitants, with 53,234 on St. Croix, 51,181 on St. Thomas, and 4,197 on St. John. The total count of people in the BVI is 20,988, with 17,233 on Tortola. Virgin Gorda has 3,174 inhabitants, Jost Van Dyke 211, and Anegada 182. The rest of the 188 people are scattered about on small cays and boats.

The majority of USVI and BVI residents are black descendents of slaves brought over from West Africa. Only in St. John does the number of white residents approach that of black. The Hispanic population is fairly large in St. Croix, and is growing on other islands through immigration.

The USVI is an Unincorporated Territory of the US. Its residents are US citizens, but cannot vote in presidential elections. The BVI is a Crown Colony of the UK. Its residents are British citizens, but may only vote locally.

USVI voters elect a delegate to the US House of Representatives. She has no vote in either congressional committees or on the floor, but does lobby for federal funding for the territory. She has offices Washington, St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas. The USVI is considered one district. It has no representative in the US Senate.

Every four years, USVI voters elect a governor and lieutenant governor. They also elect a 15-member one-house Legislature every two years. In the BVI, voters elect a 13-member unicameral Legislative Council every four years. The Queen appoints the BVI governor, who in turn appoints the chief minister from among the members of the Legislative Council.

In the USVI, the governor appoints his cabinet members, who head different departments. Several semi-autonomous agencies oversee power and water generation, the ports and airports, and the university. In the BVI, members of the Legislative Council appointed to the cabinet by the governor oversee the various departments.

There are churches at nearly every bend in the road in the VI. Many are mainline denominations such as Anglican, Catholic, and Moravian, but there are an increasing number of evangelical churches with no denominational affiliation. St. Thomas has a synagogue (seeSt. Thomas Synagogue). Visitors are welcome at religious services, but wear your Sunday finery.

While tourism is a mainstay and the most visible part of the islands’ economy, the BVI’s huge offshore banking industry is equally important. A total of 51,697 companies are registered in the BVI, but most of them merely funnel their paperwork through small Tortola-based companies set up to deal with multitudes of companies.

Tourism is the heart of the USVI economy, although St. Croix does have the huge Hovensa oil refinery that employs more workers than any other private company. The island also has a few watch factories and a rum factory.

More tourists visit both the USVI and BVI in winter. However, both can be visited year-round. The USVI sees 2.4 million visitors a year, with 2.2 million of them visiting St. Thomas/St. John. In the BVI, the vast majority of the 543,423 tourists visit Tortola.