Country profile · Latin America & Caribbean

🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands

High income. Capital Road Town. Full World Bank, WHO, ILO & OECD indicator profile across 21 measures, with regional peers and rankings.

39.5K
Population
N/A
GDP
-
GDP / capita
77.4 years
Life expectancy
Latin America & Caribbean High income Capital: Road Town

The verdict

British Virgin Islands ranks 81st for life expectancy - a high income economy in Latin America & Caribbean.

#81
Life-expectancy rank
#209
Population rank

Ranks are computed across the 217 countries with data for each indicator; see the full tables and sources below.

British Virgin Islands on the global income map

British Virgin Islands (VGB) plotted alongside its largest economic peers on GDP per capita and the Human Development Index. Bubble area scales with population; color encodes income tier; gold rings mark OECD members.

British Virgin Islands on the global income map British Virgin Islands positioned on the GDP-per-capita / HDI plane against its largest economic peers. 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 $200 $1K $10K $100K GDP per capita (USD, log scale) Human Development Index (0–1) India - GDP/cap $2,695 · lower-middle income IND China - GDP/cap $13,303 · upper-middle income CHN United States - GDP/cap $84,534 · high income · OECD USA Indonesia - GDP/cap $4,925 · upper-middle income IDN Pakistan - GDP/cap $1,479 · lower-middle income Nigeria - GDP/cap $1,084 · low income Brazil - GDP/cap $10,311 · upper-middle income Bangladesh - GDP/cap $2,593 · lower-middle income Russian Federation - GDP/cap $14,889 · high income Ethiopia - GDP/cap $1,134 · low income Mexico - GDP/cap $14,186 · high income · OECD Japan - GDP/cap $32,487 · high income · OECD Egypt, Arab Rep. - GDP/cap $3,338 · lower-middle income Philippines - GDP/cap $3,985 · lower-middle income Congo, Dem. Rep. - GDP/cap $693 · low income Viet Nam - GDP/cap $4,717 · upper-middle income Iran, Islamic Rep. - GDP/cap $5,190 · upper-middle income Turkiye - GDP/cap $15,893 · high income · OECD Germany - GDP/cap $56,104 · high income · OECD Thailand - GDP/cap $7,387 · upper-middle income United Kingdom - GDP/cap $53,246 · high income · OECD Tanzania - GDP/cap $1,193 · lower-middle income France - GDP/cap $46,103 · high income · OECD South Africa - GDP/cap $6,267 · upper-middle income Italy - GDP/cap $40,385 · high income · OECD Kenya - GDP/cap $2,133 · lower-middle income Myanmar - GDP/cap $1,359 · lower-middle income Colombia - GDP/cap $7,951 · upper-middle income · OECD Korea, Rep. - GDP/cap $36,239 · high income · OECD Sudan - GDP/cap $985 · low income Income tier Low Lower-middle Upper-middle High OECD member

Indicators tracked

21

Across 8 topic areas

GDP per capita

N/A

Latest WB report

Population

39.5K

UN estimate

OECD member

No

Outside OECD harmonized stats

Population
39.5K
GDP
N/A
GDP per Capita
N/A
Life Expectancy
77.4 years

Overview

British Virgin Islands has a population of 39.5K, making it the 209th-most populous country out of 217 tracked in Latin America & Caribbean.

Life expectancy at birth is 77.4 years (ranked 81st globally), reflecting overall health outcomes as measured by the World Bank.

The capital is Road Town.

👥 Demographics

Population
39.5K
2024
Population Ages 0-14
14.5%
2024
Population Ages 65+
9.6%
2024
Population Density
259.9/km²
2023
Urban Population
56.5%
2024

💰 Economy

Foreign Direct Investment
$53.6 billion
2024

🏥 Health

Infant Mortality Rate
11.4 per 1,000
2024
Life Expectancy at Birth
77.4 years
2024
Under-5 Mortality Rate
12.4 per 1,000
2024

📚 Education

Education Expenditure (% of GDP)
3.2%
2023
School Enrollment (Primary)
72.8
2024
School Enrollment (Secondary)
75.6
2024
School Enrollment (Tertiary)
29.6
2024

🌍 Environment

CO2 Emissions Per Capita
2.3
2024
Forest Area
24.1
2023
Renewable Energy Consumption
1.3%
2022

🏗️ Infrastructure

Access to Electricity
100.0%
2023
Internet Users
77.7%
2017
Mobile Subscriptions
93.1
2024

⚖️ Social

Intentional Homicides
8.2
2006
Net Migration
212
2024

🫀 Disease Burden

Key causes of death and disease risk in British Virgin Islands. Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.

Sources: WHO Global Health Observatory. NCD mortality rate: latest available. Rates are age-standardized per 100,000 population. Premature NCD risk covers cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease.

Compare British Virgin Islands with Another Country

What the data says about British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands sits in the high-income bracket but outside the OECD's harmonized reporting network, so its statistics come straight from the World Bank, WHO, and ILO source series rather than a jointly reconciled OECD dataset - still official, but with less cross-checking between agencies than an OECD member gets. Because output and income figures are converted at market exchange rates into current dollars, they can swing with currency movements independent of any real change in living standards, and for a small economy like this one that swing shows up more visibly in the headline numbers than it would for a larger country. The fuller picture comes from comparing British Virgin Islands against income-tier peers of a similar size.

British Virgin Islands sits in Latin America & Caribbean with a population of 39.5K, placing it 209th out of 217 countries by headcount. Its capital, Road Town, anchors a High income economy with total GDP of N/A - ranked mid-ranked globally, and GDP per capita of N/A. This combination of demographic scale and economic output shapes everything from household purchasing power and domestic market depth to the country's weight in regional trade flows and international development programmes.

Life expectancy at birth in British Virgin Islands is 77.4 years, ranking 81st worldwide and offering a summary read on healthcare access, nutrition, sanitation, and long-run living standards. The World Bank's World Development Indicators, combined with the WHO Global Health Observatory and ILO ILOSTAT wage statistics, expose 21 data points across 7 thematic areas, from fertility and urbanisation to CO₂ emissions, school enrolment, and labour-force participation. Reading these indicators together, rather than in isolation, is what turns headline numbers into a grounded portrait of how people actually live.

Use the indicator tables below to track trajectories over time, jump to British Virgin Islands's placement on specific rankings such as GDP, population density, or life expectancy, and open the side-by-side Compare view to benchmark against peers inside Latin America & Caribbean or across income groups. Because all figures come from official, CC BY 4.0-licensed datasets with clear vintages, you can cite them directly in research or journalism. Where a field reads "N/A", the upstream agency has not yet released that value for British Virgin Islands - we never fabricate estimates or carry forward stale values, so missing points stay visible rather than quietly filled in.

Using the British Virgin Islands profile

A single rank only means something in context, read British Virgin Islands's numbers against its peers and over time.

  • Put British Virgin Islands side-by-side with another country to see exactly where the gaps are. Compare countries
  • Rank all 217 countries on any indicator. All rankings
  • Browse Latin America & Caribbean to benchmark British Virgin Islands against its regional peers. Regional peers

Figures come from official World Bank, WHO, ILO and OECD releases; observation years differ by indicator (shown in the “Year” column) and unavailable values appear as “N/A” rather than estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the data for British Virgin Islands come from?

Data for British Virgin Islands is sourced from the World Bank Open Data catalog, WHO Global Health Observatory, and ILO ILOSTAT (for average wages and working hours). These are official, publicly available datasets.

How current is the data for British Virgin Islands?

It varies by indicator - most points are 2020-2024. See our methodology page for the update cadence per source.

Can I compare British Virgin Islands with other countries?

Yes - use the compare tool above, or the rankings catalog to see where British Virgin Islands stands on any single indicator.

What does GDP per capita tell us about British Virgin Islands?

British Virgin Islands's total output divided by its population, in current US dollars - an approximate read on average economic productivity per person. See our methodology page for the PPP-adjustment caveats.

How does British Virgin Islands's life expectancy compare to the global average?

77.4 years, ranking 81st of 217 countries tracked - against a global average near 73 years.

Does PlainCountries cover visa or travel information for British Virgin Islands?

No - PlainCountries is development and health data only. PlainVisa (plainvisa.com) covers immigration policy; PlainFlights (plainflights.com) covers flight routes.

Source: World Bank Open Data, Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, Source: ILO ILOSTAT. World Bank and ILO data licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, financial, or policy advice. Data is sourced from the World Bank, WHO, ILO, and OECD. See our full disclaimer and editorial policy.