United States Virgin Islands

The United States Virgin Islands are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. They are currently owned and under the authority of the United States Government. They used to be owned by Denmark. They were sold to the U.S. on January 17, 1917, because of fear that the Germans would capture them and use them as a submarine base in World War I. They are the only part of the U.S. where vehicles drive on the left hand side of the road.

Virgin Islands of the United States
Flag Seal
Sovereign state	United States
Capital	Charlotte Amalie
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups (2020)	By race 71.4% Black 16.6% White 3.0% other 7.5% multiracial 1.0% Asian By ethnicity 81.6% non-Hispanic or Latino 18.4% Hispanic or Latino
Demonym(s)	Virgin Islander; U.S. Virgin Islander
Government	Devolved presidential constitutional dependency
• President	Donald Trump (R)
• Governor	Albert Bryan (D)
• Lieutenant Governor	Tregenza Roach (D)
Area
• Total	346.4 km2 (133.7 sq mi)
• Water (%)	Negligible
Highest elevation	1,555 ft (474 m)
Population
• 2020 census	87,146
• Density	653.6/sq mi (252.4/km2)
GDP (PPP)	2003 estimate
• Total	$1.577 billion
Currency	United States dollar (USD)
Date format	mm/dd/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1-340
Internet TLD	.vi

Other websites

Media related to United States Virgin Islands at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Tourism Website
• Governor's Website Archived 2015-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
• "Virgin Islands". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
• U.S. Census Bureau: Island Areas Census 2000
• United States Virgin Islands at the Open Directory Project
• Wikimedia Atlas of the United States Virgin Islands
• U.S. Virgin Islands travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Real-time, geographic and other scientific resources of Virgin Islands Archived 2016-02-01 at the Wayback Machine from the United States Geological Survey
• Convention between the United States and Denmark for cession of the Danish West Indies