Description
The United States Virgin Islands (abbreviated USVI; also called the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands, or American Virgin Islands), officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles to the east of Puerto Rico and west of the British Virgin Islands.
The U.S. Virgin Islands consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, and many other surrounding minor islands. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km2). The territory’s capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.
The islands were named “Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes” by Christopher Columbus in 1493 after the legend of Saint Ursula and the 11,000 virgins. The name was later shortened to “the Virgin Islands”.
In 2010, the population was 106,405, with current estimates putting the population at 107,000 (July 2018), most of them being of Afro-Caribbean descent. Tourism and related categories are the primary economic activities.
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