View source for United States Virgin Islands

{{Short description|U.S. territory in the Caribbean}}
{{Distinguish|British Virgin Islands|Spanish Virgin Islands}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox dependency
| name        = Virgin Islands of the United States
| settlement_type = [[Territories of the United States|Unincorporated and organized U.S. territory]]
| image_flag  = Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg
| flag_size   = 125px
| flag_link   = Flag of the United States Virgin Islands
| image_seal  = Seal of the United States Virgin Islands.svg
| seal_size   = 95px
| seal_type   = Seal
| seal_link   = Seal of the United States Virgin Islands
| motto_link  = List of U.S. state and territory mottos
| motto       = "United in Pride and Hope"
| anthem      = "[[Virgin Islands March]]" (regional)<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:Territorial anthem of the United States Virgin Islands.wav]]}}</div><br>"[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" (official)<br>{{center|[[File:Star Spangled Banner instrumental.ogg]]}}
| anthem_link = Regional anthem
| image_map   = United States Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
| map_caption = Location of the United States Virgin Islands
| mapsize     = 250px
| subdivision_type   = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flagu|United States}}{{efn|Despite being under the sovereignty of the United States since 1917, the USVI has not been fully [[Territories of the United States#Incorporated vs. unincorporated territories|incorporated]] into the country for constitutional purposes.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Territories - Developments in the Law|work= [[Harvard Law Review]] |date= April 10, 2017 |url= https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-130/us-territories-introduction/ |language=en |access-date=June 11, 2024}}</ref> See the page for the [[Insular Cases#Background|Insular Cases]] for more information.}}
| established_title  = Before purchase
| established_date   = [[Danish West Indies]]
| established_title2 = [[Transfer Day|Transfer from Denmark]]
| established_date2  = March 31, 1917
| official_languages = [[American English|English]]
| languages_type         = [[Vernacular language]]
| languages              = [[Virgin Islands Creole]]
| demonym      = Virgin Islander; U.S. Virgin Islander
| capital      = [[Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]]
| largest_city = [[Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]]
| coordinates  = {{Coord|18|21|N|64|56|W|region:US-VI}}
| ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="data.census.gov">{{Cite web |title=2020 Island Areas Censuses Data on Demographic, Social, Economic and Housing Characteristics Now Available for the U.S. Virgin Islands |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0400000US78&d=DECIA%20U.S.%20Virgin%20Islands%20Demographic%20Profile&tid=DECENNIALDPVI2020.DP1 |access-date=October 26, 2022 |archive-date=October 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026162906/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0400000US78&d=DECIA%20U.S.%20Virgin%20Islands%20Demographic%20Profile&tid=DECENNIALDPVI2020.DP1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| ethnic_groups = {{Plainlist|'''By race'''
* 71.4% [[African Americans|Black]]
* 16.6% [[White Americans|White]]
* 7.5% [[Multiracial Americans|Multiracial]]
* 3.0% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|other]]
* 1.0% [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
}}
{{Plainlist|'''By ethnicity'''
* 81.6% non-Hispanic or Latino
* 18.4% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
}}
| ethnic_groups_year = 2020
| religion_ref       = <ref name="globalreligiousfutures.org">{{Cite web |title=Religions in U S Virgin Islands - PEW-GRF |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/u-s-virgin-islands#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107232948/http://globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/u-s-virgin-islands#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010 |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |access-date=February 22, 2017 |website=www.globalreligiousfutures.org}}</ref>
| religion_year      = 2022
| religion           = {{Plainlist|
* 86.7% [[Christianity in the United States|Christianity]]
* 8.4% [[Irreligion in the United States|no religion]]
* 4.9% [[Religion in the United States Virgin Islands|other]]
}}
| government_type    = [[Devolution|Devolved]] [[Presidential system|presidential]] [[constitution]]al [[Dependent territory|dependency]]
| leader_title1      = [[President of the United States|President]]
| leader_name1        = [[Donald Trump]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]) 
| leader_title2      = [[List of governors of the United States Virgin Islands|Governor]]
| leader_name2      = {{nowrap|[[Albert Bryan Jr.|Albert Bryan]] ([[Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands|D]])}}
| leader_title3    = [[Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands|Lieutenant Governor]]
| leader_name3      = {{nowrap|[[Tregenza Roach]] ([[Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands|D]])}}
| legislature        = [[Legislature of the Virgin Islands]]
| national_representation = [[United States Congress]]
| national_representation_type1 = [[United States Virgin Islands's at-large congressional district|House delegate]]
| national_representation1 = [[Stacey Plaskett]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| area_rank = 
| area_sq_mi = 133.73 <!-- Do not remove as per WP:MOSNUM -->

| area_km2 =
| percent_water = negligible
| elevation_max_m = 474
| elevation_max_ft = 1,555
| population_census = 87,146<ref name="Islandareas">{{Cite web |title=2020 Island Areas Censuses: U.S. Virgin Islands |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-us-virgin-islands.html |access-date=January 8, 2022 |website=United States Census Bureau |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |archive-date=January 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120165859/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-us-virgin-islands.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2020
| population_estimate =
| population_estimate_year =
| population_estimate_rank =
| population_density_km2 =
| population_density_sq_mi = 653.6 <!-- Do not remove as per WP:MOSNUM -->
| population_density_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year = 2019
| GDP_PPP_rank =
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = $38,136<ref>{{Cite report |date=May 5, 2017 |title=Gross Domestic Product Per Capita for U.S. Virgin Islands |url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCAGDPVIA646NWDB |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523085823/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCAGDPVIA646NWDB |archive-date=May 23, 2017 |access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal =US$4.068 billion<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands (U.S.) {{!}} Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/country/VI |access-date=August 10, 2021 |website=data.worldbank.org |archive-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810042251/https://data.worldbank.org/country/VI |url-status=live }}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_year =2019
| GDP_nominal_rank =
| GDP_nominal_per_capita =
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
| Gini =
| Gini_year =
| Gini_change = <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| Gini_ref =
| HDI = 0.892 <!-- number only -->
| Zipcode = 00801-00851
| HDI_year = 2019<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change = increase <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| HDI_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=The Forgotten Isles: A Risk Assessment of the United States' Island Territories, 2008-2020|url=https://sites.tufts.edu/gis/files/2020/08/cassella_bryan_DHPP207_Spring2020.pdf|archive-date=December 4, 2021|website=sites.tufts.edu|access-date=December 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204150216/https://sites.tufts.edu/gis/files/2020/08/cassella_bryan_DHPP207_Spring2020.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 31st
| currency = [[United States dollar]] (US$)
| currency_code = USD
| timezone = [[Atlantic Time Zone|AST]]
| utc_offset = −04:00
| date_format = mm/dd/yyyy
| drives_on = left
| calling_code = [[North American Numbering Plan|+1]]
| postal_code_type = {{nowrap|[[List of U.S. state abbreviations#Postal codes|USPS abbreviation]]}}
| postal_code = VI
| postal2_code_type = [[List of U.S. state abbreviations#Current use of traditional abbreviations|Trad. abbreviation]]
| postal2_code = U.S.V.I.
| iso_code = {{hlist|[[ISO 3166-2:VI|VI]]|[[ISO 3166-2:US|US-VI]]}}
| cctld = [[.vi]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.vi.gov/|vi.gov}}
}}

The '''United States Virgin Islands''',{{efn|{{langx|da|Amerikanske Jomfruøer}}. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''.}} officially the '''Virgin Islands of the United States''', are a group of [[Caribbean]] islands and a [[Territories of the United States|territory]] of the [[United States]].<ref name="WorldFactbook" /> The islands are geographically part of the [[Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands archipelago]] and are located in the [[Leeward Islands]] of the [[Lesser Antilles]].<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=United States Virgin Islands |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States-Virgin-Islands |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731181154/https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States-Virgin-Islands |archive-date=July 31, 2022 |access-date=August 6, 2022 |website=Britannica}}</ref>  The islands have a [[tropical climate]].

The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of [[Saint Croix]], [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint John]], and [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint Thomas]] and 50 other surrounding [[List of minor islands of the United States Virgin Islands|minor islands and cays]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Virgin-Islands |publisher=britannica.com |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726023024/https://www.britannica.com/place/Virgin-Islands |url-status=live }}</ref> The total land area of the territory is {{convert|133.73|sqmi|km2|2}}.<ref name="WorldFactbook" /> The territory's capital is [[Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]] on the island of St. Thomas.

Previously known as the [[Danish West Indies]] of the [[Denmark–Norway|Kingdom of Denmark–Norway]] (from 1754 to 1814) and the independent [[Kingdom of Denmark]] (from 1814 to 1917), they were sold to the United States by Denmark for $25,000,000 in the 1917 [[Treaty of the Danish West Indies]]<ref name="WorldFactbook" /> {{USDCY|25000000|1917}} in which the United States also recognized Denmark's control over Greenland, and have since been an [[Unincorporated territories of the United States|organized, unincorporated United States territory]]. The U.S. Virgin Islands are organized under the 1954 [[Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands]] and have since held five constitutional conventions. As with other territories in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands elects a [[United States Virgin Islands's at-large congressional district|delegate]] who can participate in debates in the House of Representatives but cannot vote.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leibowitz |first=Arnold H. |title=Defining status : a comprehensive analysis of United States territorial relations |date=1989 |publisher=Nijhoff |isbn=0-7923-0069-6 |location=Dordrecht |oclc=18779202}}</ref>

The primary economic activities on the islands are tourism and services.<ref name="WorldFactbook" />

==Etymology==
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.<ref name="WorldFactbook" /> The name was later shortened to the ''Virgin Islands''.<ref name="WorldFactbook" />

==History==
{{Main|History of the United States Virgin Islands}}

===Pre-European contact===
[[File:Petroglyphsstjohnusvi.jpg|thumb|left|Ancient [[petroglyph]]s in the [[Virgin Islands National Park]]]]
The U.S. Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the [[Ciboney]] and [[Arawak]]s,<ref name="Dookhan-1994">{{Cite book |last=Dookhan |first=Isaac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XxT8qxBjwoUC |title=A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States |publisher=Canoe Press |year=1994 |isbn=9789768125057}}</ref> with some scholars thinking that the islands were inhabited from as early as 1000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Britannica" /> The [[Kalinago]] (Island Caribs) arrived around the mid-15th century AD.<ref name="Britannica" />

===Early European settlers===
Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage in 1493, is thought to have been the first European to see the islands, giving them their current name.<ref name="Dookhan-1994" /> The Spanish later settled in 1555, with English and French settlers arriving on St.&nbsp;Croix from 1625.<ref name="Britannica" /> There followed a complex period in which the islands were disputed among Spain, France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.<ref name="Britannica" />

===Danish period===
{{Main|Danish West Indies}}
[[Denmark–Norway]] also took an interest in the islands, and the [[Danish West India Company]] settled on St.&nbsp;Thomas in 1672 and St.&nbsp;John in 1694, later buying St.&nbsp;Croix from France in 1733.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief History of the Danish West Indies, 1666–1917 |url=http://www.virgin-islands-history.dk/eng/vi_hist.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204103732/http://www.virgin-islands-history.dk/eng/vi_hist.asp |archive-date=December 4, 2008 |access-date=January 26, 2017 |publisher=Danish National Archives}}</ref> The islands became royal Danish colonies in 1754, named the Danish West Indian Islands ({{langx|da|De dansk-vestindiske øer}}). Initially the currency was the [[Danish West Indian rigsdaler]], replaced by the [[Danish West Indian daler|daler]] in 1849. The islands proved ideal for sugar plantations: [[sugarcane]], produced by [[Slavery|enslaved]] Africans, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries.<ref name="Britannica" /> Other plantation crops included [[cotton]] and [[Indigofera tinctoria|indigo dye]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |title=Virgin Islands History |url=http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102192826/http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/ |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |website=VI Now |quote=In the Danish West Indies slaves labored mainly on sugar plantations. Cotton, indigo and other crops were also grown. Sugar mills and plantations dotted the islands hilly landscapes. Each island's economy prospered through sugar plantations and slave trading. While St.&nbsp;John and St.&nbsp;Croix maintained a plantation economy, St.&nbsp;Thomas developed into a prosperous center of trade. Slave rebellion on St.&nbsp;John and St.&nbsp;Croix are well documented. Legitimate trade and business on St.&nbsp;Thomas influenced a different society where many more slaves were given freedom and an opportunity outside plantation life.}}</ref>{{better source needed |date= February 2017}} During the 17th and 18th centuries, a sizable [[Judaism|Jewish]] community also began to settle on the islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Synagogue |url=http://www.jewishvirginislands.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/291284/jewish/Jewish-History-on-Island.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413154520/https://www.jewishvirginislands.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/291284/jewish/Jewish-History-on-Island.htm |archive-date=April 13, 2019 |access-date=July 14, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Høgensborg, Plantation, St.&nbsp;Croix, Danish West Indies.jpg|thumb|right|The Høgensborg estate on Sankt Croix, 1833]]
In 1733, St.&nbsp;John was the site of one of the [[1733 slave insurrection on St. John|first significant slave rebellions]] in the New World when [[Akan people|Akan]]–[[Akwamu]] slaves from the Gold Coast (modern [[Ghana]]) took over the island for six months. The Danish were able to defeat the enslaved Africans with help from the French in [[Martinique]].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2000 |title=St. John Slave Rebellion |url=http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Slave%20Rebellion.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621205949/http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Slave%20Rebellion.htm |archive-date=June 21, 2008 <!--Added by DASHBot--> |access-date=July 19, 2008 |website=St. John Off the Beaten Track |publisher=Sombrero Publishing Co}}</ref> Instead of allowing themselves to be recaptured, more than a dozen of the ringleaders shot themselves before the French forces could capture them. It is estimated that by 1775, slaves outnumbered the Danish settlers by a ratio of 8:1.<ref>Hatch 1972:33</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Annaberg in 3D |url=http://slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/page/annaberg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007175329/http://slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/page/annaberg |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |access-date=October 2, 2021 |website=Slavery Images}}</ref>
[[File:Bark MARY og Frederiksted.jpg|thumb|Frederiksstad on Saint Croix, 1848]]
After another slave rebellion occurred on St.&nbsp;Croix, slavery was abolished by Governor [[Peter von Scholten]] on July&nbsp;3, 1848,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monuments and sites in St. Croix |url=http://www.unesco.no/fredensborg/monuments_and_site_in_st_croix/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051229150115/http://www.unesco.no/fredensborg/monuments_and_site_in_st_croix/ |archive-date=December 29, 2005 |website=The slave ship Fredenborg: An information project |publisher=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hodge |first=Carl Cavanagh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtEZ7Zq7s-gC&dq=Governor+Peter+von+Scholten+on+July+3,+1848&pg=PA179 |title=Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800-1914 |date=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-33404-7 |pages=179 |language=en |access-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227104946/https://books.google.com/books?id=NtEZ7Zq7s-gC&dq=Governor+Peter+von+Scholten+on+July+3,+1848&pg=PA179 |url-status=live }}</ref> now celebrated as [[Emancipation Day#United States Virgin Islands|Emancipation Day]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lO7kDwAAQBAJ |title=Virgin Islands Court Rules Annotated |date=June 26, 2020 |publisher=LexisNexis |isbn=978-1-5221-8921-3 |pages=399 |language=en |access-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227104945/https://books.google.com/books?id=lO7kDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Over the following years, strict labor laws were implemented several times, leading to the [[1878 St.&nbsp;Croix labor riot]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewishon |first=Florence |title=Divers Information on The Romantic History of St. Croix: From the Time of Columbus until Today |publisher=Dukane Press |year=1964 |pages=48–57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Small Islands, Large Questions: Society, Culture and Resistance in the Post-Emancipation Caribbean |date=January 14, 2014 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Olwig |editor-first=Karen Fog |page=136}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jensen |first=Peter |title=From Serfdom to Fireburn and Strike: The History of Black Labor in the Danish West Indies 1848-1917 |publisher=Antilles Press |year=1998 |location=Christiansted, St. Croix |pages=139 |quote=The liberalization of labor conditions in the 1879, then, did not necessarily result in any improvements in the laborers' conditions, on balance, since it was obtained on the planters' and not the laborers' terms.}}</ref>

With the plantations no longer as profitable, Danish settlers began to abandon their estates, causing a significant drop in population and the overall economy. Additionally, the [[1867 San Narciso hurricane|1867 hurricane]] and [[List of earthquakes in the Caribbean|earthquake and tsunami]] further impacted the economy. For the remainder of the period of Danish rule, the islands were not economically viable and significant transfers had to be made from the Danish state budget to the authorities in the islands.

The United States began to take an interest in the islands, and in 1867 a treaty to sell St.&nbsp;Thomas and St.&nbsp;John to the U.S. was agreed but never effected.<ref name="Danish National Archives">[http://www.virgin-islands-history.dk/eng/vi_hist.asp A Brief History of the Danish West Indies, 1666–1917] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204103732/http://www.virgin-islands-history.dk/eng/vi_hist.asp|date=December 4, 2008}}, Danish National Archives</ref> A number of reforms aimed at reviving the islands' economy were attempted, but none had great success. A second draft treaty to sell the islands to the United States was negotiated in 1902 but was defeated in the upper house of the Danish parliament in a tie vote (because the opposition carried a 97-year-old life member into the chamber).<ref name="Danish National Archives" />

The onset of [[World War I]] brought the reform period to a close and again left the islands isolated. During the [[submarine warfare]] phases of the war, the United States, fearing that the islands might be [[German interest in the Caribbean|seized by Germany]] as a submarine base,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hoover |first=Donald D. |date=April 1, 1926 |title=The Virgin Islands Under American Rule |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1926-04-01/virgin-islands-under-american-rule |magazine=[[Foreign Affairs]] |volume=4 |issn=0015-7120 |number=3 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> again approached Denmark about buying them. After a few months of negotiations, a selling price of $25&nbsp;million<ref name="Rogers-1917">{{Cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Lindsay |date=1917 |title=Government of the Virgin Islands |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=736–737 |doi=10.2307/1946859 |issn=0003-0554 |jstor=1946859|s2cid=146891402 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Britannica" /> in United States gold coin was agreed, equivalent to $614 million in 2024 US dollars. At the same time, the economics of continued possession weighed heavily on the minds of Danish decision makers, and a consensus in favor of selling emerged in the Danish parliament.

The [[Treaty of the Danish West Indies]] was signed on August&nbsp;4, 1916,<ref name="Rogers-1917" /><ref>[http://www.doi.gov/oia/pdf/vitreaty.pdf Convention between the United States and Denmark for cession of the Danish West Indies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721035908/http://www.doi.gov/oia/pdf/vitreaty.pdf|date=July 21, 2011}}, {{USStat|39|1706}}</ref> with a [[1916 Danish West Indian Islands sale referendum|referendum on the sale held in Denmark]] in December 1916 in which voters approved the decision to sell. The deal was finalized on January&nbsp;17, 1917, when the United States and Denmark exchanged their respective treaty ratifications.

===American period===
The United States took possession of the islands on March&nbsp;31, 1917, and the territory was renamed the ''Virgin Islands of the United States''.<ref name="Rogers-1917" /><ref name="Finch-1917">{{Cite journal |last=Finch |first=George A. |date=1917 |title=The Danish West Indies |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/danish-west-indies/6444AAAED3F97789166FAE9CAD6406BC |journal=American Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=413–416 |doi=10.2307/2188064 |jstor=2188064 |issn=0002-9300}}</ref><ref>Flint, Valerie I.J.. "Christopher Columbus". Encyclopedia Britannica, May 9. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus. Accessed May 14, 2025</ref> Every year, [[Transfer Day]] is recognized as a holiday, to commemorate the acquisition of the islands by the United States.<ref>[http://www.dkconsulateusvi.com/transfer/transfer.html Transfer Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628174027/http://www.dkconsulateusvi.com/TRANSFER/transfer.html|date=June 28, 2007}}, Royal Danish Consulate, United States Virgin Islands</ref> Rear Admiral [[James Harrison Oliver|James H. Oliver]] was the first American governor of the islands.<ref name="Finch-1917" /> [[Paul Martin Pearson]], the first civilian governor, was appointed by [[Herbert Hoover]]  and was inaugurated March&nbsp;18, 1931.

[[Citizenship of the United States|U.S. citizenship]] was granted to many inhabitants of the islands in 1927 and 1932. The [[Danish West Indian daler]] was replaced by the [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] in 1934,<ref>{{Cite book |last=United States Department of the Interior |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UcEgAQAAIAAJ&q=us+virgin+islands+dollar+adopted+1934&pg=RA3-PA4 |title=Annual Report of the Department of the Interior 1934 |publisher=US Government Printing Office |year=1934}}</ref> and from 1935 to 1939 the islands were a part of the [[Customs territory|United States customs area]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=various United States governmental bureaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJcYAAAAIAAJ&q=customs+area+philippines+1909&pg=PA842 |title=Statistical Abstract of the United States |publisher=US Government Printing Office |year=1950}}</ref> The [[Organic Act of the Virgin Islands of the United States|1936 Organic Act]] and the [[Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands|1954 Revised Organic Act]] established the local government.<ref name="Britannica" /> Tourism began to develop following [[World War II]], over time becoming the most important sector of the islands' economy.<ref name="Britannica" /> The [[Virgin Islands National Park]] was established in 1956 on [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]], and by 1959, after the embargo of Americans on travel to [[Cuba]], the U.S. Virgin Islands became a popular tourist destination. In 1970, Virgin Islanders elected their first governor, [[Melvin H. Evans]], and from 1976 the islands began work on creating their own constitution.<ref name="Britannica" />

[[Water Island, U.S. Virgin Islands|Water Island]], a small island to the south of St.&nbsp;Thomas, was initially administered by the U.S. federal government and did not become a part of the U.S. Virgin Islands territory until 1996, when {{convert|50|acre|ha}} of land was transferred to the territorial government. The remaining {{convert|200|acre|ha}} of the island was acquired from the [[United States Department of the Interior]] in May&nbsp;2005 for $10, a transaction that marked the official change in jurisdiction.<ref>Poinski, Megan.  [http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=10724233 "Water Island appears frozen in time, but big plans run under the surface – V.I. says land acquired from the feds is about to undergo large-scale improvements"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204442/http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=10724233 |date=September 27, 2007 }}. The Virgin Islands Daily News, November 18, 2005, online edition. Retrieved September 6, 2007.</ref>

In 1966, Hess Oil began construction on an oil refinery. Until February&nbsp;2012, the [[Hovensa|Hovensa plant]], located on St.&nbsp;Croix, was one of the world's largest petroleum refineries, refining {{convert|494000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on}}, and contributed about 20% of the territory's GDP. The refinery ceased operation in 2012, and the facility stopped exporting petroleum products in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HOVENSA |url=https://investors.hess.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hess-announces-charge-related-closure-hovensa-joint-venture}}</ref> In the final year of full refinery operations, the value of exported petroleum products was $12.7&nbsp;billion (2011 fiscal year).<ref name="VI Bureau of Economic Research-2016"/> Since refining ended, the 34-million-barrel tank farm has operated as a crude oil and petrochemical storage facility for third-party customers. The refinery's closure provoked a local economic crisis.<ref name="Daniel Shea Daily News Staff">{{Cite news |last=Daniel Shea (Daily News Staff) |date=January 19, 2012 |title=HOVENSA closing – News |work=Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/hovensa-closing-1.1259790#axzz1nXpo7wFr |url-status=dead |access-date=December 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728133439/http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/hovensa-closing-1.1259790%23axzz1nXpo7wFr |archive-date=July 28, 2012}}</ref><ref name="online.wsj.com">[https://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120222-714220.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415095901/http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120222-714220.html|date=April 15, 2012}}</ref> Following the acquisition of the 1,500-acre complex by ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, in 2016, Limetree Bay Ventures, LLC, was formed, and is currently executing a project to refurbish and restart the refinery, with a processing capability of up to {{convert|200000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |title=Limetree Bay – About Us |url=https://www.limetreebayenergy.com/about-us/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728162055/https://www.limetreebayenergy.com/about-us/ |archive-date=July 28, 2019 |access-date=July 28, 2019 |publisher=Limetree Bay Ventures LLC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eaton |first=Collin |date=July 2, 2018 |title=St. Croix oil refinery gets $1.4 billion investment, plans to restart |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-virginislands/st-croix-oil-refinery-gets-1-4-billion-investment-plans-to-restart-idUSKBN1JS1TZ |url-status=live |access-date=July 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728162053/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-virginislands/st-croix-oil-refinery-gets-1-4-billion-investment-plans-to-restart-idUSKBN1JS1TZ |archive-date=July 28, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:FEMA - 3094 - Photograph by FEMA News Photo taken on 09-25-1995 in US Virgin Islands.jpg|thumb|The aftermath of [[Hurricane Marilyn]] on the island of St.&nbsp;Thomas, 1995. In recent decades the U.S. Virgin Islands have been devastated by a series of hurricanes.]]

[[Hurricane Hugo]] struck the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1989, causing catastrophic physical and economic damage, particularly on the island of St.&nbsp;Croix. The territory was again struck by [[Hurricane Marilyn]] in 1995, killing eight people and causing more than $2&nbsp;billion in damage. The islands were again struck by hurricanes [[Hurricane Bertha (1996)|Bertha]], [[Hurricane Georges|Georges]], [[Hurricane Lenny|Lenny]], and [[Hurricane Omar|Omar]] in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2008, respectively, but damage was not as severe in those storms.

In September&nbsp;2017, Category&nbsp;5 [[Hurricane Irma]] caused catastrophic damage, particularly to St.&nbsp;John and St.&nbsp;Thomas. Just two weeks later, Category 5 [[Hurricane Maria]] ravaged all three islands. Sustained winds at the [[Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge]] on St.&nbsp;Croix reached {{convert|99|to|104|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and gusted to {{convert|137|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Brian |date=September 21, 2017 |title=St. Croix barely escapes worst of Maria's wrath |work=The Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/st-croix-barely-escapes-worst-of-maria-s-wrath/article_b5c3e754-9ee5-11e7-b04a-d388e27fd2da.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921220902/http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/st-croix-barely-escapes-worst-of-maria-s-wrath/article_b5c3e754-9ee5-11e7-b04a-d388e27fd2da.html |archive-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref> Even stronger winds likely occurred somewhere across the island's west end. The British Virgin Islands and the other two U.S. Virgin Islands, St.&nbsp;John and St.&nbsp;Thomas, were far enough northeast to avoid the worst from Maria, but were still massively impacted, with great destruction everywhere.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Axios |date=September 28, 2017 |title=U.S. Virgin Islands' economy "evaporated overnight" |url=https://www.axios.com/2017/12/16/us-virgin-islands-economy-evaporated-overnight-1513388265 |access-date=May 14, 2025 |website=Axios |language=en}}</ref> A wind gust to {{convert|86|mph|kph|abbr=on}} was reported at St.&nbsp;Thomas. Weather stations on St.&nbsp;Croix recorded {{convert|5|and|10|in|mm|-1}} of rain from the hurricane, and estimates for St.&nbsp;John and St.&nbsp;Thomas were somewhat less.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Weather Service, SFO San Juan |date=November 22, 2017 |title=Major Hurricane Maria |url=http://www.weather.gov/sju/maria2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608211142/https://www.weather.gov/sju/maria2017 |archive-date=June 8, 2018 |website=National Weather Service}}</ref> The hurricane killed two people, both in their homes: one person drowned and another was trapped by a mudslide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carlson |first=Suzanne |date=October 3, 2017 |title=Five hurricane-related deaths confirmed |work=The Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/five-hurricane-related-deaths-confirmed/article_90b2f60d-7abd-5313-a1da-7c3a4c976fc7.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003120116/http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/five-hurricane-related-deaths-confirmed/article_90b2f60d-7abd-5313-a1da-7c3a4c976fc7.html |archive-date=October 3, 2017}}</ref> A third person had a fatal heart attack during the hurricane.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Brian |date=September 22, 2017 |title=Federal disaster relief begins on St. Croix |work=The Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/federal-disaster-relief-begins-on-st-croix/article_96602d56-799e-54ad-864e-ddea06ff9862.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923070302/http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/federal-disaster-relief-begins-on-st-croix/article_96602d56-799e-54ad-864e-ddea06ff9862.html |archive-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref> The hurricane caused extensive and severe damage to St.&nbsp;Croix. After both hurricanes, the office of Virgin Islands congresswoman [[Stacey Plaskett]] stated that 90% of buildings in the Virgin Islands were damaged or destroyed and 13,000 of those buildings had lost their roofs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=J.B. Wogan |date=October 6, 2017 |title=After Hurricanes, Public Housing May Never Get Rebuilt |url=http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-virgin-islands-hurricanes-housing.html |url-status=live |journal=Governing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142237/http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-virgin-islands-hurricanes-housing.html |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> The Luis Hospital suffered roof damage and flooding, but remained operational.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Brian |date=September 21, 2017 |title=Maria leaves St. Croix with a working hospital |work=The Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/maria-leaves-st-croix-with-a-working-hospital/article_c484b68e-9ee4-11e7-b04a-0f336b3b1721.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921223147/http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/breaking/maria-leaves-st-croix-with-a-working-hospital/article_c484b68e-9ee4-11e7-b04a-0f336b3b1721.html |archive-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of the United States Virgin Islands}}
[[File:virgin islands sm02.png|thumb|A map of the United States Virgin Islands]]
The U.S. Virgin Islands are in the [[Atlantic Ocean]], about {{convert|40|mi|km|sigfig=|abbr=}} east of [[Puerto Rico]] and immediately west of the [[British Virgin Islands]]. They share the [[Virgin Islands]] archipelago with the [[Spanish Virgin Islands|Puerto Rican Virgin Islands]] of [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]] and [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]] (administered by Puerto Rico), and the British Virgin Islands.

The territory consists of three main islands: [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]], [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]], and [[Saint Croix|St. Croix]], as well as several dozen [[List of minor islands of the United States Virgin Islands|smaller islands]].<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite web |title=CIA World Factbook- USVirgin Islands |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |access-date=July 14, 2019 |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113025648/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The main islands have nicknames often used by locals: "Twin City" (St. Croix), "Rock City" (St. Thomas), and "Love City" (St. John).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Slawych |first=Diane |title=Love is in the air |url=http://travel.canoe.ca/Travel/Activities/Romantic/2004/02/11/343943.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718082511/http://travel.canoe.ca/Travel/Activities/Romantic/2004/02/11/343943.html |archive-date=July 18, 2012 |access-date=January 25, 2008 |publisher=CANOE.ca }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCAoDAAAQBAJ |title=United States Encyclopedia: America's People, Places, and Events |last2= |first2= |date=2015 |publisher=[[National Geographic Kids]] |isbn=978-1-4263-2092-7 |pages=258 |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408170032/https://books.google.com/books?id=rCAoDAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> The combined land area of the islands is roughly twice the size of [[Washington, D.C.]]

The U.S. Virgin Islands are known for their [[List of beaches in the U.S. Virgin Islands|white sand beaches]], including [[Magens Bay]] and [[Trunk Bay]], and deepwater harbors along the [[Anegada Passage]], including [[Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]] (the capital) and [[Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Christiansted]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |access-date=August 1, 2017 |publisher=CIA |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113025648/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Like most Caribbean islands, most of the islands of the Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas and St. John, are volcanic in origin and hilly. The highest point is [[Crown Mountain (United States Virgin Islands)|Crown Mountain]] on St. Thomas at {{convert|1555|ft|m|0|disp=|abbr=out}}.<ref name="cia.gov" />  The easternmost point of the United States is [[Point Udall (U.S. Virgin Islands)]] on St. Croix.

St. Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, lies to the south and has a flatter terrain because of its coral origin. The [[National Park Service]] manages more than half of St. John, nearly all of [[Hassel Island, United States Virgin Islands|Hassel Island]], and many acres of [[coral reef]].

There are several national park sites, such as the [[Virgin Islands National Park]], [[Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument]], [[Buck Island Reef National Monument]], [[Christiansted National Historic Site]], and [[Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve]].

The U.S. Virgin Islands lie on the boundary of the [[North American Plate]] and the [[Caribbean Plate]]. Natural hazards include [[earthquake]]s, [[tropical cyclone|hurricane]]s and tsunamis.<ref name="cia.gov" />

The U.S. Virgin Islands contain the [[Leeward Islands moist forests]] and [[Leeward Islands xeric scrub]] terrestrial ecoregions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |display-authors=1 |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869 |doi-access=free |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of the United States Virgin Islands}}

The United States Virgin Islands experience a [[tropical climate]], with little seasonal change throughout the year.<ref name="cia.gov" /> Rainfall is concentrated in the high-sun period (May through October), while in the winter the northeast [[trade winds]] prevail. Summer and winter high temperatures differ by {{convert|5|°F-change|0}} or less on average.

{{Weather box|width=auto
|location = St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 93
|Feb record high F = 93
|Mar record high F = 94
|Apr record high F = 96
|May record high F = 97
|Jun record high F = 99
|Jul record high F = 98
|Aug record high F = 99
|Sep record high F = 98
|Oct record high F = 97
|Nov record high F = 95
|Dec record high F = 92
|year record high F= 99
|Jan high F = 85
|Feb high F = 85
|Mar high F = 86
|Apr high F = 87
|May high F = 88
|Jun high F = 89
|Jul high F = 90
|Aug high F = 90
|Sep high F = 90
|Oct high F = 89
|Nov high F = 87
|Dec high F = 86
|year high F=
|Jan low F = 72
|Feb low F = 73
|Mar low F = 73
|Apr low F = 74
|May low F = 76
|Jun low F = 78
|Jul low F = 78
|Aug low F = 78
|Sep low F = 78
|Oct low F = 77
|Nov low F = 75
|Dec low F = 74
|year low F=
|Jan record low F = 63
|Feb record low F = 62
|Mar record low F = 56
|Apr record low F = 62
|May record low F = 66
|Jun record low F = 67
|Jul record low F = 57
|Aug record low F = 59
|Sep record low F = 64
|Oct record low F = 66
|Nov record low F = 52
|Dec record low F = 62
|year record low F= 52|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.38
|Feb precipitation inch = 1.48
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.42
|Apr precipitation inch = 2.74
|May precipitation inch = 3.06
|Jun precipitation inch = 2.53
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.85
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.74
|Sep precipitation inch = 5.58
|Oct precipitation inch = 5.42
|Nov precipitation inch = 5.23
|Dec precipitation inch = 2.96
|year precipitation inch= 39.39
|source 1 = weather.com<ref>{{Cite web |title=Average Conditions Saint Thomas, VI |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/00801 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203140210/http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/00801 |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |access-date=May 16, 2010 |publisher=weather.com}}</ref>
|date = August 2010
}}

===Fauna===
{{Main|Fauna of the United States Virgin Islands}}

==Politics and government==
{{Main|Politics of the United States Virgin Islands}}
{{See also|Political party strength in the United States Virgin Islands}}

The U.S. Virgin Islands are an [[Unincorporated territories of the United States|organized, unincorporated United States territory]].<ref name="www.cia.gov">{{Cite web |title=CIA World Factbook – US Virgin Islands |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |access-date=July 14, 2019 |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113025648/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although those born on the islands are [[United States nationality law|U.S. citizens]], U.S. Virgin Islanders residing in the territory are ineligible to vote for the [[United States presidential election|president of the United States]]. People born in the U.S. Virgin Islands derive their U.S. citizenship from congressional statute.<ref>{{Cite web |title=8 U.S. Code § 1406 – Persons living in and born in the Virgin Islands |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1406 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922064110/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1406 |archive-date=September 22, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref>

The U.S. Democratic and Republican parties allow U.S. Virgin Islands citizens to vote in their presidential primary elections for delegates to the respective national conventions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=July 1, 2016 |title=Presidential election in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 2016 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_election_in_the_U.S._Virgin_Islands,_2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421025650/https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_election_in_the_U.S._Virgin_Islands,_2016 |archive-date=April 21, 2017 |access-date=February 24, 2017 |website=Ballotpedia }}</ref> The main political parties in the U.S. Virgin Islands themselves are the [[Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands]], the [[Independent Citizens Movement]], and the [[Republican Party of the Virgin Islands]]. Additional candidates run as independents.

At the national level, the U.S. Virgin Islands elect a [[Delegate (United States Congress)|delegate to Congress]] from their [[at-large]] {{ushr|United States Virgin Islands|AL|congressional district}}.<ref>Lin, Tom C.W., [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3454210 Americans, Almost and Forgotten] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921093931/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3454210 |date=September 21, 2020 }}, 107 California Law Review (2019)</ref> The elected delegate, while able to vote in committee, cannot participate in floor votes. The current House of Representatives delegate is [[Stacey Plaskett]], a Democrat. Like other territories, the U.S. Virgin Islands does not have [[U.S. Senate|U.S. senators]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Watch John Oliver Cast His Ballot for Voting Rights for U.S. Territories |url=https://time.com/3736845/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-voting-rights/ |url-status=live |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918033644/http://time.com/3736845/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-voting-rights/ |archive-date=September 18, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref>

At the territorial level, fifteen [[List of United States Virgin Islands Senators|senators]]—seven from the district of St.&nbsp;Croix, seven from the district of St.&nbsp;Thomas and St.&nbsp;John, and one senator at large who must be a resident of St.&nbsp;John—are elected for two-year terms to the [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] [[Legislature of the Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands legislature]]. There is no limit as to the number of terms they can serve.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=July 1, 2016 |title=Legislature of the Virgin Islands |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Legislature_of_the_Virgin_Islands |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523130706/https://ballotpedia.org/Legislature_of_the_Virgin_Islands |archive-date=May 23, 2017 |access-date=February 24, 2017 |website=Ballotpedia }}</ref>

The U.S. Virgin Islands have elected a [[List of United States Virgin Islands Governors|territorial governor]] every four years since 1970. Previous governors were appointed by the [[president of the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |title=Virgin Islands – History |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Virgin-Islands/History |access-date=January 2, 2020 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |quote=All military, civil, and judicial power was invested in a governor appointed by the president of the United States./In 1968 an act was approved, which took effect in 1970, legalizing the popular election of the islands' governor and lieutenant governor for four-year terms. |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102214116/https://www.britannica.com/place/Virgin-Islands/History |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Legal system===
The U.S. Virgin Islands have a [[United States Virgin Islands Superior Court|Superior Court]] and [[United States Virgin Islands Supreme Court|Supreme Court]].<ref name="www.cia.gov" /> The [[District Court of the Virgin Islands]] is responsible for cases brought under [[Law of the United States#Federal law|federal law]], and the [[U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands|U.S. attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands]] can bring federal criminal cases there. The Superior Court is responsible for hearing cases under U.S. Virgin Islands law at the trial level, and the Supreme Court is responsible for appeals from the Superior Court for all appeals filed on or after January&nbsp;29, 2007.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} (Appeals filed prior to that date were heard by the Appellate Division of the District Court.) Appeals from the federal District Court are heard by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]], located in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} District Court judges are appointed by the U.S. president, while Superior Court and Supreme Court judges are appointed by the governor.

As of 2019, the USVI courts apply both American [[common law]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/codes/virgin-islands/2019/title-1/chapter-1/4/|title=2019 US Virgin Islands Code :: Title 1 - General Provisions :: Chapter 1 - Virgin Islands Code :: § 4. Application of common law; restatements|website=Justia Law|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818190443/https://law.justia.com/codes/virgin-islands/2019/title-1/chapter-1/4/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 2019 US Virgin Islands Code as passed by the [[Legislature of the Virgin Islands|territorial legislature]]. Because the USVI is not a state and Congress has not determined otherwise, the federal district court is an [[Federal tribunals in the United States#Article IV tribunals|Article IV tribunal]], subject to the authority of the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|United States secretary of the interior]] and without lifetime appointment for judges. Elements of [[Danish law]] have all been repealed, except for two 1914 laws having to do with customs and ship duties for St. Thomas and St. John.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/codes/virgin-islands/2019/title-1/chapter-1/6/|title=2019 US Virgin Islands Code :: Title 1 - General Provisions :: Chapter 1 - Virgin Islands Code :: § 6. Danish laws and ordinances|website=Justia Law|access-date=August 18, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818190442/https://law.justia.com/codes/virgin-islands/2019/title-1/chapter-1/6/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Attorneys who practice law in the U.S. Virgin Islands must be admitted to the Virgin Islands Bar through either a bar exam or meeting certain requirements for admission on the basis of experience in another reciprocal jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview |url=https://visupremecourt.hosted.civiclive.com/offices_of_the_court/bar_admission/overview |access-date=August 30, 2024 |website=visupremecourt.hosted.civiclive.com |language=en-US}}</ref>  The bar exam consists of a standard American Bar Association multistate exam and a local law essay exam.  As in the mainland United States, attorneys practice in a variety of settings including private law firms, government, or corporate offices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual Reports |url=https://www.vicourts.org/publication_and_reports/annual_reports |access-date=August 30, 2024 |website=www.vicourts.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{further|Gun laws in the United States Virgin Islands}}

===Constitution===
[[File:Legislature Building USVI 01.JPG|thumb|right|The Legislature Building in Charlotte Amalie]]
On October 21, 1976, President [[Gerald Ford]] signed {{USPL|94|584}} authorizing the people of the United States Virgin Islands to organize a government pursuant to a constitution, which would be automatically approved if Congress did not act within 60 days.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 9, 2009 |title=Public Law 94 584 Full Text |url=http://www.slideshare.net/renewvipolitics/public-law-94-584-full-text |access-date=December 31, 2019 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225090115/https://www.slideshare.net/renewvipolitics/public-law-94-584-full-text |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2004, an act was passed by the legislature of the Virgin Islands calling for a fifth constitutional convention, and 30 delegates to the convention were elected in 2007. On May&nbsp;26, 2009, the convention adopted a proposed Constitution of the Virgin Islands. However, in June 2009, Governor [[John de Jongh|John de Jongh Jr.]] rejected the resulting constitutional draft, saying the terms of the document would "violate federal law, fail to defer to federal sovereignty and disregard basic civil rights".<ref>Poinski, Megan, [https://archive.today/20130105060930/http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17636737 "Governor Rejects Constitution Draft"], article in ''[[The Virgin Islands Daily News]]'', June 13, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.</ref> A lawsuit filed by members of the convention to force Governor de Jongh to forward the document to President [[Barack Obama]] was ultimately successful. President Obama forwarded the proposal to Congress in May 2010, along with a report noting concerns raised by the [[United States Department of Justice]] that the powers sought exceeded what would be considered allowable under territorial status<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corbin |first=Dr. Carlyle G. |date=January 5, 2017 |title=Choose or Lose: U.S. Virgin Islands in 2017 |url=https://www.pacificislandtimes.com/post/2017/01/06/Choose-or-Lose-US-Virgin-Islands-in-2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128225332/https://www.pacificislandtimes.com/post/2017/01/06/Choose-or-Lose-US-Virgin-Islands-in-2017 |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |access-date=February 16, 2017 |website=Pacific Island Times }}</ref> and restating the issues noted by Governor de Jongh. A U.S. Congressional resolution disapproving of the proposed constitution and requesting that the Fifth Constitutional Convention reconvene to consider changes to address these issues was signed into law<ref>{{USPL|111|194}}</ref> by President Obama on June 30, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Office of the White House Press Secretary |date=June 30, 2010 |title=Statement by the Press Secretary on S.J.Res. 33 |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/statement-press-secretary-sjres-33 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216171847/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/statement-press-secretary-sjres-33 |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=June 30, 2010 |website=[[whitehouse.gov]] |via=[[NARA|National Archives]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2010 |title=USVI Constitutional Convention mandated to reconsider autonomous proposals |url=http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/news/usvi-constitutional-convention-mandated-reconsider-autonomous-proposals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028144124/http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/news/usvi-constitutional-convention-mandated-reconsider-autonomous-proposals |archive-date=October 28, 2010 |access-date=July 1, 2010 |publisher=Virgin Islands News Online}}</ref>

Months later, a federal lawsuit was filed in the federal [[District Court of the Virgin Islands]]. The lawsuit claimed that the United States had to provide U.S. Virgin Islanders with the ability to be represented in Congress and vote for U.S. president. It alleged that racial discrimination present in the all-white and segregated U.S. Congress of 1917 was the impetus to deny the right to vote to a majority nonwhite constituency. The case was ultimately dismissed on August&nbsp;16, 2012.<ref>{{Cite Pacer
| plaintiff = Charles
| defendant = FEC
| title = Opinion
| date = August 20, 2012
| case-division = 3
| case-year = 2011
| case-type = cv
| case-sequence = 00110
| case-state = vi
| doc-number = 18
| pacer-number = 28612
| access-date = July 25, 2017
| use-pacer = no
| use-recap = yes
| case-title = Charles v. U.S. Federal Election Commission et. al.
}}<br />{{Cite Pacer
| plaintiff = Charles
| defendant = FEC
| title = Order
| date = August 20, 2012
| case-division = 3
| case-year = 2011
| case-type = cv
| case-sequence = 00110
| case-state = vi
| doc-number = 19
| pacer-number = 28612
| access-date = July 25, 2017
| use-pacer = no
| use-recap = yes
| case-title = Charles v. U.S. Federal Election Commission et. al.
}}</ref>

The Fifth Constitutional Convention of the U.S. Virgin Islands met in October 2012 but was not able to produce a revised constitution before its October&nbsp;31 deadline.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lou Mattei (Daily News Staff) |date=September 29, 2012 |title=Constitutional Convention meeting marred by arguments, technical snarls – News |work=Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/constitutional-convention-meeting-marred-by-arguments-technical-snarls-1.1395403?localLinksEnabled=false |url-status=dead |access-date=April 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205130503/http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/constitutional-convention-meeting-marred-by-arguments-technical-snarls-1.1395403?localLinksEnabled=false |archive-date=February 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mattei, Lou |last2=Virgin Islands Daily News |date=October 29, 2012 |title=Constitutional Convention Meeting Marred by Arguments, Technical Snarls |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-33821105.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218063444/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-33821105.html |archive-date=February 18, 2017 |access-date=February 16, 2017 }}</ref><ref>Mattei, Lou, Virgin Islands Daily News (October 29, 2012). "Constitutional Convention Meeting Marred by Arguments, Technical Snarls".</ref><ref>Lou Mattei (Daily News Staff) (September 29, 2012). "Constitutional Convention meeting marred by arguments, technical snarls – News". Virgin Islands Daily News. Retrieved April 8, 2013.</ref>

On November 3, 2020, the U.S. Virgin Islands held a referendum on whether to convene a sixth constitutional convention. The proposal was [[2020 United States Virgin Islands constitutional convention referendum|approved with nearly 72% voting in favor]].

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands}}
Administratively, the U.S. Virgin Islands are [[Districts and subdistricts of the United States Virgin Islands|divided into two districts]]: the St.&nbsp;Thomas and St.&nbsp;John district, and the St.&nbsp;Croix district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senator Marvin A. Blyden – Legislature of the Virgin Islands |url=http://www.legvi.org/senators/st-thomasst-john/senator-marvin-a-blyden/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012210449/http://www.legvi.org/senators/st-thomasst-john/senator-marvin-a-blyden/ |archive-date=October 12, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Evolution of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands |url=http://www.legvi.org/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012210349/http://www.legvi.org/history/ |archive-date=October 12, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018 |website=Legislature of the Virgin Islands}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=USGS. ''How many counties are there in the United States?'' Retrieved September 21, 2018. |url=https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-counties-are-there-united-states |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907033534/https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-counties-are-there-united-states |archive-date=September 7, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref> However, [[United States Census Bureau|the U.S. Census Bureau]] divides each of the three main islands into three separate statistical entities (which are further divided into 20 subdistricts).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Census.gov. 2010 Census – U.S. Virgin Islands Districts and Subdistricts. Retrieved September 21, 2018. |url=https://www.census.gov/2010census/news/xls/cb11cn180_vi.xls |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922064127/https://www.census.gov/2010census/news/xls/cb11cn180_vi.xls |archive-date=September 22, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref> Below is the U.S. Census Bureau's division model.

[[File:U.S. Virgin Islands Subdivisions.svg|frameless|upright=2.75|center]]
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto"
|+ [[Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands|Districts and subdistricts of the U.S. Virgin Islands]]
|-
! Census County equivalents
! [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]]
! [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]]
! [[Saint Croix|St. Croix]]
|-
! style="vertical-align: top" | Subdistricts
| style="vertical-align: top" |
# [[Charlotte Amalie (subdistrict), U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie*]]
# [[East End, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|East End]]
# [[Northside, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Northside]]
# [[Southside, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Southside]]
# [[Tutu, U.S. Virgin Islands|Tutu]]
# [[Water Island, U.S. Virgin Islands|Water Island]]
# [[West End, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|West End]]
| style="vertical-align: top" |
# Central
# Coral Bay
# Cruz Bay
# East End
| style="vertical-align: top" |
# Anna's Hope Village
# Christiansted
# East End
# Frederiksted
# Northcentral
# Northwest
# Sion Farm
# Southcentral
# Southwest
|}

[[File:Charlotte Amalie Wade.jpg|thumb|[[Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]], [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]], the islands' historical capital and largest town in the US Virgin Islands]]
[[File:Christiansted-1-.jpg|thumb|[[Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Christiansted]], the largest town on [[Saint Croix|St.&nbsp;Croix]]]]
[[File:Saint_Croix_2012_Wade_2.JPG|thumb|[[Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Frederiksted]], the second town on [[Saint Croix|St.&nbsp;Croix]]]]
[[File:Anna's_Retreat,_U.S._Virgin_Islands.jpg|thumb|[[Anna's Retreat, U.S. Virgin Islands|Anna's Retreat]], the second largest town or CDP in the US Virgin Islands]]
[[File:Charlotte_Amalie_West,_U.S._Virgin_Islands.jpg|thumb|[[Charlotte Amalie West, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie West]], the third largest town or CDP in the US Virgin Islands]]
[[File:Cruzbay.jpg|thumb|[[Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands|Cruz Bay]], the fourth largest town or CDP in the US Virgin Islands and largest on [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]]]]
Each of the three main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands is counted as a [[County (United States)|county equivalent]] by the U.S. Census Bureau, with the following FIPS codes: 78010 for St.&nbsp;Croix, 78020 for St.&nbsp;John, and 78030 for St.&nbsp;Thomas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''2010 FIPS Codes for Counties and County Equivalent Entities.'' Census.gov. Retrieved September 21, 2018. |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/codes/cou.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312151513/https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/codes/cou.html |archive-date=March 12, 2016 |access-date=September 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Virgin Islands Districts |url=http://www.statoids.com/uvi.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921001421/http://www.statoids.com/uvi.html |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2018 |website=www.statoids.com}}</ref>

While a Danish possession, the islands were divided into "quarters" (five on St. John and nine on St. Croix), which were further divided into many dozens of "estates". Estate names are still used to write addresses; estates and quarters are used in describing real estate, especially on St.&nbsp;John<ref>{{Cite web |title=St John Map of Estates on St John {{pipe}}US Virgin Islands Real Estate |url=http://www.americanparadise.com/estate_map.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213155817/http://www.americanparadise.com/estate_map.html |archive-date=December 13, 2012 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |publisher=American Paradise}}</ref> and St. Croix.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Virgin Islands Maps – Map of St. Croix Condos |url=http://www.american-virgin-islands.com/islandmaps.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103063721/http://www.american-virgin-islands.com/islandmaps.html |archive-date=January 3, 2013 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |publisher=American-virgin-islands.com}}</ref> More densely populated towns such as [[Frederiksted]] and [[Christiansted]] on St. Croix were historically referred to as "districts", in contrast to the surrounding plantation land.

All historic towns in the U.S. Virgin Islands meet all the following criteria:

# were established during the Danish colonial period and served as key economic, administrative, and cultural centers. These towns have well-defined historic districts, often featuring colonial-era architecture, narrow streets, and landmarks that reflect their European influence. Many of these towns also have legal designations as historic areas, meaning preservation efforts are in place to maintain their cultural heritage.
# have well established forts and/or other defensive structures, as they were vital for protecting against pirates, privateers, and enemy naval forces during the colonial period. These structures were built primarily during the Danish and earlier European colonial eras and played a key role in defending the islands' harbors, trade routes, and settlements.
# were also named in honor of a Danish royal family member and their Main Street historically bore a Danish name that corresponds to the title of the royal family member for whom the town was name was named after.
::* Charlotte Amalie - The town’s Main Street is named "Dronningens Gade" (Queen’s Street) in honor of the same queen.
::* Christiansted (Christian Place) - Its Main Street is named King's Street (historically called "Kongens Gade"), reflecting the Danish monarchy, King Christian VI.
::* Frederiksted (Frederik Place) - Its Main Street is named King's Street (historically called "Kongens Gade"), reflecting the Danish monarchy, King Frederik V.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Historical Towns in the United States Virgin Islands <ref name=census>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/island-areas/us-virgin-islands/population-and-housing-unit-counts/us-virgin-islands-phc-table01.pdf|title=Table 1. Population of the United States Virgin Islands : 2010 and 2020|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 25, 2024}}</ref>
|-
! Towns !! Subdistrict(s) !! Island (Census County Equivalent)!! District (Administrative County Equivalent)!! Population 
|-
| [[Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]] || [[Charlotte Amalie (subdistrict), U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie*]]|| St. Thomas || St. Thomas - St. John || 8194
|-
| [[Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Christiansted]] || Christiansted || St. Croix || St. Croix || 1770
|-
| [[Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Frederiksted]] || Frederiksted || St. Croix || St. Croix || 528
|}

In contrast to the historical towns of the U.S. Virgin Islands, [[Census-designated place|Census-Designated Places (CDPs)]] are modern statistical areas defined by the U.S. Census Bureau for demographic purposes. While CDPs in the U.S. Virgin Islands may have commercial hubs and residential developments, they do not necessarily have the same historical or administrative significance as the historical towns. CDPs in the U.S. Virgin Islands often represent suburban residential and commercial areas that grew in population and importance over time but were not formally established as towns during the Danish colonial period.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Census-Designated Places (CDPs) in the United States Virgin Islands 
|-
! CDPs !! Subdistrict(s) !! Island <br>(Census County Equivalent)!! District <br>(Administrative County Equivalent)!! Population
|-
| [[Anna's Retreat, U.S. Virgin Islands|Anna's Retreat]] || [[Tutu, U.S. Virgin Islands|Tutu]], [[Northside, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Northside]] and [[Southside, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Southside]] || St. Thomas || St. Thomas-St. John || 5519
|-
| [[Charlotte Amalie West, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie West]] || [[Charlotte Amalie (subdistrict), U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie*]] and [[Northside, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Northside]] || St. Thomas || St. Thomas-St. John || 4404
|-
| [[Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands|Cruz Bay]] || Cruz Bay and Central || St. John || St. Thomas-St. John || 2772
|-
| [[Charlotte Amalie East, U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie East]] || [[Charlotte Amalie (subdistrict), U.S. Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie*]] and [[Southside, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Southside]]|| St. Thomas || St. Thomas-St. John || 1908
|-
| Frederiksted Southeast || Frederiksted || St. Croix || St. Croix || 1746
|-
| [[Coral Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands|Coral Bay]] || Coral Bay and Central || St. John || St. Thomas-St. John || 615
|-
| [[Red Hook, U.S. Virgin Islands|Red Hook]] || East End || St. Thomas || St. Thomas-St. John || 225
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>The subdistrict of Charlotte Amalie is sometimes referred to as "the City of Charlotte Amalie" or "the City".

===Political status===
A [[1993 United States Virgin Islands status referendum|1993 referendum on status]] attracted only 31.4% turnout, and so its results (in favor of the status quo) were considered void.<ref>[http://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=vi011993 United States Virgin Islands, 11 October 1993: Status] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125161309/https://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=vi011993 |date=November 25, 2020 }} Direct Democracy {{in lang|de}}</ref> No further status referendums have been scheduled since.

The territory is classified by the [[United Nations]] as a [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|non-self-governing territory]]. In 2016, the [[United Nations]]' [[Special Committee on Decolonization]] recommended to the UN's General Assembly that this larger body should "actively pursue a public awareness campaign aimed at assisting the people of the United States Virgin Islands with their inalienable right to self-determination and in gaining a better understanding of the options for self-determination".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Special Committee on Decolonisation<!--Not stated--> |date=August 4, 2016 |title=Question of the U.S. Virgin Islands |url=http://overseasreview.blogspot.ca/2016/08/un-committee-reaffirms-right-of-us.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525021816/http://overseasreview.blogspot.ca/2016/08/un-committee-reaffirms-right-of-us.html |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=February 21, 2017 |website=Overseas Review |quote=Recognizing that the specific characteristics and the aspirations of the people of the United States Virgin Islands require flexible, practical and innovative approaches to the options for self-determination, without any prejudice to territorial size, geographical location, size of population or natural resources}}</ref>

In March 2023, a poll conducted by [[Suffolk University]] among USVI residents revealed 63% supported the territory becoming a [[U.S. state]] while 23% opposed. Respondents were also asked about becoming an independent country, which 58% rejected the idea to 19% who agreed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suffolk/documents/academics/research-at-suffolk/suprc/polls/student-polls/2023/4_4_2023_usvi_marginals.pdf?la=en&hash=8914A97C4C0F172261AEAFCB41790940B37B6055 |title=Suffolk University Poll |website=Suffolk University |date=March 2023 |access-date=May 18, 2023 |archive-date=May 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518051736/https://www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suffolk/documents/academics/research-at-suffolk/suprc/polls/student-polls/2023/4_4_2023_usvi_marginals.pdf?la=en&hash=8914A97C4C0F172261AEAFCB41790940B37B6055 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands===
{{main|List of Governors of the Danish West Indies|List of Governors of the United States Virgin Islands}}

===Law enforcement===
[[File:U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department officers in Christianstad, St. Croix (February 2012).jpg|thumb|USVI police officers in 2012]]
[[File:USA - VIRGIN ISLANDS.jpg|thumb|USVI police patch]]

Law enforcement services are provided by the [[United States Virgin Islands Police Department]] (USVIPD).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Island Police Department |url=http://www.vipd.gov.vi/ |access-date=April 15, 2023 |website=VIPD Site |language=en |archive-date=May 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517121226/http://www.vipd.gov.vi/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Military===
Defense is the responsibility of the United States.<ref name="WorldFactbook" /> There are some military facilities and personnel on the islands, supported by the U.S. government:
* [[United States Army Reserve]]
* [[Virgin Islands National Guard]]
** [[Virgin Islands Air National Guard]]&nbsp;— stationed at St. Croix ANGS
** [[Virgin Islands Army National Guard]]&nbsp;— stationed at St. Croix ANGS
** Lionel A. Jackson Readiness Center&nbsp;— shared facility for Army and Air units

Although a public airport, [[Henry E. Rohlsen Airport]] has serviced aircraft from the [[United States Air Force]], as well as the [[United States Army]].

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of the United States Virgin Islands}}
[[File:MagensBay.jpg|thumb|[[Magens Bay]], [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]]]]

Tourism is the Islands' biggest industry; with 2.5–3 million annual visitors, the sector is responsible for about 60% of the GDP.<ref name="WorldFactbook" /><ref name="VI Bureau of Economic Research-2016">{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=May 15, 2016 |title=U.S. Virgin Islands Economic Review – VI |url=http://www.usviber.org/Economic%20Review%20May%202016.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130055225/http://usviber.org/Economic%20Review%20May%202016.pdf |archive-date=November 30, 2016 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |website=VI Bureau of Economic Research }}</ref> Other major sectors are the public sector, some limited agriculture, and small scale manufacturing, most notably [[rum]] production.<ref name="WorldFactbook" /><ref name="Britannica" />

A 2012 economic report from the U.S. Census Bureau indicated a total of 2,414 business establishments generating $6.8 billion in sales, employing 32,465 people and paying $1.1 billion in payroll per year. Between 2007 and 2012, sales declined by $12.6 billion, or 64.9 percent. (In 2007, total sales were $19.5 billion and the number employed was 35,300.)<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=July 15, 2014 |title=Economic Census Shows the U.S. Virgin Islands Generated $6.8 Billion in Sales in 2012 |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-132.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222054126/http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-132.html |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |website=US Census |publisher=Department of Commerce}}</ref>

According to a report on the first half of 2016 by the VI Bureau of Economic Research, the unemployment rate was 11.5 percent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNEMPLOYMENT RATES - U.S. Virgin Islands |url=http://www.usviber.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UN17.pdf |access-date=January 24, 2021 |publisher=Bureau of Economic Research-United States Virgin Islands |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522125119/http://www.usviber.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UN17.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In May 2016 the islands' Bureau of Economic Research indicated that there were 37,613 non-agricultural wage and salary jobs in the islands. This report states that the "leisure and hospitality sector" employed an average of 7,333 people. The retail trade sector, which also serves many tourists, averaged another 5,913 jobs. Other categories which also include some tourism jobs include arts and entertainment (792 jobs), accommodation and food (6,541 jobs), accommodation (3,755 jobs), and food services and drink (2,766 jobs). A large percentage of the 37,613 non-farm workers are employed in dealing with tourists. Serving the local population is also part of the role of these sectors.<ref name="VI Bureau of Economic Research-2016"/>

In a May 2016 report, some 11,000 people were categorized as being involved in some aspect of agriculture in the first half of 2016, but this category makes up a small part of the total economy. At that time, there were approximately 607 manufacturing jobs and 1,487 natural resource and construction jobs. The single largest employer was the government.<ref name="VI Bureau of Economic Research-2016"/> In mid-February 2017, the USVI was facing a financial crisis due to a very high debt level of $2 billion and a structural budget deficit of $110 million.<ref name="Baribeau">{{Cite web |last=Baribeau |first=Simone |date=January 23, 2017 |title=United States Virgin Islands Risks Capsizing Under Weight Of Debt |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/debtwire/2017/01/23/united-states-virgin-islands-risks-capsizing-under-weight-of-debt/#570913e73673 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217071218/http://www.forbes.com/sites/debtwire/2017/01/23/united-states-virgin-islands-risks-capsizing-under-weight-of-debt/#570913e73673 |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |website=[[Forbes]] |quote=How far behind is the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) from facing the same sort of financial crisis as Puerto Rico? Not very.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilbert |first=Ernice |date=February 16, 2017 |title=Government Has Two Days Cash on Hand Left, Finance Commissioner Reveals |url=http://viconsortium.com/business/financial-crisis-mapp-executive-order-suspends-hiring-travel-wage-negotiations-and-limits-use-of-govt-vehicles/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216143052/http://viconsortium.com/business/financial-crisis-mapp-executive-order-suspends-hiring-travel-wage-negotiations-and-limits-use-of-govt-vehicles/ |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=February 16, 2017 |website=VI Consortium }}</ref> Since January 2017, the U.S. Virgin Islands government has been unable to raise financing from the [[bond market]] at favorable interest rates, and as of June 2019 have not issued any new bonds since then.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. TERRITORIES Public Debt Outlook |url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/700079.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013004147/https://www.gao.gov//assets/710/700079.pdf |archive-date=October 13, 2019 |access-date=October 25, 2019 |publisher=US GAO}}</ref>

===Personal income===
The median income for a household in the territory was $40,408, and the median income for a family was $52,000 according to the 2020 census.<ref>{{Cite web   |title=2020 Island Areas Censuses Data on Demographic, Social, Economic and Housing Characteristics Now Available for the U.S. Virgin Islands |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/2020-island-areas-us-virgin-islands.html |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Census.gov |archive-date=October 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026002334/https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/2020-island-areas-us-virgin-islands.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Males had a median income of $41,747 versus $37,052 for females. The per capita income for the territory was $26,897. The average private sector salary was $34,088 and the average public sector salary was $52,572.<ref name="VI Bureau of Economic Research-2016"/> About 28.7% of families and 32.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.7% of those less than 18 years old and 29.8% of those 65 or more years old. Nearly 70% of adults had at least a high school diploma and 19.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |title=Fact Finder |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPVI_VIDP2&prodType=table |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214060955/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPVI_VIDP2&prodType=table |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |website=US Census |publisher=Department of Commerce}}</ref>

===Financial challenges===
Analysts reviewing the economy often point to the closure of the [[Hovensa|HOVENSA oil refinery]], the islands' largest private sector employer, in early 2012 as having a major negative impact on the territory's economy.<ref name="Daniel Shea Daily News Staff"/><ref name="online.wsj.com"/> In late 2013, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Research and Statistics Group pointed out that manufacturing employment dropped by 50% in May 2012 and by another 4% by November 2012, and that the GDP fell by 13%, "mainly due to an 80% drop-off in exports (mostly refined petroleum)". On the other hand, tourism and some other service industries were growing. As well, the 2010 census indicated that a relatively high share of the adult population is in the labor force: 66%, versus 65% on the mainland and well above 50% in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bram |first=Jason |date=November 15, 2013 |title=A Long Road to Economic Recovery for the U.S. Virgin Islands |url=http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2013/11/a-long-road-to-economic-recovery-for-the-us-virgin-islands.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122154635/https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2013/11/a-long-road-to-economic-recovery-for-the-us-virgin-islands.html |archive-date=January 22, 2019 |access-date=December 3, 2018 |website=Liberty Street Economics |quote=Looking ahead, we note that the tropical weather and picturesque beaches will continue to draw tourists, and natural resources bode well for rum production.}}</ref>

A May 2016 report by Bloomberg expressed concern about the islands' tax-supported debt load.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chappatta |first=Brian |date=May 31, 2016 |title=More in Debt Than Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands Rejects Rescue |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-31/more-in-debt-than-puerto-rico-the-virgin-islands-rejects-rescue |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216140812/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-31/more-in-debt-than-puerto-rico-the-virgin-islands-rejects-rescue |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |website=Bloomberg }}</ref> By January 23, 2017, this had increased to $2 billion. That translated to a per capita debt of $19,000, which was higher than the per capita debt in Puerto Rico which was undergoing a severe financial crisis at the time. A Debtwire analyst writing in ''[[Forbes]]'' indicated that nothing short of a miracle would prevent a financial collapse.<ref name="Baribeau" /> Another area of concern was the structural budget deficit which was at $110 million in mid February 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gilbert |first=Ernice |date=February 15, 2017 |title=FINANCIAL CRISIS: MAPP EXECUTIVE ORDER SUSPENDS HIRING, TRAVEL, WAGE NEGOTIATIONS AND LIMITS USE OF GOV'T VEHICLES |url=http://viconsortium.com/business/financial-crisis-mapp-executive-order-suspends-hiring-travel-wage-negotiations-and-limits-use-of-govt-vehicles/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216143052/http://viconsortium.com/business/financial-crisis-mapp-executive-order-suspends-hiring-travel-wage-negotiations-and-limits-use-of-govt-vehicles/ |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=February 16, 2017 |website=VI Consortium }}</ref> The government instituted a new law in March 2017 with new or increased taxes on rum, beer, tobacco products and sugary drinks, as well as internet purchases and timeshare unit owners.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 24, 2017 |title=The Sin Tax is Now Law |url=http://newsofstjohn.com/2017/03/23/the-sin-tax-is-now-law/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809222425/http://newsofstjohn.com/2017/03/23/the-sin-tax-is-now-law/ |archive-date=August 9, 2017 |access-date=July 27, 2017 |website=NewsofStJohn.com}}</ref>

===Tourism===

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Tourism, trade, and other service-oriented industries are the primary economic activities, accounting for nearly 60% of the GDP. Approximately 2.5 million tourists per year visit, most arriving on [[cruise ships]].<ref name="VI Bureau of Economic Research-2016"/> Such visitors do not spend large amounts of money ($146.70 each on average) but as a group, they contributed $339.8 million to the economy in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garely |first=Dr. Elinor |date=November 9, 2014 |title=Interview: The Honorable Beverly Nicholson-Doty, Commissioner of Tourism, United States Virgin Islands |url=http://www.eturbonews.com/52370/interview-honorable-beverly-nicholson-doty-commissioner-tourism- |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216125357/http://www.eturbonews.com/52370/interview-honorable-beverly-nicholson-doty-commissioner-tourism- |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |website=E Turbo News |publisher=eTurboNews, Inc. |quote=Dr. Elinor Garely, Editor-in-Chief, TourismExecutives.com}}</ref> Euromonitor indicates that over 50% of the workforce is employed in some tourism-related work.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |title=Travel and Tourism in US Virgin Islands |url=http://www.euromonitor.com/travel-and-tourism-in-us-virgin-islands/report |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322215250/http://www.euromonitor.com/travel-and-tourism-in-us-virgin-islands/report |archive-date=March 22, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |website=Euromonitor }}</ref>

Additionally, the islands frequently are a starting point for private [[yacht charter]]s to the neighboring [[British Virgin Islands]].[[File:RCCL Adventure Of The Seas (22908986604).jpg|thumb|RCCL Adventure Of The Seas]]

===Other sectors===
The manufacturing sector consists of mainly [[rum]] [[Distillation|distilling]]. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and services in the financial sector are a small but growing component of the economy. Most energy is also generated from imported oil, leading to electricity costs four to five times higher than the U.S. mainland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrew |date=February 19, 2012 |title=USVI, NREL Partner to Reduce Fossil FuelS 60% by 2025 |url=http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/19/us-virgin-islands-launches-15-year-energy-initiative-to-reduce-fossil-fuel-use-60/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117053305/http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/19/us-virgin-islands-launches-15-year-energy-initiative-to-reduce-fossil-fuel-use-60/ |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |website=[[CleanTechnica]]}}</ref> The Virgin Islands were the highest oil consumers per capita in the world in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Energy > Oil > Consumption > Per capita: Countries Compared |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Energy/Oil/Consumption/Per-capita |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707205908/http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Energy/Oil/Consumption/Per-capita |archive-date=July 7, 2017}}</ref> The [[Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) |url=http://www.viwapa.vi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522005355/http://www.viwapa.vi/ |archive-date=May 22, 2009 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |publisher=Viwapa.vi}}</ref> also uses imported energy to operate its desalination facilities to provide fresh water.

===Government===
The ''[[The World Factbook|CIA World Factbook]]'' lists the value of federal programs and grants&nbsp;— $241.4 million in 2013, 19.7% of the territory's total revenues&nbsp;— and that "the economy remains relatively diversified. Along with the tourist industry, it appears that rum exports, trade, and services will be major income sources in future years".<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2014 |title=Central America and Caribbean – VIRGIN ISLANDS – Economy |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |access-date=February 15, 2017 |website=CIA |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113025648/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Tax and trade===
The U.S. Virgin Islands are an independent [[customs territory]] from the mainland United States and operate largely as a [[free port]]. U.S. citizens thus do not have to clear customs when arriving in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but do when traveling to the mainland. Local residents are not subject to US federal income taxes on U.S. Virgin Islands source income; they pay taxes to the territory equal to what their federal taxes would be if they lived in a state.<ref>{{Cite report |date=November 1997 |title=U.S. INSULAR AREAS, Application of the U.S. Constitution |url=http://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf |url-status=dead |publisher=U.S. General Accounting Office |page=37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103093032/http://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |access-date=July 16, 2012 |quote=US federal individual and corporate income taxes as such are not currently imposed in US insular areas.}}</ref>

In 2014, the territory is considered as a [[tax haven]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Browning |first=Lynnley |date=2014 |title=A Made-in-America Offshore Tax Haven |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2014/09/19/made-america-offshore-tax-haven-269135.html |website=newsweek.com}}</ref> In 2018, the [[European Union|EU]] added it on the [[European Union tax haven blacklist]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Timeline - EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/fr/policies/eu-list-of-non-cooperative-jurisdictions/timeline-eu-list-of-non-cooperative-jurisdictions/ |website=consilium.europa.eu}}</ref>

==Transport and communications==
{{Main|Transportation in the United States Virgin Islands}}
[[File:Cyril E. King Airport (terminal).jpg|thumb|left|Cyril E. King Airport on St Thomas]]
The [[Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport]] serves St. Croix and the [[Cyril E. King Airport]] serves St. Thomas and St. John.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is the only U.S. jurisdiction that drives on the left.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} This was inherited from what was then-current practice on the islands at the time of the 1917 transfer of the territory to the United States from Denmark. However, because most cars in the territory are imported from the mainland United States, the cars in the territory are [[left-hand drive]]. However, not all U.S. vehicle regulations are in force, and there are vehicles on the road that cannot be sold in the mainland U.S. Additionally, headlights use the U.S. pattern which casts light to the right, tending to blind oncoming drivers. Traffic signals are located on the opposite side of the road than they are in the U.S. mainland, and many standard road signs have been altered to fit the left-side driving.

===Public transportation===
[[File:Virgin_Islands_Transit_(VITRAN)_public_bus.jpg|thumb|left|VITRAN bus on St Thomas near TuTu Park Mall.]]
[[File:VITRAN Ferry.jpg|thumb|VITRAN Ferry, Cruz Bay 1, docking at the Urman Victor Fredericks Marine Terminal in Red Hook, St. Thomas]]
The [[Virgin Islands Transit|VITRAN (Virgin Island Public Transit)]] system is a comprehensive public transportation system serving the U.S. Virgin Islands. It provides accessible public transportation across the major islands of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas. The system encompasses various modes of transportation, including buses, paratransit services and ferries connecting major towns, tourist destinations, transportation hubs, and islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VITRAN {{!}} Virgin Islands Transit |url=https://vitranvi.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523234521/https://www.vitranvi.com/ |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |website=vitranvi.com}}</ref>

===Mail Service===
Mail service is handled by the [[United States Postal Service]], using the two-character state code "VI" for domestic mail delivery.<ref name="WebMastersVI-TouristTips">{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands Tourist Tips |url=http://www.here.vi/Tourist_Tips/tourist_tips.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210015405/http://www.here.vi/Tourist_Tips/tourist_tips.html |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |website=Here.VI Search |publisher=WebMastersVI.com }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Official USPS Abbreviations |url=http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328210335/http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.html |archive-date=March 28, 2009 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] }}</ref><ref name="USPS-VI-info">{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands General Information |url=http://www.usps.com/ncsc/addressstds/vigeninfo.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225130414/http://www.usps.com/ncsc/addressstds/vigeninfo.htm |archive-date=December 25, 2009 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |publisher=United States Postal Service }}</ref>
[[ZIP code]]s are in the 008xx range.<ref name="USPS-VI-info" />
{{As of|2010|01}}, specifically assigned codes include 00801–00805 (St Thomas),<ref>{{Cite web |title=St Thomas, VI |url=http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-ST-THOMAS.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326164942/http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-ST-THOMAS.asp |archive-date=March 26, 2010 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |website=Zip-Codes.com |publisher=Datasheer, LLC}}</ref>
00820–00824 (Christiansted),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Christiansted, VI |url=http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-CHRISTIANSTED.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216035702/http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-CHRISTIANSTED.asp |archive-date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |website=Zip-Codes.com |publisher=Datasheer, LLC}}</ref>
00830–00831 (St. John),<ref>{{Cite web |title=St John, VI |url=http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-ST-JOHN.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525170737/http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-ST-JOHN.asp |archive-date=May 25, 2010 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |website=Zip-Codes.com |publisher=Datasheer, LLC}}</ref>
00840–00841 (Frederiksted),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frederiksted, VI |url=http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-FREDERIKSTED.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525171016/http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-FREDERIKSTED.asp |archive-date=May 25, 2010 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |website=Zip-Codes.com |publisher=Datasheer, LLC}}</ref>
and 00850–00851 (Kingshill).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kingshill, VI |url=http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-KINGSHILL.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119050611/http://www.zip-codes.com/city/VI-KINGSHILL.asp |archive-date=January 19, 2010 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |website=Zip-Codes.com |publisher=Datasheer, LLC}}</ref>
The islands are part of the [[North American Numbering Plan]], using [[area code 340]], and island residents and visitors are able to call most [[Toll-free telephone number|toll-free U.S. numbers]].<ref name="WebMastersVI-TouristTips" />

The U.S. Virgin Islands are located in the [[Atlantic Standard Time]] zone and do not participate in [[daylight saving time]]. When the mainland United States is on standard time, the U.S. Virgin Islands are one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. When the mainland United States is on daylight saving time, Eastern Daylight Time is the same as Atlantic Standard Time.

==Demographics==
{{see also|Demographics of the United States Virgin Islands}}
[[File:StJohnTrunkBay.jpg|thumb|[[Trunk Bay]], [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]]]]
{{US Census population
|1970=62468
|1980=96569
|1990=101809
|2000=108612
|2010=106405
|2020=87146
|estyear=
|estimate=
|footnote=Sources:<ref name="Islandareas" />}}

In 2020, the census put the population of the U.S. Virgin Islands at 87,146, a decline of 18,989 (-18.1%) from 2010.<ref name="Islandareas" />

In 2020,<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Census website |url=https://www.census.gov/ |access-date=January 31, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |archive-date=December 27, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Census 2010 News {{pipe}} U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2010 Census Population Counts for the U.S. Virgin Islands |url=http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn180.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101063104/https://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn180.html |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |publisher=2010.census.gov}}</ref> there were 39,642 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.8% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.1% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the territory, the population in 2020 was distributed with 19.6% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and up, there were 87.7 males. The annual population growth is −0.12%.

The literacy rate for the adult population was 94.9% in 2010.<ref name="Pew Research-2016">{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016 |title=U.S. Virgin Islands |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/u-s-virgin-islands/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222194456/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/u-s-virgin-islands/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |access-date=February 21, 2017 |website=Pew Research }}</ref>

===Ethnic groups===
The racial makeup of the U.S. Virgin Islands as of the [[2020 United States census]]:<ref name="data.census.gov" />
* Black or [[Afro-Caribbean people|Afro-Caribbean]]: 71.4% (64.2% Non-Hispanic Black)
* [[Latin America|Hispanic or Latino]] of any race: 17.4% (8.9% [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]], 6.2% [[People of the Dominican Republic|Dominican]])
* [[White people|White]]: 16.6% (12.7% [[Non-Hispanic Whites]])
* Other: 3.6%
* Mixed: 7.4%
* [[Asian American|Asian]] or [[Asian Caribbean]]: 1.0%

Many residents can trace their ancestry to other Caribbean islands, especially [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Lesser Antilles]]. The territory is largely Afro-Caribbean in origin.<ref name="WorldFactbook">{{Cite web |date=November 10, 2021 |title=CIA – The World Factbook – US Virgin Islands |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113025648/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Languages===
[[File:Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral - St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 07.JPG|thumb|227x227px|English and Spanish sign at the Catholic Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul]]
[[File:USVI St. Thomas Charlotte Amalie Danish streetname.JPG|thumb|right|A Danish street name in Charlotte-Amalie]]
English is the predominant language. As of 2010, [[Spanish language|Spanish]]<ref name="www2.census.gov" /> is spoken by 17.2% of the population age five and older, French or French Creole is spoken by 8.6%, and other languages are spoken by 2.5%.<ref name="www2.census.gov">U.S. Census Bureau. 2013. "[https://www2.census.gov/census_2010/10-Island_Areas_Detailed_Cross_Tabulations/Virgin_Islands/USVI_2010_Census_Detailed_Crosstabulations_Part1_v3.xlsx USVI 2010 Census Detailed Crosstabulations Part1 v3.xlsx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708032347/https://www2.census.gov/census_2010/10-Island_Areas_Detailed_Cross_Tabulations/Virgin_Islands/USVI_2010_Census_Detailed_Crosstabulations_Part1_v3.xlsx |date=July 8, 2022 }}" (spreadsheet tab 2-9). Retrieved from https://www2.census.gov/census_2010/10-Island_Areas_Detailed_Cross_Tabulations/Virgin_Islands/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708032347/https://www2.census.gov/census_2010/10-Island_Areas_Detailed_Cross_Tabulations/Virgin_Islands/ |date=July 8, 2022 }}</ref>

[[Virgin Islands Creole|Virgin Islands Creole English]], an English-based creole locally known as "dialect", is spoken in informal situations. The form of Virgin Islands Creole spoken on St. Croix, known as ''Crucian'', is slightly different from that spoken on St. Thomas and St. John.<ref>Plata Monllor, Miriam R. 2008. ''[https://www.proquest.com/openview/369ee80a01bc1b23da102f852163d45a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 Phonological features of Crucian Creole. Doctoral Dissertation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117164311/https://www.proquest.com/openview/369ee80a01bc1b23da102f852163d45a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 |date=January 17, 2023 }}''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.</ref><ref>Vergne Vargas, Aida M. 2017. ''[https://www.proquest.com/openview/d153f5d0ad8e13e10b0f2042f4accf76/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y A Comparative Study of the Grammatical Structures of Crucian Creole and West African Languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117164311/https://www.proquest.com/openview/d153f5d0ad8e13e10b0f2042f4accf76/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |date=January 17, 2023 }}''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.</ref> Because the U.S. Virgin Islands are home to thousands of immigrants from across the Caribbean, [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and various [[French-based creole languages|French creole]] languages are also widely spoken. Spanish is mostly spoken by Puerto Ricans in St. Croix;<ref name="Feliciano-2009">Villanueva Feliciano, Orville Omar. 2009. ''[https://www.proquest.com/openview/272a2f934bbb815bfdbf5dcc6ba9c82c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 A Contrastive analysis of English Influences on the Lexicon of Puerto Rican Spanish in Puerto Rico and St. Croix] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707215507/https://www.proquest.com/openview/272a2f934bbb815bfdbf5dcc6ba9c82c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 |date=July 7, 2022 }}''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.</ref> Puerto Rican migration was prevalent in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, when many Puerto Ricans relocated to St. Croix for work after the collapse of the sugar industry.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} In addition, the [[U.S. Navy]] purchase of two-thirds of the nearby Puerto Rican island of [[Vieques]] during [[World War II]] resulted in the displacement of thousands of ''Viequenses'', many of whom relocated to St. Croix because of its similar size and geography. Puerto Ricans in St. Croix, most of whom have lived on the island for more than a generation, have kept their culture alive while integrating it into the native Crucian culture and society.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} For example, in informal situations, many Puerto Ricans in St. Croix speak a unique [[Spanglish]]-like combination of [[Puerto Rican Spanish]] and the local Crucian dialect of creole English.<ref name="Feliciano-2009" />

English has been the predominant language since 1917, when the islands were transferred from Denmark to the United States. Under Danish rule, the official language was [[Danish language|Danish]], but it was solely the language of administration and spoken by Danes, a tiny minority of the overall population that primarily occupied administrative roles in colonial Danish West Indian society. Place names and surnames of Denmark–Norway origin are still common.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} Although the U.S. Virgin Islands was a Danish possession during most of its colonial history, [[Danish language|Danish]] never was a spoken language among the populace, black or non-Danish white, as the majority of plantation and slave owners were of [[Dutch people|Dutch]], [[English people|English]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Irish people|Irish]], or [[Spanish people|Spanish]] descent.<ref>An introduction to pidgins and creoles – John A. Holm</ref>

Even during Danish ownership, Dutch, another [[germanic languages|Germanic language]] like Danish, was more common, at least during some of those 245 years, specifically on St. Thomas and St. John, where the majority of the European settlers were Dutch. In St. Croix, English was the dominant language. St. Croix was owned by the French until 1733 when the island was sold to the Danish West Indian and Guinea Company. By 1741, there were five times as many English on the island as Danes. English Creole emerged on St. Croix more so than the Dutch Creole, which was more popular on St. Thomas and St. John. [[Negerhollands]], a [[Dutch-based creole languages|Dutch-based creole language]], was formerly spoken on St. John, St. Croix, and St. Thomas. The creole emerged on plantations in the late 17th century or early 18th century; but its prevalence began to decline in the early-mid 19th century as the usage of English and Virgin Islands Creole English increased.<ref name="The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online">{{Cite web |title=APiCS Online - Survey chapter: Negerhollands |url=https://apics-online.info/surveys/27 |access-date=July 25, 2022 |website=The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007133517/https://apics-online.info/surveys/27 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Robbert van Sluijs">Robbert van Sluijs. 2013. Negerhollands. In: Michaelis, Susanne Maria & Maurer, Philippe & Haspelmath, Martin & Huber, Magnus (eds.) ''The survey of pidgin and creole languages. Volume 1: English-based and Dutch-based Languages.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199691401</ref> The last speaker of Negerhollands died in 1987, and the language is now considered extinct.<ref name="The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online" /><ref name="Robbert van Sluijs" /> Other languages spoken in the Danish West Indies included Irish, Scots, Spanish, and French, as well as Virgin Islands English Creole.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2016 |title=Virgin Islands Language |url=http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/culture/virgin-islands-language/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407184055/http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/culture/virgin-islands-language |archive-date=April 7, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2016 |website=Vinow |publisher=VI Now |quote=St. Croix was owned by the French until 1733 when the Danes bought it. By 1741 there were five times as many English on the island as Danes. English Creole emerged on St. Croix more so than Dutch Creole, which was more popular on St. Thomas and St. John until the 1800s.}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{see also|Religion in the United States Virgin Islands}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in the United States Virgin Islands (2010)<ref name="globalreligiousfutures.org" />
|label1 = Protestant
|value1 = 65.5
|color1 = Blue
|label2 = Catholic
|value2 = 27.1
|color2 = DodgerBlue
|label3 = Other Christian
|value3= 1.8
|color3 = DarkBlue
|label4 = Unaffiliated
|value4= 3.7
|color4 = grey
|label5 = Other religion
|value5= 1.9
|color5 = Orange
}}
[[Christianity]] is the dominant religion in the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Pew Research Center, 94.8% of the population was Christian in 2010.<ref name="Pew Research-2016"/> The largest Christian denominations in the 2010 census were [[Baptist]],  [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], and [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |title=Virgin Islands Demographics |url=http://www.vimovingcenter.com/statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217170817/http://www.vimovingcenter.com/statistics/ |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |website=VI Moving Center |quote=Resource: 2010 United States Census of Population and Housing}}</ref>

Owing to both their Danish past and American present, [[Protestantism]] on the islands has long been widespread. It was first introduced when [[Lutheranism]] was brought to the islands in the Danish colonization. The Danish crown also allowed other religious traditions on the islands including [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], the [[Moravian Church]] and other Protestant groups.<ref name="Kenneth Scott Latourette 1961 pp 278–79">Kenneth Scott Latourette, ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, III: The Nineteenth Century Outside Europe: The Americas, the Pacific, Asia and Africa.'' (1961) pp 278–79</ref> Historically, St. Thomas and St. Croix are known for missionary efforts undertaken by the [[Moravian missionaries]]. They were allowed on the islands by the Danish royal court, but came under scrutiny when they denounced [[slavery]].<ref name="Kenneth Scott Latourette 1961 pp 278–79" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hastings |first1=S. U. |title=Seedtime and Harvest: A Brief History of the Moravian Church in Jamaica 1754–1979 |last2=MacLeavey |first2=B. L. |publisher=[[Moravian Church]] |year=1979 |location=Kingston (Jamaica) |oclc=10506410 |author-link=S. U. Hastings}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2018}} A number of neo-Protestant traditions including [[Pentecostalism]], various [[evangelical Protestants]] and the [[Seventh-day Adventists]] arrived later with the switch of allegiance from Denmark to the United States.

There is also a strong Catholic presence. [[Rastafari]] is also prevalent. St. Thomas is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Western Hemisphere, as [[Sephardi Jews]] began to settle the island in the 18th century as traders and merchants. The [[St. Thomas Synagogue]] in Charlotte Amalie is the second-oldest synagogue on American soil, and oldest in terms of continuous usage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of the Virgin Islands – Your Soul Resort In America's paradise |url=http://www.jewishvirginislands.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127161641/http://www.jewishvirginislands.com/ |archive-date=November 27, 2012 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |publisher=Jewishvirginislands.com}}</ref> [[Hinduism]] and Islam are practiced by the [[Indo-Caribbean]] and [[Indian American|Indian]] (mostly [[Sindhis|Sindhi Indian]]) population. There is one [[Hindu temple]] in La Grande Princesse, St. Croix, and another in Frenchman's Bay, St. Thomas.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://stcroixsource.com/2011/07/11/faith-matters-hinduism-usvi/ | title=Faith Matters: Hinduism in the U.S.V.I. | date=July 11, 2011 | access-date=October 9, 2022 | archive-date=October 9, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009000802/https://stcroixsource.com/2011/07/11/faith-matters-hinduism-usvi/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite court|litigants=Shree Ram Naya Sabha, Inc. v. Hendricks|court=D.V.I.|reporter=VI|vol=19|opinion=216|date=July 14, 1982|url=https://cite.case.law/vi/19/216/}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> There is also a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temple located on the island of St. Thomas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nirvanatemple.org/about_us.html|title=Nirvana Temple - About Us|website=nirvanatemple.org|access-date=April 27, 2019}}</ref>

===Health===
In 2010, the territory's average life expectancy was 79.61 years. It was 76.57 years for men and 82.83 for women.<ref name="Pew Research-2016"/>

===Education===
The [[Virgin Islands Department of Education|United States Virgin Islands Department of Education]] serves as the territory's education agency, and has two school districts: [[St. Thomas-St. John School District]] and [[St. Croix School District]].<ref>"[http://www.doe.vi/ Home] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211154758/http://www.doe.vi/ |date=February 11, 2008 }}." [[Virgin Islands Department of Education]]. Retrieved October 13, 2010. Go to the "Schools" tab and two school districts are listed.</ref>

[[File:University of the Virgin Islands entrance sign.jpg|thumb|left|Entrance sign]]
The [[University of the Virgin Islands]] provides higher education leading to associate's, bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees, with campuses on St. Thomas and St. Croix.

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of the Virgin Islands}}
The culture of the Virgin Islands reflects the various people that have inhabited the present-day U.S. Virgin Islands and [[British Virgin Islands]], which despite their political separation have kept close cultural ties. The culture derives chiefly from [[West African]], European and American traditions, in addition to the influences from the immigrants from the Arab world, India and other Caribbean islands. The islands were strongly influenced by the British, Dutch,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Life in Denmark and 2017 centennial in St.Thomas of U.S. Virgin Islands |url=http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2016/04/27/life-faraway-kingdom-denmark-and-2017-centennial |url-status=dead |access-date=May 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513051220/http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2016/04/27/life-faraway-kingdom-denmark-and-2017-centennial |archive-date=May 13, 2016}}</ref> French and Danish during the long periods the islands were under these powers.

===Music===
{{Main|Music of the Virgin Islands}}

===Media===
The islands have a number of AM and FM radio stations (mostly on St. Thomas and St. Croix) broadcasting music, religious, and news programming. (See [[List of radio stations in US Territories]].) Full- and low-power television stations are split between St. Thomas and St. Croix. (See [[List of television stations in the U.S. Virgin Islands]].) Newspapers include:
* ''The Avis'', printed daily on St. Croix
* ''[[The Virgin Islands Daily News]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands Daily News |url=http://www.dailynews.vi/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324133409/http://www.dailynews.vi/ |archive-date=March 24, 2010 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |website=virginislandsdailynews.com; dailynews.vi}}</ref> printed daily on St. Thomas
* ''St. John Tradewinds'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the Frontpage |url=http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220072415/http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/ |archive-date=December 20, 2012 |access-date=December 13, 2012 |website=stjohntradewindsnews.com}}</ref> distributed weekly on St. John
* ''St. Thomas – St. John This Week''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Island Vacation Guide – What to Do, Restaurants, Hotels in St Thomas & St John |url=http://virginislandsthisweek.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075357/http://virginislandsthisweek.com/ |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |access-date=April 3, 2014 |website=virginislandsthisweek.com}}</ref> (online only)
* ''St. Thomas Source''<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Thomas Source |url=http://stthomassource.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227150137/http://stthomassource.com/ |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |website=stthomassource.com/}}</ref> (online only)
* ''St. Croix Source''<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Croix Source |url=http://stcroixsource.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228142739/http://stcroixsource.com/ |archive-date=February 28, 2012 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |website=stcroixsource.com}}</ref> (online only)
* ''St. John On Island Times'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=St John On Island Times |url=http://www.onislandtimes.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220113037/http://onislandtimes.com/ |archive-date=February 20, 2014 |access-date=January 21, 2014 |website=onislandtimes.com}}</ref> news and information on St. John, USVI
* ''The Virgin Islands Consortium'' (online only)

===Libraries===
Soon after becoming a US territory in 1917, the first public library was formally accepted as a gift from the Junior Red Cross. The St. Thomas Library opened in December 1920. The library occupied rented quarters and frequently moved. The [[Carnegie Corporation of New York]] provided grant funding from 1929 through 1933 to the US Virgin Islands for the development of library services by sending librarians, funding for books, and training for the supervising librarian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garrison |first=Gretchen |date=April 1943 |title=Peacetime Story: Virgin Island Libraries, 1920 - 1941 |journal=Wilson Library Bulletin |volume=17 |pages=622–625}}</ref>

An early and enduring pioneer for libraries in the Virgin Islands was Enid M. Baa. Ms. Baa was one of the four first high school graduates in St. Thomas and participated in the establishment of the first high school library. Soon after her graduation, Ms. Baa was selected by the Carnegie Foundation and Governor Pearson for a scholarship as a special student to the Graduate Library School at Hampton Institute. After graduating from the program in 1933, Ms. Baa returned to the Virgin Islands to be appointed by Governor Pearson as Supervising Librarian for the Virgin Islands. She was the first woman to hold a cabinet-level office in the Virgin Islands government. In 1943, Ms. Baa returned to the US to complete her studies at Columbia University and worked in the library field in the US. Among the positions she held include Head of Serial Cataloging Section at the United Nations Library and Specialist in Cataloging of Spanish or Portuguese materials at the New York Public Library. In 1954, Ms. Baa was appointed Director of Libraries and Museums under Governor Archibald Alexander. She received the John Jay Whitney Foundation Fellowship in 1955 on the basis of her contribution to the preservation of the Sephardic Jewish Records of the Virgin Islands and the re-indexing of these records in a card file. The family records of US senator [[Judah P. Benjamin]], artist [[Camille Pissarro]], medical pioneer Jacob Da Costa, and others can be found in the documents.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 26, 2021 |title=USVI Public Library System, Enid M. Baa |url=https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/enid-m-baa-public-library-and-archives |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126205901/https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/enid-m-baa-public-library-and-archives |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US Virgin Islands Public Library System currently consists of five libraries. Three in St. Croix: Athalie McFarlane Peterson Public Library in Frederiksted, and the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and the Florence Augusta Williams Public Library, both in Christiansted. One in St. John, Elaine Ione Sprauve Public Library and Museum of Cultural Arts in Cruz Bay. While St. Thomas has two: Charles Wesley Turnbull Regional Public Library in Estate Tutu and Enid M. Baa Public Library and Archives in Charlotte Amalie, the Enid M. Baa Library is currently closed to the public and used for administrative purposes. The US Virgin Island Public Library System is administered by the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources' Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums.<ref name="www.usvipubliclibraries.com">{{Cite web |title=US Virgin Islands Public Library System |url=https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/ |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126205850/https://www.usvipubliclibraries.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US Virgin Islands Public Library System provides free reader services to adults, children, young adults, and seniors. Collections include: adult fiction and non-fiction; children's fiction and non-fiction; reference materials, magazines, daily newspapers, and DVDs. The library system also houses original and microfilm collections of Virgin Islands Archives, records, newspapers and other materials. The Virgin Islands Automated Library System provides a database and computerized support network for books, reading materials and patron records for the library and archives collections. The viNGN Public Computer Centers provide patrons with free access to high-speed connections to access the Internet and the World Wide Web.<ref name="www.usvipubliclibraries.com"/>

===Public holidays===
{{Main|Public holidays in the United States Virgin Islands}}
* January 1: New Year's Day
* January 6: Three Kings Day
* January (third Monday): Martin Luther King Jr. Day
* February (third Monday): Presidents' Day
* March 31: [[Transfer Day]] (celebrates the transfer of the islands from Denmark to the US)
* March–April: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday
* May (fourth Monday): Memorial Day
* June 19: [[Juneteenth]]
* July 3: [[Emancipation Day#US Virgin Islands – July 3|Emancipation Day]]
* July 4: U.S. Independence Day
* September (first Monday): Labor Day
* October (second Monday): [[Virgin Islands–Puerto Rico Friendship Day]]/Columbus Day
* November 1: [[D. Hamilton Jackson]] Day (also known as "Liberty Day", or "Bull and Bread Day")
* November 11: Veterans Day
* November (fourth Thursday): Thanksgiving Day
* December 25: Christmas
* December 26: Christmas Second Day (also known as "[[Boxing Day]]")

Virgin Islands government employees are also given administrative leave for St. Croix [[Caribbean Carnival|carnival]] events in January and St. Thomas carnival events in April/May.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2019 |title=Governor Bryan Announces Administrative Leave for St. Thomas Carnival |url=https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-announces-administrative-leave-for-st-thomas-carnival/ |access-date=October 2, 2020 |website=Government of the United States Virgin Islands |language=en-US |archive-date=April 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421065736/https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-announces-administrative-leave-for-st-thomas-carnival/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gov. Bryan Announces Administrative Leave For Holiday Season |url=https://viconsortium.com/vi-community_center/virgin-islands-gov-bryan-announces-administrative-leave-for-holiday-season |access-date=October 2, 2020 |website=viconsortium.com |language=en |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029003246/https://viconsortium.com/vi-community_center/virgin-islands-gov-bryan-announces-administrative-leave-for-holiday-season |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sports==
[[Basketball]] is one of the popular sports in the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is currently one player in the [[NBA]] from the U.S. Virgin Islands, [[2019 NBA draft]] pick [[Nicolas Claxton]], who plays for the [[Brooklyn Nets]]. NBA Hall-of-Famer and five-time champion [[Tim Duncan]] of the San Antonio Spurs is also a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Consensus 2022 NCAA women's player of the year and USA national team member [[Aliyah Boston]] (University of South Carolina) was born and raised in St. Thomas.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2018/10/aliyah-boston-feature-sept.aspx | title=Far from Home, Aliyah Boston Has Found a Home on the Court with USA Basketball | access-date=August 30, 2022 | archive-date=September 20, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163849/https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2018/10/aliyah-boston-feature-sept.aspx | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In [[cricket]], U.S. Virgin Islanders are eligible to compete internationally as part of the [[West Indies cricket team|West Indies]].  The most recent U.S. Virgin Islander to be named to the West Indies squad is [[Hayden Walsh Jr.]], who was born in St. Croix.  In regional Caribbean competitions, U.S. Virgin Islanders compete in [[List A]] and [[first-class cricket]] as part of the [[Leeward Islands cricket team]].  Currently, the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented in Caribbean [[Twenty20]] leagues.

There are also a [[United States Virgin Islands national soccer team|men's]] and [[United States Virgin Islands women's national soccer team|women's]] national soccer teams.

==Notable people==
* [[List of people from the United States Virgin Islands]]

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Caribbean|Islands}}
* [[Outline of the United States Virgin Islands]]
* [[Index of United States Virgin Islands-related articles]]
* [[Bibliography of the United States Virgin Islands]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=Niklas Thode |last2=Simonsen |first2=Gunvor |year=2016 |title=Introduction: The historiography of slavery in the Danish-Norwegian West Indies, c. 1950–2016 |journal=[[Scandinavian Journal of History]] |volume=41 |issue=4–5 |pages=475–494 |doi=10.1080/03468755.2016.1210880 |doi-access=free}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.vi.gov United States Virgin Islands Government House Official website]
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ "Virgin Islands"]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://guides.loc.gov/virgin-islands-state-guide U.S. Virgin Islands: State Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress]
* [https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/islandareas/ US Census Bureau: Island Areas Census 2000]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080407195035/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/usvirginisles.htm United States Virgin Islands] at UCB Libraries GovPubs
* {{Wikiatlas|the United States Virgin Islands}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160201082800/http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=VI Real-time, geographic and other scientific resources of Virgin Islands] at the [[United States Geological Survey]].
* [http://www.visitusvi.com/ Official Tourism Website]

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[[Category:United States Virgin Islands| ]]
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