Updates:
I added the 2010 census figures.
Country overview:
Short name | VIRGIN ISLANDS, U.S. |
ISO code | VI |
FIPS code | VQ |
Language | English (en) |
Time zone | -4 |
Capital | Charlotte Amalie |
The Danish West Indies were purchased from Denmark on 1917-01-25, and became an unincorporated
territory of the United States, and so they remain now.
Other names of country:
- Dutch: Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden
- English: Virgin Islands of the United States (formal), Danish West Indies (obsolete)
- French: Îles Vierges américaines, Îles fp Vierges des États-Unis mp
- German: Amerikanische Jungferninseln
- Icelandic: Jómfrúreyjar
- Italian: Isole fp Vergini Americane, Isole Vergini Statunitensi
- Portuguese: Ilhas fp Virgens Americanas
- Russian: Американские Виргинские острова, Виргинские острова Соединенных Штатов Америки (variant)
- Spanish: Islas Vírgenes Americanas, Islas fp Vírgenes de los Estados mp Unidos
- Turkish: Amerikan Virgin Adaları
Origin of name:
discovered by Columbus and named Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes: Saint Ursula and the
Eleven Thousand Virgins
Primary subdivisions:
U.S. Virgin Islands is divided into three census enumeration districts, corresponding to the
main islands, and having no administrative significance.
District | HASC | FIPS | Population | Area(km.˛) | Area(mi.˛) | ZIP |
Saint Croix | VI.SC | 010 | 50,601 | 218 | 84 | 2,4,5 |
Saint John | VI.SJ | 020 | 4,170 | 52 | 20 | 3 |
Saint Thomas | VI.ST | 030 | 51,634 | 73 | 28 | 0 |
3 districts | 106,405 | 343 | 132 | |
- HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision
codes.
- FIPS: Three-digit county codes from FIPS PUB 55-2.
When prefixed with 78,
which is the two-digit state code for Virgin Islands from FIPS PUB 5-2, they form a
five-digit county code (e.g. 78010 for Saint Croix) which is unique within the United States.
As a state-level division of the United States, the Virgin Islands has 78 as a State Numeric
Code and VI as a State Alpha Code, according to Table 2 of FIPS PUB 5-2.
- Population: 2010-04-01 census.
- ZIP: Fourth digit of postal code.
|
Postal codes:
U.S. Virgin Islands uses five-digit postal codes from the U.S. system. They all begin with 008.
The district is determined by the fourth digit.
Further subdivisions:
See the Subdistricts of the United States Virgin Islands page.
The islands are divided into cities and rural districts.
Territorial extent:
- The Virgin Islands consist of the three main islands named above, and numerous adjacent islets.
- Saint Croix includes Buck Island and Green Cay.
- Saint John includes islands east of Pillsbury Sound and south of The Narrows, which separates
it from the British Virgin Islands. The largest adjacent island is Lovango Cay.
- Saint Thomas includes islands west of Pillsbury Sound. Some of the larger adjacent islands are
the Hans Lollik Islands, Water, Brass, Savana, and Thatch Cay.
The UN LOCODE page for Virgin Islands, U.S. lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.
Change history:
- 1921: Name of capital changed from Charlotte Amalie to Saint Thomas.
- 1936-06-22: Organic Act set up two municipalities: Saint Croix, and Saint Thomas and Saint
John. Name of capital changed back to Charlotte Amalie.
- 1954-07-22: New Organic Act passed, abolishing the municipalities in favor of a central
administration.
Population history:
Island | 1911 | 1917 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
Saint Croix | 15,467 | 14,901 | 11,413 | 12,902 | 12,103 | 14,973 | 31,892 | 49,013 | 50,139 | 53,234 | 50,601 |
Saint John | 941 | 959 | 765 | 722 | 749 | 925 | 1,743 | 2,360 | 3,504 | 4,197 | 4,170 |
Saint Thomas | 10,678 | 10,191 | 9,834 | 11,265 | 13,813 | 16,201 | 29,565 | 44,218 | 48,166 | 51,181 | 51,634 |
Totals | 27,086 | 26,051 | 22,012 | 24,889 | 26,665 | 32,099 | 63,200 | 95,591 | 101,809 | 108,612 | 106,405 |
Sources:
- [1] 2010
Census Island Areas , United States Census Bureau (retrieved 2013-07-23).
- [2] Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930. Vol. I, Population. U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1931.