Hype for the Future 48/284: USVI and BVI Compared

The Virgin Islands 🇻🇬 and the Virgin Islands of the United States 🇻🇮 are related yet clearly distinct entities. Though the Spanish Virgin Islands of Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 are also of interest, referring to islands of Puerto Rican control east of the Puerto Rican mainland, the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands alike are generally associated with the name “Virgin Islands.” Though originally a name attributed to Christopher Columbus, the United States Virgin Islands specifically refer to the portion of the archipelago containing Saint Thomas, Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island, while the British Virgin Islands is the portion containing Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke. Overall, however, the United States Virgin Islands is comprised of around fifty islands whereas the British Virgin Islands is comprised of around sixty islands. In either case, the USVI contains the larger land area, as well as the majority of the population associated with the archipelago. In comparison, the BVI contains relatively fewer people, definitely smaller than the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda and possibly also smaller than the Cayman Islands.