The economy is 
one of the most stable
and prosperous in the
Caribbean. It is highly dependent on
tourism which generates
an estimated 40% of the
national income. An
estimated 350,000
tourists, mainly from the
US, visited the islands in
1998. 
Tourism in the BVI is
multi-faceted. It includes
water tourism (yachting,
diving, fishing and cruise
ships) and land tourism (for tourists, snowbirds
and retired expats).
In the mid-1980s, the
government began offering offshore registration
to companies wishing to
incorporate in the islands,
and incorporation fees now generate substantial 
revenues. Now about 57%
of the government's revenue
comes from financial services.
Roughly 830,000
companies were on the
offshore registry by year
end 2007. The adoption
of a comprehensive
insurance law in late 1994,
which provides a blanket
of confidentiality with
regulated statutory
gateways for investigation
of criminal offenses, made
the British Virgin Islands
even more attractive to
international business.
Livestock raising is the
most important agricultural 
activity; however poor soils
limit the islands' ability to
meet all of its domestic food requirements.
Because of traditionally 
close links with the US
Virgin Islands, the British
Virgin Islands has used the
US dollar as its currency
since 1959.