The main inhabited islands of the BVI include Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Tortola. Tortola is the largest of the islands, measuring about 21 square kilometres, and is the main centre of commerce as well as being home to the capital, Road Town. English is the official language.

The British Virgin Islands are a British Dependent Territory and have a governor, appointed by the British Monarch, who has power over areas such as defence, internal security and foreign affairs. However, the territory is largely self-governing and has a democratically elected Legislative Council and an Executive Council, which is comprised of the Governor, the Attorney General (ex-officio), the Chief Minister and three other ministers appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.

The territory is involved in a number of political and economic organisations in the Caribbean, including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The British Virgin Islands benefits from a stable political environment and has a healthy economy with very low levels of unemployment and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the region. Tourism is by far the most important sector of the economy and is responsible for just under half of the national income. The BVI has also become a high quality financial centre with a significant international off shore banking community and is the only Caribbean Dependent Territory to which the British Government has given responsibility for developing and managing its own financial services.

The main port of entry by air into the BVI is Beef Island International Airport, located 15 kilometres to the east of Road Town and connected to the island of Tortola by a short bridge. There is also a small airport located on the southeastern coast of Virgin Gorda, near Spanish Town.

Access by plane to the BVI is made via Antigua, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and St Thomas and St Croix in the US Virgin Islands. There are scheduled services to Antigua from both the U.S. mainland and London; San Juan is one of the busiest hubs in the Caribbean, with flights to and from numerous international destinations, while the airports at St Thomas and St Croix offer connections to several destinations in the United States. The majority of flights from Europe reach the BVI via Antigua.

There are also regular ferry services in operation between Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands and St Thomas and St John in the US Virgin Islands.

Within the BVI there are flights between Tortola and Virgin Gorda, as well as occasional flights to Anegada, which has a small airstrip in the middle of the island. There are also numerous ferries that operate routes between the larger islands and dozens of water taxis available for reaching other destinations.