|RNational holiday:|N Transfer Day (from Denmark to the USA), March 31.
|RNature and climate:|N Three major and inhabited islands, St. Croix, St Thomas and St John, and about 50 small uninhabited islands about 100 km east of Puerto Rico.
St Thomas is a hilly ridge from west to east and have very little arable land.
St Croix raises high from the sea in the north, slowly sloping into lowlands and lagoons in the south.
St John have high mountains with deep valleys that are cultivated in terraces.
Average temperature throughout the year 26°C
Percipitation 1250 mm.
|RPeople:|N 80% black and 15% white.
|REconomy:|N Fruits, vegetables and rootfruits are the main crops. Some stockraising and fishing.
Tourism is the most important source of income and accounts for 70% of GDP.
The islands have some manufacturies producing rum, aluminium, textiles, watches, electronic components, medicine and perfumes.
On St Croix is the worlds largest petroleum refinery situated.
|RHistory:|N Excavations have revealed that the islands were inhabited 100 AD.
1493 Christopher Columbus landed on the islands and 1555 the Spanish defeated the Carib Indians who lived there. By 1596 the Indians were exterminated.
The first European settlements were made by Danish in 1672 and the islands were a Danish colony between 1755 and 1917, when the USA bought them for defense reasons for 25 million dollars.
US citizenship was granted for the population in 1927.
During the Danish period the islands flourished, vast plantations were started and trade developed.
