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ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: Named for Queen Elizabeth I of England, the "Virgin Queen." NICKNAME: The Old Dominion. CAPITAL: Richmond. ENTERED UNION: 25 June 1788 (10th). SONG: "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" was formally retired from use in 1997 but has not yet been replaced. MOTTO: Sic semper tyrannis (Thus ever to tyrants). FLAG: On a blue field with a white border at the fly, the state seal is centered on a white circle. OFFICIAL SEAL: obverse: the Roman goddess Virtus, dressed as an Amazon and holding a sheathed sword in one hand and a spear in the other, stands over the body of Tyranny, who is pictured with a broken chain in his hand and a fallen crown nearby. The state motto appears below, the word "Virginia" above, and a border of Virginia creeper encircles the whole. reverse: the Roman goddesses of Liberty, Eternity, and Fruitfulness, with the word "Perseverando" (By persevering) above. ANIMAL: Foxhound. BIRD: Cardinal. FLOWER: Dogwood. TREE: Dogwood. SHELL: Oyster. BEVERAGE: Milk. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Lee-Jackson Day and Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Washington's Birthday, 3rd Monday in February; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, 2nd Monday in October; Election Day, 1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in November; Veterans Day, 11 November; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. TIME: 7 AM EST = noon GMT.

A mild, humid coastal climate is characteristic of Virginia. Temperatures, most equable in the Tidewater, become increasingly cooler with the rising altitudes as one moves westward. The normal daily mean temperature at Richmond is about 58°F (14°C), ranging from 36°F (2°C) in January to 78°F (26°C) in July. The record high, 110°F (43°C), was registered at Balcony Falls (near Glasgow) on 15 July 1954; the record low, –30°F (–34°C), was set at Mountain Lake on 22 January 1985. The frost-free growing season ranges from about 140 days in the mountains of the extreme west to over 250 in the Norfolk area.

Virginia ranked 12th in population in the US with an estimated total of 7,293,542 in 2002, an increase of 3% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, Virginia's population grew from 6,187,358 to 7,078,515, an increase of 14.4%. The population is projected to reach 7,324,000 by 2005 and 8.5 million by 2025. The population density in 2000 was 178.8 persons per sq mi.

Services, trade, and government are important economic sectors today. Because of Virginia's extensive military installations and the large number of Virginia residents working for the federal government in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, the federal government plays a larger role in the Virginia economy than in any other state except Hawaii. The industries that experienced the most growth in the 1990s were printing, transportation equipment, and electronic and other electrical equipment. Between 1992 and 2000, job growth in Virginia averaged 2.7% a year, and in northern Virginia, the rate was 4% a year. The state economy as a whole grew briskly, averaging 7.13% a year 1998 to 2000. However, the high concentration of high-technology industry in Virginia, with the two largest high-tech fields being computer and data processing services and electronic equipment, meant that the collapse of the dot.com bubble in the national recession of 2001 would have negative impacts even despite counter-cyclical increases in government spending. The growth rate moderated to 4.7%in 2001, employment contracted., and for 2000/01 tax revenue growth fell by more than half. By November 2002 employment was still 1.5% below the peak reached in March 2001. Tax revenues in 2001/02 declined 4%, facing the state with a billion dollar deficit after successive years of budget surpluses.

As of 2002, Virginia had 16,074,000 acres (6,505,000 hectares) of forestland, representing more than 63% of the state's land area and 2.1% of all US forests. Virtually every county has some commercial forestland and supports a wood products industry. In 2002, 1,502 million board feet of lumber were produced. Reforestation programs initiated by the Division of Forestry in 1971 have paid landowners to plant pine seedlings, and state-funded tree nurseries produce 60–70 million seedlings annually. The Division of Forestry's tree seed orchards have developed improved strains of loblolly, shortleaf, white, and Virginia pine for planting in cutover timberland. For recreational purposes, there were 2.59 million acres (1.05 million hectares) of forested public lands in 2002, including Shenandoah National Park, Washington and Jefferson National Forests, 24 state parks, and eight state forests.

In 2002, Virginia had an estimated 3,006,877 housing units, 2,773,044 of them occupied; 67.8% were owner-occupied. About 60.7% of all units were single-family, detached homes. Electricity and utility gas were the most common energy sources for heating. It was estimated that 82,296 units lacked telephone service, 19,276 lacked complete plumbing facilities, and 11,128 lacked complete kitchen facilities. The average household size was 2.55 people.

In 2002, 59,445 new privately owned housing units were authorized for construction. The median home value was $145,437. The median monthly cost for mortgage owners was $1,228. Renters paid a median of $707 per month. During 2002, Virginia received more than $181 million in community planning and development aid from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Although Virginia has no major league professional sports teams, it does support two class-AAA baseball teams: the Richmond Braves and Norfolk Tides. Other minor league baseball teams play in Bristol, Danville, Pulaski, Salem, Martinsville, and Woodbridge. There is also minor league hockey in Richmond, Roanoke, and Hampton Roads.