BGP stands for Border Gateway Protocol. It is a protocol used to exchange routing information between different autonomous systems (AS), which are networks that operate independently and are connected to the internet. BGP enables internet service providers (ISPs) to advertise the routes to their own networks to other ISPs, allowing traffic to be routed efficiently across the entire internet. It is the primary routing protocol used on the internet backbone. BGP provides a dynamic and scalable way to handle routing updates and routing policies, making it vital to the functioning of the internet.