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British
Indian Ocean Territory |
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to enlarge |
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| Background: |
Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British
Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles
when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted
only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago.
The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains
a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are
uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands,
were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between
1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the
local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago,
but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. |
| Location: |
archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the
way from Africa to Indonesia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
6 00 S, 71 30 E |
| Map
references: |
Political
Map of the World |
| Area: |
total: 60 sq km
note: includes the entire Chagos
Archipelago
water: 0 sq km
land: 60 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
698 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea:
3 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds |
| Terrain: |
flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point:
unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
| Natural
resources: |
coconuts, fish, sugarcane |
| Land
use: |
arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0%
other:
100% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
0 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
NA |
| Environment
- current issues: |
NA |
| Geography
- note: |
archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost
island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island
is site of joint US-UK military facility
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| Population: |
no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former
agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred
to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles
in the 1960's and 1970's, in November 2000 they were granted the right
of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been
set; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel
and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
(July 2003 est.)
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| Economy
- overview: |
All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego
Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction
projects and various services needed to support the military installations
are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius,
the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural
activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish
sugarcane production and fishing. |
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