NAVIGATION
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NAVIGATION
British Indian Ocean Territory
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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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 which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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6 00 S, 71 30 E |
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Map references:
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Political Map of the World |
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Area:
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total: 60 sq km
note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago water: 0 sq km land: 60 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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698 km |
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Maritime claims:
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exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
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Climate:
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tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds |
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Terrain:
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flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
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Natural resources:
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coconuts, fish, sugarcane |
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Land use:
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arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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0 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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NA |
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Environment - current issues:
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NA |
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Geography - note:
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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 |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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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 around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; 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 2002 est.) |