ARCHIVE // IO // 2001

British Indian Ocean Territory

2001 Edition — territory

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Communications
Internet users (Internet Service Providers (ISPs)) [time series]
1 (2000)
Internet country code [time series]
.io
Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios [time series]
NA
Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]
general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]
NA
Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]
1 (1997)
Televisions [time series]
NA
Economy
Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]
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.
Electricity - consumption [time series]
NA kWh
Electricity - production [time series]
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Geography
Area [time series]
total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative [time series]
about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Climate [time series]
tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline [time series]
698 km
Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues [time series]
NA
Geographic coordinates [time series]
6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note [time series]
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
Irrigated land [time series]
0 sq km (1993)
Land boundaries [time series]
0 km
Land use [time series]
arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Location [time series]
Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references [time series]
World
Maritime claims [time series]
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Natural hazards [time series]
NA
Natural resources [time series]
coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Terrain [time series]
flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Government
Country name [time series]
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Dependency status [time series]
overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Executive branch [time series]
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner John WHITE (since NA); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Flag (Flag description) [time series]
white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
Legal system [time series]
the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Introduction
Background [time series]
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 resident 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.
Military
Military - note [time series]
defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
People
Population [time series]
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 1995, there were approximately 1,700 UK and US military personnel and 1,500 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international [time series]
the Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles
Transportation
Airports [time series]
1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways [time series]
total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Roadways (Highways) [time series]
total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]
Diego Garcia
Waterways [time series]
none