Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of
The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis
 
 Match 37   DB Rec# - 55,784  Dataset-WOFACT
 
Source        :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Source key    :CI
Program       :WORLD FACTBOOK
Program key   :CI WOFACT
Update sched. :Annually
ID number     :CI WOFACT 036
Title         :BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
Data type     :TEXT
End year      :1994
Date of record:02/16/1994
Keywords 3    :
| BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
Text          :
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
Affiliation: (dependent territory of the UK)
 
GEOGRAPHY
Location: in the Indian Ocean, south of India about halfway between Africa
and Indonesia
 
Map references: Standard Time Zones of the World
 
Area:
 
total area: 60 km2
 
land area: 60 km2
 
comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
 
note: includes the island of Diego Garcia
 
Land boundaries: 0 km
 
Coastline: 698 km
 
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
 
territorial sea: 3 nm
 
International disputes: the entire Chagos Archipelago is claimed by
Climate: tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
 
Terrain: flat and low (up to 4 meters in elevation)
 
Natural resources: coconuts, fish
 
Land use:
 
arable land: 0%
 
permanent crops: 0%
 
meadows and pastures: 0%
 
forest and woodland: 0%
 
other: 100%
 
Irrigated land: 0 km2
 
Environment: archipelago of 2,300 islands
 
Note: Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic
location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military
facility
 
PEOPLE
Population: no indigenous inhabitants
 
note: there are UK-US military personnel; civilian inhabitants, known as
the Ilois, evacuated to Mauritius before construction of UK-US military
facilities
 
GOVERNMENT
Names:
 
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
 
conventional short form: none
 
Abbreviation: BIOT
 
Digraph: IO
 
Type: dependent territory of the UK
 
Capital: none
 
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
 
Leaders:
 
Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
 
Head of Government: Commissioner Mr. T. G. HARRIS (since NA);
Administrator Mr. R. G. WELLS (since NA 1991); note - both reside in the UK
 
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of UK)
six blue wavy horizontal stripes bearing a palm tree and yellow crown centered
on the outer half of the flag
 
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.
 
Electricity: provided by the US military
 
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: short stretch of paved road between port and airfield on Diego
Garcia
 
Ports: Diego Garcia
 
Airports:
 
total: 1
 
usable: 1
 
with permanent-surface runways: 1
 
with runways over 3,659 m: 1 on Diego Garcia
 
with runways 2,439-3,659 m: 0
 
with runways 1,229-2,439 m: 0
 
Telecommunications: minimal facilities; broadcast stations (operated by US
Navy) - 1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
 
Defense forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
 
 
 
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This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM,
July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. Muns, UM-St. Louis Libraries
Local Filename: WF940035.TXT