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british indian territory

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Introduction: BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY

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.

GEOGRAPHY
Country name:	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Capital:
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
Area:	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area Comparative:	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land Boundaries:	0 km
Coastline:	698 km
Maritime Claims:	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Climate:	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain:	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Elavation Extremes:	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Natural Resources:	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
GOVERNEMENT
Governement Type:	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Administratives Divisions:
Independence
National Holiday:
Constitution:
Legal System;	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Suffrage
Executive Branch:	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Tony CROMBIE (since January 2004); Administrator Charles A. HAMILTON (since 2002); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Legislative Branch:
Judicial Branch:
Political parties and Leaders:
PEOPLE
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 1960s and 1970s, 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 2004 est.)
Age structure:
Median age:
Nationality:
Ethnic groups:
Religions:
Languages:
COMUNICATIONS
Telephones - main lines in use:	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Telephone system:	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)
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:	1 (1997)
Internet country code:	.io
Internet hosts:
Internet users:
TRANSPORT
Railways:
Highways:	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Waterways:
Pipelines:
Ports and harbors:	Diego Garcia
Merchant marine:
Airports:	1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Heliports: