ceeds earned in Brazil are often laundered through the financial
system; significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@British Indian Ocean Territory
Introduction British Indian Ocean Territory
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.
Geography British Indian Ocean Territory
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:
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)
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: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (2001)
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
People British Indian Ocean Territory
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