tory:Transportation

Highways:
total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield
on Diego Garcia
unpaved: NA km

Ports and harbors: Diego Garcia

Airports: 1 (1997 est.)

Airports-with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (1997 est.)

@British Indian Ocean Territory:Military

Military-note: defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease
on Diego Garcia expires in 2016

@British Indian Ocean Territory:Transnational Issues

Disputes-international: the island of Diego Garcia is claimed by
Mauritius; the Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Seychelles

______________________________________________________________________

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

(dependent territory of the UK)

@British Virgin Islands:Geography

Location: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 18 30 N, 64 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 150 sq km
land: 150 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes the island of Anegada

Area-comparative: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain: coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 7%
permanent pastures: 33%
forests and woodland: 7%
other: 33% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)

Environment-current issues: limited natural fresh water resources
(except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the
islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchment)

Environment-international agreements:
party to: NA
signed, but not ratified: NA

Geography-note: strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto
Rico

@British Virgin Islands:People

Population: 18,705 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 2,008; female 1,957)
15-64 years: 74% (male 7,079; female 6,689)
65 years and over: 5% (male 535; female 437) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.41% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 16.15 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 4.76 deaths/1,000 pop