Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2004)

Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2004)

	Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2004)

Airports	-	1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983 it became a National Nature Reserve. Recent geological explorations have indicated promising petroleum formations.	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.
Climate	tropical	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	74.1 km	698 km
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (territory of Australia)	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; the UK resists the Chagossians' demand for an immediate return to the islands; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricted access to the largest island in the chain
Economy - overview	no economic activity	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	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	-	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
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
Flag description	the flag of Australia is used	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
Geographic coordinates	12 14 S, 123 05 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983	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
Highways	-	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1993)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)
Legal system	the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Location	Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Southeast Asia	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Natural hazards	surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards	NA
Natural resources	fish	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: there are only seasonal caretakers (July 2001 est.)	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.)
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
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)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	NA
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (1997)
Terrain	low with sand and coral	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Waterways	none	-

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