Compare Baker Island (2003) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)

Compare Baker Island (2003) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)

	Baker Island (2003)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)

Airports	1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m, completely covered with vegetation and unusable (2002)	1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 1.4 sq km land: 1.4 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle of the west coast.	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 which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Climate	equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	4.8 km	698 km
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Baker Island	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Dependency status	unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	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; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, 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: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 8 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	no natural fresh water resources	NA
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); 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 the US 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	0 13 N, 176 31 W	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife	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 stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Legal system	the laws of the US, where applicable, apply	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Location	Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Oceania	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Natural hazards	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard	NA
Natural resources	guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Population	uninhabited note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the middle of the west coast; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (July 2003 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 around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; 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 2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one small boat landing area along the middle of the west coast	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	-	NA
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, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Transportation - note	there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast	-
Waterways	none	none

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