Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) - Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001)

Compare British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) z Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001)

	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)	Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2001)

Airports	1 (2001)	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)	-
Area	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago	total: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island
Area - comparative	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC	about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
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 which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.	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.
Climate	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds	tropical
Coastline	698 km	74.1 km
Country name	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT	conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London	territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation in the US	none (overseas territory of the UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	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	none
Economy - overview	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.	no economic activity
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 on Diego Garcia 15 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m
Environment - current issues	NA	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	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	the flag of Australia is used
Geographic coordinates	6 00 S, 71 30 E	12 14 S, 123 05 E
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	Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983
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 (1993)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand)
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply	the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply
Location	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia	Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia
Map references	Political Map of the World	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM	contiguous zone: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016	defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
Natural hazards	NA	surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards
Natural resources	coconuts, fish, sugarcane	fish
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 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.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: there are only seasonal caretakers (July 2001 est.)
Ports and harbors	Diego Garcia	none; offshore anchorage only
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	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)	low with sand and coral
Waterways	none	none

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