British Indian Ocean Territory - IO - IOT - South Asia
British Indian Ocean Territory Images
A sailor assigned to US Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia windsurfs in the lagoon. The sheltered water body offers the opportunity for a variety of water sports. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alex Smedegard.
The largest of the coral atolls of the Chagos Archipelago, Diego Garcia, is visible in this northwest-looking view. Diego Garcia is approximately 560 km (350 mi) south of the Maldive Islands in the central Indian Ocean. The crescent shape of the coral island encloses a lagoon that forms the harbor. Diego Garcia is the site of a large Anglo-American Naval Air and Communications facility located on the northwest part of the atoll. Image courtesy of NASA.
An aerial view of the island of Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory. Diego Garcia is the location of an important UK and US air and naval base supporting operations throughout the Indian Ocean basin. The lagoon provides an excellent sheltered deep water anchorage. Photo courtesy of US Navy.
The Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba makes a port call at Diego Garcia. The lagoon provides a sheltered anchorage for replenishment. Diego Garcia provides critical logistical infrastructure support to US and Allied Forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. Photo courtesy of the US Navy.
The dome of a one-meter telescope opens as it prepares to view and track space objects. The telescope is located at the Ground Based Electro-optical Deep Space Surveillance System in Diego Garcia. The site is responsible for tracking thousands of man-made objects in deep space - 10,000 to 45,000 km from earth. Photo courtesy of US Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brian Ferguson.
The USNS Seay (T-AKR 302), a Military Sealift Command roll-on roll-off vehicle cargo ship, at anchor in the lagoon at Diego Garcia. The photo shows sailors lowering a maritime prepositioning force utility boat from the USNS Seay using a crane during a ship-to-shore logistics training exercise. Diego Garcia provides critical logistical infrastructure support to US and Allied Forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nathan Carpenter.
A B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber arrives at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, 12 August 2020. Three B-2s deployed to the Indian Ocean as part of a training exercise. Photo courtesy of the US Air Force/ 1st Lt. Michael Hardy.
US Air Force KC-10A Extender aerial refueling aircraft, left, and C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft are parked on the ramp at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia. This photo illustrates the surge capacity for staging strategic forces into the Indian Ocean basin. The joint UK and US base on Diego Garcia provides logistics support to overseas contingency operations. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caine Storino.
A crew member from US Navy Patrol Squadron (VP) 45, inspects a sensor on a Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft onboard US Navy Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia. The aircraft from Patrol Squadron 45 made a transit stop onboard NSF Diego Garcia from 1-3 December 2019. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jillian F. Grady.
The New Zealand frigate HMNZS Te Mana (F111) makes a port call at Diego Garcia on 23 November 2013. The island's lagoon provides a sheltered anchorage where allied naval vessels can replenish. Diego Garcia provides critical logistical infrastructure support to US and Allied Forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. Photo courtesy of US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Alex Smedegard.
The main administration building for US Navy Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia. The US and British Indian Ocean Territory flags are flown at half-mast on 11 September to mark an anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the US. NSF Diego Garcia provides logistic, service, recreational, and administrative support to US and Allied Forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. Photo courtesy of US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charlotte C. Oliver.
The Chapel in the Palms on Diego Garcia, part of the US Naval Support Facility (NSF) community. NSF Diego Garcia provides logistic, service, recreational, and administrative support to US and Allied Forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/Seaman Apprentice Michael Porterfield.
A relaxing sail on the lagoon of Diego Garcia. The island is a strategic joint UK and US air and naval base in the Indian Ocean. The lagoon provides a sheltered anchorage for forward deployed naval assets. Diego Garcia provides critical logistical infrastructure support to US and Allied Forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf. Photo courtesy of the US Navy.
Personnel assigned to US Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, participate in a basic sailing class in the Diego Garcia lagoon. The base Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department sponsored the class. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caine Storino.
Personnel at the US Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia compete in a sailing regatta. The island lagoon offers an ideal sheltered location for sailing small boats as well as other water sports. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caine Storino.
Personnel from US Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia participate in a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation snorkeling excursion in the lagoon. The island lagoon offers an ideal sheltered body of water for a variety of water sports. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alex Smedegard.
Personnel from the US Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia kick off the holiday season with a Christmas tree lighting in front of the administration building. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Alex Smedegard.
A sailor assigned to US Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia windsurfs in the lagoon. The sheltered water body offers the opportunity for a variety of water sports. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alex Smedegard.
The largest of the coral atolls of the Chagos Archipelago, Diego Garcia, is visible in this northwest-looking view. Diego Garcia is approximately 560 km (350 mi) south of the Maldive Islands in the central Indian Ocean. The crescent shape of the coral island encloses a lagoon that forms the harbor. Diego Garcia is the site of a large Anglo-American Naval Air and Communications facility located on the northwest part of the atoll. Image courtesy of NASA.
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British Indian Ocean Territory Factbook Data
Dependency status
Diplomatic representation from the US
Geographic coordinates
Natural hazards
Area - comparative
Background
Formerly administered as part of the British Crown Colony of Mauritius, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was established as an overseas territory of the UK in 1965. A number of the islands in the territory were later transferred to the Seychelles when it gained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted of the six main island groups that make up the Chagos Archipelago. Only Diego Garcia, the largest and most southerly of the islands, is inhabited. It contains a joint UK-US naval support facility and hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system -- the others are on Kwajalein (Marshall Islands); at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US); and on Ascension Island (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha). The US Air Force also operates a telescope array on Diego Garcia as part of the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS) for tracking orbital debris, which can be a hazard to spacecraft and astronauts.
Between 1967 and 1973, the former agricultural workers who lived on the islands were relocated, primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles. Negotiations with the UK between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the establishment of a trust fund to compensate the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians. Beginning in 1998, the islanders pursued a series of lawsuits against the British Government, seeking further compensation and the right to return to the territory. British court rulings in 2006 and 2007 invalidated immigration policies that had excluded the islanders from the archipelago, but in 2008, the House of Lords -- the final court of appeal in the UK -- ruled in favor of the British Government by overturning the lower court rulings and finding no right of return for the Chagossians. In 2015, the Permanent Court of Arbitration unanimously held that the marine protected area that the UK declared around the Chagos Archipelago in 2010 violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that Britain’s decolonization of Mauritius was not lawful because of continued Chagossian claims. A non-binding 2019 UN General Assembly vote demanded that Britain end its “colonial administration” of the Chagos Archipelago and that it be returned to Mauritius. UK officials continue to defend Britain's sovereignty over the islands and argue that the issue is a bilateral dispute between Mauritius and the UK that does not warrant international intervention.
Environment - current issues
Military and security forces
Climate
Coastline
Exchange rates
Executive branch
head of government: Commissioner Paul CANDLER (since 8 July 2021); Administrator Balraj DHANDA; note - both reside in the UK and are represented by Commander Colvin OSBORN, RN, Officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia (since January 2022)
cabinet: NA
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Flag description
Land boundaries
Land use
arable land: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 0% (2018 est.)
other: 100% (2018 est.)
Legal system
Maritime claims
Environment (Protection and Preservation) Zone: 200 nm
International organization participation
Natural resources
Geography - note
note 2: Diego Garcia is the only inhabited island of the BIOT and one of only two British territories where traffic drives on the right, the other being Gibraltar
Economic overview
Ports and terminals
Telecommunication systems
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet (2018)
international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides direct connectivity to Africa, Asia and near-by Indian Ocean island countries; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2019)
Terrain
Military - note
Country name
conventional short form: none
abbreviation: BIOT
etymology: self-descriptive name specifying the territory's affiliation and location
Location
Map references
Diplomatic representation in the US
Internet country code
Broadcast media
Communications - note
Disputes - international
Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Islands; negotiations between 1971 and 1982 resulted in the establishment of a trust fund by the British Government as compensation for the displaced islanders, known as Chagossians, who were evicted between 1967-73; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago were granted UK citizenship and the right of return; in 2006 and 2007, British court rulings invalidated the immigration policies contained in the 2004 British Indian Ocean Territory Constitution Order that had excluded the islanders from the archipelago; in 2008, a House of Lords' decision overturned lower court rulings, once again denying the right of return to Chagossians; in addition, the UK created the world's largest marine protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any natural resources therein
Elevation
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Age structure
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Capital
geographic coordinates: 7 18S, 12 24E
time difference: UTC+6 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Current health expenditure
Drinking water source
rural: NA
total: NA
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: NA
Exports - commodities
Constitution
Dependency ratios
youth dependency ratio: NA
elderly dependency ratio: NA
potential support ratio: NA
National anthem
Exports - partners
Imports - commodities
Imports - partners
Population
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; approximately 3,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (2018)
Area
land: 60 sq km (44 Diego Garcia)
water: 54,340 sq km
note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands