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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 of the territory were later 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. 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 (the others are on Ascension (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha), Kwajalein (Marshall Islands), and at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US)) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system. 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.

Location

archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about halfway between Africa and Indonesia

Natural Resources

coconuts, fish, sugarcane

Population - distribution

Conventional long form
British Indian Ocean Territory
Conventional short form
none
Local long form
Local short form
Name
Diego Garcia
Geographic coordinates
Time difference
All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. Some of the natural resources found in this territory include coconuts, fish, and sugarcane. Sugarcane is still a major export for this territory. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. The territory earns foreign exchange by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Inflation
None%
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
None%
Real Interest Rate
None%
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
None%
Current Account Balance
US$
Labor Force, Total
Employment in Agriculture
%
Employment in Industry
%
Employment in Services
%
Unemployment Rate
%
Imports of goods and services
US$
Exports of goods and services
US$
Total Merchandise Trade
%
FDI, net inflows
US$
Commercial Service Exports
US$
Commodities
Partners
Commodities
Partners
Country Risk Rating
Business Climate Rating

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