The Territory is the centre of the Indian Ocean, the
southernmost point of the Laccadive-Maldive-Chagos ridge, between
5-7 degrees south, lies about 1,770km east of Mahe, the main island
of the Seychelles.
Size
An archipelago of five atolls containing 55 islands covers some
54,400 sq km of ocean. The islands have a land area of only 46 sq
km and 698km of coastline. Diego Garcia, the largest and most
southerly island, is 27 sq km.
Climate
The climate is tropical oceanic type and moderated by trade
winds.
Topography
The terrain is flat and low and most areas do not exceed two
metres in elevation.
Biodiversity
With a huge network of coral reefs the Territory supports 1.5%
of the total global area of reefs (JNCC, 1999). The islands also
provide nesting sites for the green and hawksbill turtles, and very
large numbers of seabirds.
Main economic activities
There is no civilian air service. There are no economic,
industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. UK and US
military personnel and civilian contract employees, mostly
recruited from Mauritius and the Philippines, carry out
construction projects and other services in support of the US
defence facility in Diego Garcia These numbered approximately 4,000
persons (2004 estimate).
Other information
The isolation of the BIOT and the low level of human impact,
make it ideal for the study of tropical marine ecology, undistorted
by pollution.
Information links
JNCC has prepared a series of outreach materials which
give a general background to climate change and includes territory
specific information on climate
change impacts.