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Country Facts - Diego Garcia


The following information covers the British Indian Ocean Territory, which consists of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint U.K.-U.S. naval support facility.

The People

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 on Diego Garcia (between 1967 and 1973); in 1995, there were approximately 1,700 UK and US military personnel and 1,500 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia.
In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order, which had excluded the Chagossians/Ilois from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.

Geography

The following information covers the British Indian Ocean Territory, which consists 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.

Land Mass Total

Area: total:  23 sq mi (60 sq km)

Land

23 sq mi (60 sq km)

Water

 0 sq mi (0 sq km)
The Chagos archipelago extends over an area of almost 22,000 sq mi (56,979 sq km).

Land Boundaries

Total : 0 mi (0 km)

Coastline

433 mi (698 km)

Maritime claim

Exclusive fishing zone:   200 nm
Territorial sea:   3 nm 

Climate/Weather

Tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds. Average annual rainfall is 102 in (259 cm).

Terrain

Terrain: flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation).

Elevation extremes

lowest point:   Indian Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
highest point:   unnamed location on Diego Garcia 49 ft (15 m) 

Natural Resources

Coconuts, fish, sugarcane.

Land use

Arable land 1%
Permanent crops 0%
Other 99%
(2002)

Natural hazards

n/a 

Environment - current issues

n/a

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.

Demographics

The only indigenous inhabitants on Diego Garcia are the various forms of wildlife.  See The People above under "Country Facts" for more information.

Economy & Trade
The entire economy of Diego Garcia (a.k.a. the Chagos archipelago) is based upon supplying goods and services to military projects of the United States' and British bases. Most employees come from either these two nations or from Mauritius or the Philippines. When, and if, the native people, the Ilios, manage to return to the archipelago, they plan to re-institute sugarcane farming. Diego Garcia's use as a base for U.S. ships patrolling the Indian Ocean has increased, however, with the recent emphasis on anti-terrorist activity. Since there are no independent businesses on the island, no economic statistics are available.

Business Workweek
Business hours in Diego Garcia vary pending the establishment and its services.
  Monday to Friday Saturday - Sunday
Retail See below See below
Banks Tuesday to Friday 10m. to 6p.m. Saturday 10m. to 1:30p.m., 3:30p.m. to 6p.m.


Barber Shop
Cummins Mini Mall
Hours: Monday to Saturday 8a.m. to 7p.m.; Sunday 1p.m. to 4p.m. Beauty Shop
Cummins Mini Mall
Monday 11a.m. to 10p.m.; Closed Tuesday; Wednesday to Sunday 11a.m. to 10p.m.
Bicycle Repair Shop
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11a.m. to 7p.m.
Billeting Office
Hours:  Daily 24 hours.
Bowling Center
Adjacent Turner Club
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30a.m. to 11p.m.; Friday 10a.m. to 1a.m.; Saturday, Sunday noon to 11p.m.; Holidays noon to 11p.m.
British Cable and Wireless
Hours: 7a.m. to 11p.m.
Bulk Sales Store
Hours: Wednesday to Thursday 4p.m. to 7p.m.; Friday noon to 6p.m.; weekends and holidays 10a.m. to 4p.m.
Diego Depot Convenience Store
Hours: Monday to Tuesday 10a.m. to 10p.m.; closed Wednesday; Thursday to Friday 10a.m. tl 10p.m.; Saturday 7a.m. to 10p.m.
Eclipse Coffee Connection / Internet Cafe
Between Short Pier and Officers' Club
Hours: Thursday to Sunday 6a.m. to 10p.m.; Friday 6a.m. to 11p.m.; Saturday and Holidays 6a.m. to midnight; Sundays 6a.m. to 10p.m.
Fitness Center
opposite Billeting office
Hours: daily 24 hours.

Laundry Drop-Off
Cummins Mini Mall
Monday to Friday 6:30a.m. to 9a.m.; 11a.m. to 1:30p.m.; 4p.m. to 7p.m.; closed Tuesdays; Saturday to Sunday 7a.m. to 5p.m.
Library
opposite Dining Facility
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9a.m. to 10p.m.; Sunday noon to 10p.m.
Books, periodicals, Internet surfing
Main Outdoor Theater
Hours: Monday to Thursday 8p.m. to 10p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8p.m.  to midnight; Sunday 8a.m. to 10p.m.
Different movies nightly; double features Friday and Saturday;
Admission: Free
Main Station Laundry
Hours: Monday 6:30a.m. to 8p.m.; closed Tuesday; Wednesday to Sunday 6:30a.m. to 8p.m.
Medical and Dental
Hours: Monday to Friday 7:45a.m. to 4p.m.
Pack N' Wrap
Hours: Monday to Saturday 11a.m. to 7p.m.
Boxing and Wrapping Service
Photo Hobby Shop
Cummins Mini Mall
Tuesday to Sunday: 11a.m. to 7p.m.; closed Mondays and Holidays.
Post Office
Hours: Monday to Friday 10:30a.m. to noon; 4p.m. to 6:30p.m.
Ship's Store
Hours: Monday 10a.m. to 9p.m.; closed Tuesday; Wednesday to Sunday 10a.m. to 9p.m. Tailor Shop
Cummins Mini Mall
Monday 10a.m. to 7p.m.; closed Tuesday; Wednesday to Sunday 10a.m. to 7p.m. T-Shirt Shop
Cummins Mini Mall
Closed Monday; Tuesday to Friday 11a.m. to 7p.m.; Saturday 9a.m. to 5p.m.; Sunday noon to 5p.m.
United Seaman's Service Club
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11a.m. to 11p.m.; Friday to Saturday 11a.m. to midnight; Sunday 8a.m. to 11p.m. Video Rental
Cummins Mini Mall
Monday to Friday 4:30p.m. to 10p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 11a.m. to 10p.m. 

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays 2003 2004 2005
New Year's Day January 1 January 1 January 1
Martin Luther King Day¹ January 20 January 19 January 7
Presidents' Day/Washington's Birthday² February 17 February 16 February 21
St. Patrick's Day March 17 March 17 March 17
Easter³ April 20 April 11 March 27
Memorial Day*¹ May 26 May 31 May 30
Independence Day July 4 July 4 July 4
Labor Day*² September 1 September 6 September 5
Veterans' Day November 11 November 11 November 11
Thanksgiving Day*³ November 27 November 25 November 24
Christmas Eve December 24 December 24 December 24
Christmas Day**¹ December 25 December 25 December 25
Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day December 26 December 26 December 26

¹ Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorates the birthday of the late Civil Rights leader.  Observed the third Monday of January.
² In 1971, Richard Nixon proclaimed the third Monday of February in honor of all past presidents. Banks are closed on this day.
³ Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday.  In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
*¹ Memorial Day is a federal holiday officially observed the last Monday in May, and is a day of remembrance for those who died in service to the country.
*² Labor Day celebrates the working class, and is also the last fling of summer.  Usually taken as a three-day weekend, it is celebrated the first Monday of September. 
*³ Historic day celebrating the Pilgrims first plentiful harvest.  Celebrated on the 3rd Thursday of November.
**¹ Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7. 

Note : Residents of Diego Garcia celebrate both U.K. and U.S.A. holidays.
Country information used by permission of World Trade Press