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Country overview: 

Short name	BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
ISO code	IO
FIPS code	IO
Language	English (en)
Time zone	+6
Capital	none

 

A British possession, created in 1965 for mutual military use by the United Kingdom and the United States.

Other names of country: 

1. Dutch: Brits Indische oceaan
2. French: Territoire m britannique de l' Océan m Indien
3. German: Britisches Territorium n im Indischen Ozean m
4. Italian: Territorio m Britannico dell'oceano m Indiano
5. Portuguese: Território m Britânico do Oceano m Índico
6. Icelandic: Díegó Garsía
7. Russian: Архипелаг Чагос (variant), Британская территория в Индийском океане
8. Spanish: Territorio m Británico del Océano m Índico
9. Turkish: Hint Okyanusu İngiliz Sömürgeleri

Origin of name: 

Descriptive: British possession in Indian Ocean

Primary subdivisions: 

British Indian Ocean Territory has no known administrative divisions.

Country	HASC	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)
British Indian Ocean Territory	IO.IO	0	60	23
Country: This division is the whole of the country, treated as a division for compatibility. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision code.

Postal codes: 

According to Stefan Vogel, British Indian Ocean Territory has the postal code BBND 1ZZ as part of the U.K. system. In the U.S. system, its postal code is 96595 (for military mail).

Territorial extent: 

Territory includes the atolls of Diego Garcia, Eagle, Egmont, Peros Banhos, and Salomon. These are collectively known as the Chagos Archipelago (formerly, the Oil Islands). Although there is no permanent population, there is a U.S. naval facility on Diego Garcia.

Change history: 

1. 1965-11-08: Territory was created from parts of Mauritius and Seychelles.
2. 1976-06-29: Aldabra Island, Desroches Island, and Farquhar Island restored to Seychelles.