British Indian Ocean Territory

Africa

The British Overseas Territories (BOT’s) are a remnant of the once world-dominant British Empire. Some have no permanent inhabitants, while others are almost completely self-sustaining. Most BOT residents are British citizens, although each island has its own unique constitution and legal relationship to the UK. The UK is responsible for defense and foreign relations for all of the BOT’s.¹ These territories include, but are not limited to: Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, St. Helena, South Georgia, Pitcairn Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, and the British Indian Ocean Territory. The British Indian Ocean territory consists of six islands south of India. Only one island, Diego Garcia, is inhabited by a shared US-UK naval support facility. It’s populated by approximately 3,000 US and UK military personnel and civilian construction workers.² ^{1https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/print_sx.html} ^{2https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/print_io.html}