British Indiano

This dependency, consisting of the Chagos Archipelago and other small island groups, was formed in 1965 by agreement with Mauritius and the Seychelles. There is no permanent civilian population in the territory. One of its islands, Diego Garcia (17 sq mi), is a joint U.S.-UK refueling and support station that was used during the Persian Gulf War (1991). Some 3,000 native inhabitants, known as the Chagosians or Ilois, were removed against their wishes to Mauritius before construction of UK-US military facilities; in 1995, there were approximately 1,700 UK and US military personnel and 1,500 civilian contractors living on the island (July 2000 est.).