_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 10.5 times the size of Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 177 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: claims Chagos Archipelago, which includes the island of Diego Garcia in UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory; claims French-administered Tromelin Island
_#_Climate: tropical modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)
_#_Terrain: small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau