Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 177 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims UK-administered 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
Natural resources: arable land, fish
Land use: arable land: 54% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 31% other: 7%
Irrigated land: 170 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: water pollution
natural hazards: cyclones (November to April); almost completely
surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection