Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago, a coral atoll shaped like a footprint in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It lies just south of the equator, about 726 kilometres south of the Maldives.

Since the 1970s it has hosted a joint UK and US military base. The Chagos Islands are a British overseas territory, though in 2025 the UK signed a treaty to hand sovereignty to Mauritius while keeping the base. It is a flat atoll with no hills, and coral reefs surround its lagoon. Its future is discussed around the world because the people who lived there were removed.

History

Portuguese sailors found the island in 1512. It was uninhabited until the French used it for coconut plantations in the late 1700s, and later Britain took control. It became part of the British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965.

Between 1968 and 1973, the Chagossian people who lived there were forced to leave to make room for the base. In 2019 the International Court of Justice said the UK should end its administration of the islands as soon as possible.

The island today

Today about 4,000 people live on Diego Garcia, mostly military personnel. It is one of two key US bomber bases in the Indo-Pacific region, alongside Guam.

The US Navy nicknamed it the Footprint of Freedom for its shape and location. Under the 2025 treaty, the base would stay under British control for at least 99 years. Before the 2025 treaty, the island belonged to Britain as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, with the base run jointly with the United States.

On the globe

Find it on the globe in the central Indian Ocean and zoom in to open its card.