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 Match 114   DB Rec# - 7,566  Dataset-WOFACT

Title         :Indian Ocean 
Text          : 
                                  Indian Ocean 
 
                                    Geography 
 
Location: 
    body of water between Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia 
Map references: 
    World 
Area: 
  total area: 
    73.6 million sq km 
  comparative area: 
    slightly less than eight times the size of the US; third-largest ocean 
    (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Arctic 
    Ocean) 
  note: 
    includes Arabian Sea, Bass Straight, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, 
    Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, and other tributary 
    water bodies 
Coastline: 
    66,526 km 
International disputes: 
    some maritime disputes (see littoral states) 
Climate: 
    northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); 
    tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern
 
    Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean 
Terrain: 
    surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of 
    currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents 
    in the northern Indian Ocean, low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia 
    from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and 
    southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern
 
    Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and 
    northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the 
    Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, 
    Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 
    meters in the Java Trench 
Natural resources: 


    oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer 
    deposits, polymetallic nodules 
Environment: 
  current issues: 
    endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; 
    oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea 
  natural hazards: 
    ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica from 
    May to October 
  international agreements: 
    NA 
Note: 
    major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of 
    Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait 
 
                                   Government 
 
Digraph: 
    XO 
 
                                     Economy 
 
Overview: 
    The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, 
    Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a 
    particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the 
    oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and 
    growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and 
    export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan also exploit 
    the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons
 
    are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and 
    western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production 
    comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore
 
    placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly 
    India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. 
Industries: 
    based on exploitation of natural resources, particularly fish, minerals, oil
 
    and gas, fishing, sand and gravel 
 
                                 Transportation 
 
Ports: 
    Bombay (India), Calcutta (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South 
    Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Madras (India), Melbourne (Australia), 
    Richard's Bay (South Africa) 
 
                                 Communications 
 
Telephone system: 
  international: 
    submarine cables from India to United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, and from 
    Sri Lanka to Djibouti and Indonesia 

This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).

The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995

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Updated: March 12, 1996