GLORIOSO ISLANDS                                                                
(French possession)                                                             
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ile Glorieuse,                    
Ile du Lys, Verte Rocks, Wreck Rock, and South Rock                             
                                                                                
Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in                       
Washington, DC                                                                  
                                                                                
Land boundaries: none                                                           
                                                                                
Coastline: 35.2 km                                                              
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;                                                         
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm                                                          
                                                                                
Disputes: claimed by Madagascar                                                 
                                                                                
Climate: tropical                                                               
                                                                                
Terrain: undetermined                                                           
                                                                                
Natural resources: guano, coconuts                                              
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures              
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other--lush vegetation and coconut palms 100%       
                                                                                
Environment: subject to periodic cyclones                                       
                                                                                
Note: located in the Indian Ocean just north of the Mozambique                  
Channel between Africa and Madagascar                                           
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: uninhabited                                                         
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: none                                                            
                                                                                
Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the                     
Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion                                 
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: no economic activity                                                  
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Airports: 1 with runway 1,220-2,439 m                                           
                                                                                
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only                                            
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Note: defense is the responsibility of France                                   
                                                                                
