Geography
In the northern Indian Ocean, currents reverse annually: southwest-to-northeast winds bring clockwise currents, while northeast-to-southwest winds bring counterclockwise currents. The counterclockwise Indian Ocean Gyre has southward currents in the west, an eastward current in the south, a northward current in the east, and a westward current in the north. It lies between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia.
Resources include oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, and polymetallic nodules. Occasional icebergs pose a navigational hazard in the southern reaches. Major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern Suez Canal access, and Lombok Strait.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person