Daman and Diu

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Union Territory of west India; area 110 sq km/43 sq mi; capital Daman; population (2001 est) 158,000. Daman has an area of 72 sq km/28 sq mi. The port and capital, Daman, is on the west coast, 160 km/100 mi north of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), on the estuary of the Daman Ganga River flowing in the Gulf of Khambhat. The economy is based on tourism and fishing. Diu is an island off the Kathiawar peninsula with an area of 40 sq km/15 sq mi. The main town is also called Diu. The economy is based on tourism, coconuts, pearl millet, and salt.

Daman was seized by Portugal in 1531 and ceded to Portugal by the Shah of Gujarat in 1539; Diu was captured by the Portuguese in 1534. Both areas were annexed by India in 1961 and were part of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman, and Diu until Goa became a separate state in 1987.

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