Background: By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Geography Note: British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) land 60% is privately owned and farmed 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense and 20% is SBA Crown land
Population: approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots 3,600 Service and UK-based contract personnel and 4,400 dependents Rank: 223
Environment Current issues: hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
Constitution: presented 3 August 1960 effective 16 August 1960; amended 1966 (The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960 serves as a basic legal document) (2013)
Legal system: the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are as far as possible the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus
Executive branch Head of government: Administrator Air Vice Marshall Graham STACEY (since 4 November 2010); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense; the Chief Officer is responsible for the day-to-day running of the civil government of the Sovereign Bases Elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; the administrator appointed by the monarch
Economy overview: Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Broadcast media: British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base (2009)