Map of Akrotiri | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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.


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Location: Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus

Geographic coordinates: 34 37 N, 32 58 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 123 km²
Note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
Comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 48 km
Border countries: (1) Cyprus 48 km

Coastline: 56.3 km

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

Terrain

Elevation

Natural resources

Land use

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

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


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Population: approximately 18,195 on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 11,000 Cypriots and 7,195 Service and UK-based contract personnel and dependents (2020)

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages: English, Greek
Major language samples:

Religions

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: NA
15-24 years: NA
25-54 years: NA
55-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: NA
Youth dependency ratio: NA
Elderly dependency ratio: NA
Potential support ratio: NA

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: NA

Death rate: NA

Net migration rate

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: NA
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: NA

Current health expenditure: NA

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Akrotiri
Etymology: named for the village that lies within the Western Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus

Government type

Capital
Name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
Geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Etymology: 'Episkopi' means 'episcopal' in Greek and stems from the fact that the site previously served as the bishop's seat of an Orthodox diocese

Administrative divisions

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution
History: presented 3 August 1960, effective 16 August 1960 (The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960 serves as a basic legal document)
Amendments: amended 1966

Legal system: laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus; note - the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
Head of government: Administrator Major General Robert J. THOMSON (since 25 September 2019); note - administrator 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 and appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; administrator appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Ministry of Defense

Legislative branch

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Senior Judges' Court (consists of several visiting judges from England and Wales)
Judge selection and term of office: see entry for United Kingdom
Subordinate courts: Resident Judges' Court; Courts Martial

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (overseas territory of the UK)
From the us embassy: none (overseas territory of the UK)

Flag description: the flag of the UK is used

National symbols

National anthem
Note: as a UK area of special sovereignty, 'God Save the Queen' is official (see United Kingdom)

National heritage


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports

Imports

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates
Note: uses the euro


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Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media: British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports
Total: 1 (2020)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2017)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs