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.

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

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

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 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)

Languages: English, Greek
Major language samples:

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

Birth rate: NA

Death rate: NA

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

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

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: NA

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exchange rates
Note: uses the euro

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

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