This page was last updated on 20 March, 2008

Legend: Definition Field Listing Rank Order

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.

Location:	peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
Geographic coordinates:	34 37 N, 32 58 E
Map references:	Middle East
Area:	total: 123 sq km note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
Area - comparative:	about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:	total: 47.4 km border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km
Coastline:	56.3 km
Climate:	temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Environment - current issues:	shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
Geography - note:	British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area 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
Languages:	English, Greek

Country name:	conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area conventional short form: Akrotiri
Dependency status:	a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces 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
Constitution:	Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document
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:	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch
Diplomatic representation in the US:	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US:	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Flag description:	the flag of the UK is used

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.
Currency (code):	euro (EUR) adopted 1 January 2008; note - the Cypriot pound (CYP) formerly used
Exchange rates:	Cypriot pounds per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003)

Radio broadcast stations:	AM NA, FM 1, shortwave NA (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006)
Television broadcast stations:	0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006)

Military - note:

Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit

This page was last updated on 20 March, 2008