Akrotiri (AX)

• Introduction
• Geography
• People
• Government
• Economy
• Communications
• Military

Introduction

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

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

People

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

Government

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

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)

Communications

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

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