Introduction
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 smaller of the two is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Geography
- note
- note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
- total
- 123 sq km
about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
56.3 km
34 37 N, 32 58 E
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
- border countries
- Cyprus 48 km
- total
- 48 km
Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
Middle East
People and Society
- 0-14 years
- NA
- 15-64 years
- NA
- 65 years and over
- NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
- elderly dependency ratio
- NA
- potential support ratio
- NA
- total dependency ratio
- NA
- youth dependency ratio
- NA
- improved: rural
- rural: NA
- improved: total
- total: NA
- improved: urban
- urban: NA
- unimproved: rural
- rural: NA
- unimproved: total
- total: NA
- unimproved: urban
- urban: NA
NA
- Languages
- English, Greek
- major-language sample(s)
- Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
(2020) 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
Government
- 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
- geographic coordinates
- 34 40 N, 32 51 E
- name
- Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
- time difference
- UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- amendments
- amended 1966
- 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)
- conventional long form
- none
- conventional short form
- Akrotiri
- etymology
- named for the village that lies within the Western Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus
a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
- embassy
- none (overseas territory of the UK)
none (overseas territory of the UK)
- chief of state
- King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)
- elections/appointments
- the monarchy is hereditary; administrator appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Ministry of Defense
- head of government
- Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Peter J.M. SQUIRES (since 1 September 2022); note - administrator reports to the British Ministry of Defense and is also Commander, British Forces Cyprus (BFC); the chief officer, an appointed civilian, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the civil government of the Sovereign Base Areas
the flag of the UK is used
- highest court(s)
- 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
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
note: as a UK area of special sovereignty, "God Save the King" is official (see United Kingdom)
Economy
note: uses the euro
Communications
British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
Military and Security
defense is the responsibility of the UK; Akrotiri (aka the Western Sovereign Base Area) has a full Royal Air Force base, headquarters for British Forces Cyprus, and the Episkopi Cantonment
Transnational Issues
NA
Environment
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base