SELECT EDITION
CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(2 fields)
Radio broadcast stations
AM NA, FM 1 (located in Akrotiri), 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)
◆ ECONOMY(4 fields)
Currency (code)
Cypriot pound (CYP)
Economy - overview
Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Dhekelia. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Exchange rates
Cypriot pounds per US dollar - 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003), 0.6107 (2002)
Industries
none
◆ GEOGRAPHY(10 fields)
Area
total: 130.8 sq km note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves
Area - comparative
about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
Climate
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
Coastline
27.5 km
Environment - current issues
netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn
Geographic coordinates
34 59 N, 33 45 E
Geography - note
British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus
Land boundaries
total: NA
Location
on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta
Map references
Middle East
◆ GOVERNMENT(9 fields)
Capital
name: Episkopi Cantonment; located in Akrotiri 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
Country name
conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area conventional short form: Dhekelia
Dependency status
overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
Diplomatic representation from the US
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US
none (overseas territory of the UK)
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
Flag description
the flag of the UK is used
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
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
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 larger of these is the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area.
◆ MILITARY(1 fields)
Military - note
includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway
◆ PEOPLE(2 fields)
Languages
English, Greek
Population
no indigenous personnel note: approximately 2,200 resident military personnel; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both the bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base but do not live there