Akrotiri (2006) | Greece (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos)and 1 autonomous region*; Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, Argolis, Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 14.7% (male 811,080; female 761,728)
15-64 years: 67% (male 3,578,320; female 3,557,800) 65 years and over: 18.3% (male 866,425; female 1,090,636) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | - | 79 (note - new Athens airport at Spata opened in March 2001) (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 66
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 131,940 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km water: 1,140 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Alabama |
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. | Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. Democratic elections in 1974 and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy; Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992). |
Birth rate | - | 9.79 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $47.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of 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 |
Athens |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 13,676 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia local short form: Ellas or Ellada former: Kingdom of Greece |
Currency | - | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | - | 9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $63.4 billion (2002 est.) |
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) | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas J. MILLER
embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, 101 60 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951 FAX: [30] (210) 645-6282 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryious SAVVAIDES
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans |
Disputes - international | - | Greece and Turkey have resumed discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over its name |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $5.4 billion from EU |
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. | Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for half of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of GDP. The economy has improved steadily with economic growth averaging 4% since 1997, exceeding EU growth by more than 1 percentage point. Remaining challenges include the reduction of the public debt, inflation, and unemployment; and further restructuring of the economy, including privatizing several state enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies. The Olympic Games will be held in Athens in mid-2004. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 48.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 1.062 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 3.562 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 49.79 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 94.5%
hydro: 3.8% nuclear: 0% other: 1.7% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m |
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 | air pollution; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | - | Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece |
Exchange rates | - | euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 365.4 (2000), 305.65 (1999), 295.53 (1998)
note: in January 2001, the drachma became a participating currency within the Eurosystem, and the euro market rate became applicable to all transactions |
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 Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS (since 10 March 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos SIMITIS (since 19 January 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by NA February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president; percent of Parliament vote - 90% |
Exports | - | 84,720 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles |
Exports - partners | - | Germany 10.4%, Italy 8.5%, UK 6.3%, Bulgaria 5.4%, US 5.3%, Cyprus 4.7% (2002) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $203.3 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 8.1%
industry: 22.3% services: 69.3% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $19,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 39 00 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands |
Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,594 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.3% (1993 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime |
Imports | - | 468,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | - | Germany 12.2%, Italy 11.5%, Russia 7.4%, South Korea 6%, France 5.7%, Netherlands 5.6%, US 4.7%, Belgium 4.3%, UK 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | - | 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 7% (2000 est.) |
Industries | - | tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 6.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 27 (2000) |
Irrigated land | - | 14,220 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council |
Labor force | - | 4.37 million (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | industry 20%, agriculture 20%, services 59% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 22.12%
permanent crops: 8.47% other: 69.41% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Greek | Greek 99% (official), English, French |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held by NA May 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.8%, ND 42.7%, KKE 5.5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress 3.2%; seats by party - PASOK 158, ND 125, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6; note - seats by party as of January 2002 - PASOK 156, ND 122, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6, independents 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 78.89 years
male: 76.32 years female: 81.65 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.5% male: 98.6% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 813 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,173,608 GRT/51,184,723 DWT
ships by type: bulk 289, cargo 59, chemical tanker 32, combination bulk 6, combination ore/oil 4, container 47, liquefied gas 7, passenger 14, petroleum tanker 281, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 18, short-sea passenger 49, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Ireland 1, Japan 1, Liberia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | - |
Military branches | - | Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force, Police, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6.12 billion (FY99/00 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.91% (FY99/00 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,662,208 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,026,409 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 21 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 74,650 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 25 March (1821) |
Nationality | - | noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek |
Natural hazards | - | severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | - | bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | - | 1.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,531 km; oil 108 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos KONSTANTOPOULOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Konstandinos SIMITIS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
10,665,989 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.19% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Alexandroupolis, Elefsis, Irakleion (Crete), Kavala, Kerkyra, Chalkis, Igoumenitsa, Lavrion, Patrai, Peiraiefs (Piraeus), Thessaloniki, Volos |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 2,571 km (764 km electrified)
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail system) (2002) |
Religions | - | Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service
domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands international: tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 5.431 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 937,700 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995) |
Terrain | - | mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.35 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 10.3% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 80 km
note: system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km; there are also three unconnected rivers |