Akrotiri (2006) | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2002) | |
Airports | - | none (2001) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Rhode Island |
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. | The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 NM to 200 NM around each island. |
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 |
- |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow |
Coastline | 56.3 km | NA km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | adopted 3 October 1985 |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) |
Disputes - international | - | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands occupied briefly by Argentina in 1982; islands continue to be claimed by Argentina |
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. | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 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 | NA |
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 |
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Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | the flag of the UK is used |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 54 30 S, 37 00 W |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 21st century, live on South Georgia |
Irrigated land | - | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Greek | - |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America |
Map references | Middle East | Antarctic Region |
Maritime claims | - | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
National holiday | - | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) |
Natural hazards | - | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism |
Natural resources | - | fish |
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 |
no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Grytviken |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
0 (2003) |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 0 (2003) |
Terrain | - | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes |
Waterways | - | none |