Akrotiri (2006) | Western Sahara (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | - | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | - | 11 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | - | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | - | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
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 |
none |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 1,110 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | - | Moroccan dirham (MAD) |
Death rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | - | NA |
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) | none |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none |
Disputes - international | - | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals |
Economic aid - recipient | - | NA |
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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 83.7 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 90 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 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 | sparse water and lack of arable land |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Arab, Berber |
Exchange rates | - | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) |
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 |
none |
Exports | - | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | - | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | - |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - NA |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - NA |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Highways | - | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | - | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA |
Industries | - | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA |
International organization participation | - | none |
Irrigated land | - | NA sq km |
Labor force | - | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | - | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
Languages | English, Greek | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | - |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | - | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA |
Nationality | - | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | - | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | - | phosphates, iron ore |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
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 |
267,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | NA |
Ports and harbors | - | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
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 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | - | Muslim |
Sex ratio | - | NA |
Suffrage | - | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | NA |
Terrain | - | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | - | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | - | NA |