Dhekelia (2007) | Ireland (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
note: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of Ulster Province |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 20.9% (male 434,225/female 406,730)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 1,358,086/female 1,354,148) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 203,614/female 258,873) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products |
Airports | - | 36 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 130.8 sq km
note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves |
total: 70,280 sq km
land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
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. | Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties. |
Birth rate | - | 14.47 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $62.51 billion
expenditures: $63.52 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (2004 est.) |
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 |
Dublin |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time |
Coastline | 27.5 km | 1,448 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite; effective 29 December 1937 |
Country name | conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Dhekelia |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland local long form: none local short form: Eire |
Death rate | - | 7.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $11 billion (1998) |
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 James C. KENNY
embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-8777 FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Noel FAHEY
chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | - | Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $283 million (2001) |
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. | Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 7% in 1995-2004. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and 29% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's growth, the economy has also benefited from a rise in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. Per capita GDP is 10% above that of the four big European economies and the second highest in the EU behind Luxembourg. Over the past decade, the Irish Government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb price and wage inflation, reduce government spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign investment. Ireland joined in circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU nations. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 21.78 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 100 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 600 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 22.88 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m |
Environment - current issues | netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn | water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | - | Celtic, English |
Exchange rates | Cypriot pounds per US dollar - 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003), 0.6107 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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 |
chief of state: President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next scheduled for October 2011); note - Mary MCALEESE appointed to a second term when no other candidate qualified for the 2004 presidential election; prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats |
Exports | - | 27,450 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products |
Exports - partners | - | US 19.7%, UK 17.7%, Belgium 14.7%, Germany 7.7%, France 6%, Netherlands 4.6%, Italy 4.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 5%
industry: 46% services: 49% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 59 N, 33 45 E | 53 00 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 100 km of Dublin |
Highways | - | total: 95,736 km
paved: 95,736 km (including 125 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27.3% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe; despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money laundering using bureaux de change, trusts, and shell companies involving the offshore financial community remains a concern |
Imports | - | 178,600 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing |
Imports - partners | - | UK 35.6%, US 13.8%, Germany 8.9%, Netherlands 4.3%, France 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | - | 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | none | steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, ship construction and refurbishment; glass and crystal; software, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 5.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 2.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | - | Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | - | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) |
Labor force | - | 1.92 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 8%, industry 29%, services 63% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: NA | total: 360 km
border countries: UK 360 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 15.2%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 84.77% (2001) |
Languages | English, Greek | English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard |
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 | based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats - 49 elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 and 17 July 2002 (next to be held by July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 17 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 15, Labor Party 5, Progressive Democrats 4, independents and others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fianna Fail 41.5%, Fine Gael 22.5%, Labor Party 10.8%, Sinn Fein 6.5%, Progressive Democrats 4.0%, Green Party 3.8%, others 10.9%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 81, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 8, Green Party 6, Sinn Fein 5, others 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.56 years
male: 74.95 years female: 80.34 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 39
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 27, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 11 (Germany 3, Italy 3, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 3) registered in other countries: 18 (2005) |
Military - note | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway | - |
Military branches | - | Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $700 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.9% (FY00/01) |
National holiday | - | Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March |
Nationality | - | noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural)
adjective: Irish |
Natural hazards | - | NA |
Natural resources | - | natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite |
Net migration rate | - | 4.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,795 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]; Green Party [Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party [Pat RABITTE]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Sean GARLAND] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
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 |
4,015,676 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 10% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 1.16% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cork, Dublin, New Ross, Shannon Foynes, Waterford |
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) | AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 3,312 km
broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (46 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2004) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2%, none 3.5% (2002 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: microwave radio relay international: country code - 353; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 1.955 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 3.4 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) | 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | - | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 4.3% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 753 km (pleasure craft only) (2004) |