Dhekelia (2008) | British Indian Ocean Territory (2007) | |
Airports | - | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 130.8 sq km
note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves |
total: 54,400 sq km
land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands |
Area - comparative | about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC | land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia); 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 |
- |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 27.5 km | 698 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Dhekelia |
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
Dependency status | a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | - | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain |
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. | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
Environment - current issues | netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn | NA |
Exchange rates | Cypriot pounds per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003) | - |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag |
Geographic coordinates | 34 59 N, 33 45 E | 6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area land 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land | archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility |
Industries | none | - |
Irrigated land | - | 0 sq km |
Land boundaries | total: 103 km (approximately)
border countries: Cyprus 103 km (approximately) |
0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English, Greek | - |
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 | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply |
Location | on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia |
Map references | Middle East | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 |
Natural hazards | - | NA |
Natural resources | - | coconuts, fish, sugarcane |
Population | approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots, 3,600 Service and UK Based Contract personnel, and 4,400 dependents | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia |
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 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | - | flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) |