| Dhekelia (2008) | Paracel Islands (2005) | |
![]()  | ![]()  | |
| Airports | - | 1 (2004 est.) | 
| Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 1 
 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)  | 
				
| Area | total: 130.8 sq km 
 note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves  | 
				total: NA sq km 
 land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km  | 
				
| Area - comparative | about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC | NA | 
| 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. | The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. | 
| 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 | 
| Coastline | 27.5 km | 518 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: none 
 conventional short form: Paracel Islands  | 
				
| Dependency status | a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - | 
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - | 
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - | 
| Disputes - international | - | occupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam | 
| 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. | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. | 
| Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m 
 highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 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  | 
				- | 
| Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | - | 
| Geographic coordinates | 34 59 N, 33 45 E | 16 30 N, 112 00 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 | composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group | 
| Industries | none | - | 
| Irrigated land | - | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 
| Land boundaries | total: 103 km (approximately) 
 border countries: Cyprus 103 km (approximately)  | 
				0 km | 
| Land use | - | arable land: 0% 
 permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)  | 
				
| 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 | - | 
| Location | on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta | Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines | 
| Map references | Middle East | Southeast Asia | 
| Maritime claims | - | NA | 
| Military - note | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway | occupied by China | 
| Natural hazards | - | typhoons | 
| Natural resources | - | none | 
| 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: there are scattered Chinese garrisons  | 
				
| Ports and harbors | - | small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded | 
| 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) | - | 
| Television broadcast stations | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) | - | 
| Terrain | - | mostly low and flat |