Dhekelia (2008) | United States (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 20.9% (male 31,098,473; female 29,675,712)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 96,628,469; female 97,061,559) 65 years and over: 12.4% (male 14,888,185; female 20,990,156) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | - | 14,801 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 5,131
over 3,047 m: 185 2,438 to 3,047 m: 222 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,365 914 to 1,523 m: 2,390 under 914 m: 969 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 9,670
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 158 914 to 1,523 m: 1,702 under 914 m: 7,802 (2002) |
Area | total: 130.8 sq km
note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves |
total: 9,629,091 sq km
land: 9,158,960 sq km water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia |
Area - comparative | about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC | about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe |
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. | Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. |
Birth rate | - | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $1.946 trillion
expenditures: $2.052 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
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 |
Washington, DC |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains |
Coastline | 27.5 km | 19,924 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 |
Country name | conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Dhekelia |
conventional long form: United States of America
conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | - | 8.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $862 billion (1995 est.) |
Dependency status | a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Dependent areas | - | American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but recently entered into a new political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | - |
Disputes - international | - | prolonged drought in the Mexico border region has strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea awaits Russian Duma ratification; maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) |
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. | The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $37,600. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. The year 2001 saw the end of boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. Moderate recovery took place in 2002, with the GDP growth rate rising to 2.45%. A major short-term problem in first half 2002 was a sharp decline in the stock market, fueled in part by the exposure of dubious accounting practices in some major corporations. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq shifted resources to military industries and introduced uncertainties about investment and employment in other sectors of the economy. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 3.602 trillion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 18.17 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 38.48 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 3.719 trillion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 71.4%
hydro: 5.6% nuclear: 20.7% other: 2.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m |
Environment - current issues | netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn | air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes |
Ethnic groups | - | white 77.1%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%, other 4% (2000)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
Exchange rates | Cypriot pounds per US dollar - NA (2007), 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003) | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), 1.4835 (1998), Japanese yen per US dollar - 125.39 (2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), euros per US dollar - 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999)
note: financial institutions in France, Italy, and Germany and eight other European countries started using the euro on 1 January 1999 with the euro replacing the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002 |
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 George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: George W. BUSH elected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 48%, Albert A. GORE, Jr. (Democratic Party) 48%, Ralph NADER (Green Party) 3%, other 1% |
Exports | - | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | - | Canada 23.2%, Mexico 14.1%, Japan 7.4%, UK 4.8% (2002) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10.45 trillion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 2%
industry: 18% services: 80% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $36,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 59 N, 33 45 E | 38 00 N, 97 00 W |
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 | world's third-largest country by size (after Russia and Canada) and by population (after China and India); Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America and Death Valley the lowest point on the continent |
Heliports | - | 149 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 6,334,859 km
paved: 3,737,567 km (including 89,426 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,597,292 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 30.5% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages |
Imports - partners | - | Canada 17.8%, Mexico 11.3%, China 11.1%, Japan 10.4%, Germany 5.3% (2002) |
Independence | - | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | -0.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | none | leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 6.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.6% (2002) |
International organization participation | - | AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, G-5, G-7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 7,000 (2002 est.) |
Irrigated land | - | 214,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts |
Labor force | - | 141.8 million (includes unemployed) (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | managerial and professional 31%, technical, sales and administrative support 28.9%, services 13.6%, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 24.1%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.4%
note: figures exclude the unemployed (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 103 km (approximately)
border countries: Cyprus 103 km (approximately) |
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba; the base boundary is 29 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 19.32%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 80.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Greek | English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority) |
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; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Congress consists of the Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 51, Democratic Party 48, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 226, Democratic Party 204, independent 1, undecided 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.14 years
male: 74.37 years female: 80.05 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1979 est.) |
Location | on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico |
Map references | Middle East | North America |
Maritime claims | - | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 348 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 9,414,676 GRT/12,207,346 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 71, cargo 26, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, container 79, freighter 15, heavy lift carrier 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 73, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 46, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 9 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Canada 4, Denmark 15, France 1, Germany 1, Netherlands 3, Norway 7, Puerto Rico 4, Singapore 11, Sweden 1, United Kingdom 3; also, the US owns 549 additional ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,616,347 DWT that operate under the registries of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Finland, Gibraltar, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Isle of Man, Italy, Liberia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Norway, Norway (NIS), Panama, Peru, Philippines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Tonga, UK, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna (2002 est.) |
Military - note | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway | note: 2002 estimates for military manpower are based on projections that do not take into consideration the results of the 2000 census |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard (Coast Guard administered in peacetime by the Department of Homeland Security but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $276.7 billion (FY99 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.2% (FY99 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 73,597,731 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | NA |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 2,116,002 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) |
Nationality | - | noun: American(s)
adjective: American |
Natural hazards | - | tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development |
Natural resources | - | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | - | 3.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
People - note | - | data for the US are based on projections that do not take into consideration the results of the 2000 census |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 244,620 km; natural gas 548,665 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE]; Green Party [leader NA]; Libertarian Party [Steve DASBACH]; Republican Party [Governor Marc RACICOT] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
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 | 290,342,554 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 12.7% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.92% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo |
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 4,762, FM 5,542, shortwave 18 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 194,731 km mainline routes
standard gauge: 194,731 km 1.435-m gauge note: represents the aggregate length of roadway of all line-haul railroads including an estimate for class II and III railroads; excludes 135,185 km of yard tracks, sidings, and parallel lines (2000) |
Religions | - | Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10% (1989) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: a very large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system
domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 194 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 69.209 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) | more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997) |
Terrain | - | vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii |
Total fertility rate | - | 2.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 5.8% (2002) |
Waterways | - | 41,009 km
note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes |