Heard Island and McDonald Islands (2007) | Akrotiri (2008) | |
Area | total: 412 sq km
land: 412 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
Area - comparative | slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve. | 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. |
Capital | - | name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and 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 |
Climate | antarctic | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters |
Coastline | 101.9 km | 56.3 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: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands abbreviation: HIMI |
conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage | 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 (territory of Australia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economy - overview | The islands have no indigenous economic activity, but the Australian Government allows limited fishing in the surrounding waters. | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mawson Peak, on Big Ben 2,745 m |
- |
Environment - current issues | NA | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base |
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 Australia is used | the flag of the UK is used |
Geographic coordinates | 53 06 S, 72 31 E | 34 37 N, 32 58 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 |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
- |
Languages | - | English, Greek |
Legal system | the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply | 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 | islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia conducts fisheries patrols | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit |
Natural hazards | Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island | - |
Natural resources | fish | - |
Population | uninhabited | 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 |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM NA, FM 1, 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 | Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky | - |