Compare Norfolk Island (2002) - Akrotiri (2007)

Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.

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.

Birth rate

NA births/1,000 population

-

Budget

revenues: $4.6 million

expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93)

-

Capital

Kingston

name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of 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

subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation

temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

Coastline

32 km

56.3 km

Constitution

Norfolk Island Act of 1979

Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960

Country name

conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island

conventional short form: Norfolk Island

conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area

conventional short form: Akrotiri

Currency

Australian dollar (AUD)

-

Death rate

NA deaths/1,000 population

-

Debt - external

$NA

-

Dependency status

territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories

overseas territory of UK; 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

-

Economic aid - recipient

$NA

-

Economy - overview

Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs.

Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.

Electricity - consumption

NA kWh

-

Electricity - production

NA kWh

-

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: NA%

hydro: NA%

nuclear: NA%

other: NA%

-

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Bates 319 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

Ethnic groups

descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians

-

Exchange rates

Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)

Cypriot pounds per US dollar - 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003), 0.6107 (2002)

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Anthony J. MESSNER (since 4 August 1997)

head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001)

cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator

elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004)

election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA%

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

Exports

$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92)

-

Exports - commodities

postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados

-

Exports - partners

Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe

-

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

-

Flag description

three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band

the flag of the UK is used

GDP

purchasing power parity - $NA

-

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA%

industry: NA%

services: NA%

-

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $NA

-

GDP - real growth rate

NA%

-

Geographic coordinates

29 02 S, 167 57 E

34 37 N, 32 58 E

Geography - note

most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated

British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus

Highways

total: 80 km

paved: 53 km

unpaved: 27 km (2001)

-

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

-

Imports

$17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92)

-

Imports - commodities

NA

-

Imports - partners

Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe

-

Independence

none (territory of Australia)

-

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

-

Industries

tourism

-

Infant mortality rate

NA deaths/1,000 live births

-

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

-

International organization participation

none

-

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

2 (2000)

-

Irrigated land

NA sq km

-

Judicial branch

Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions

-

Labor force

NA

-

Labor force - by occupation

tourism NA%, subsistence agriculture NA%

-

Land boundaries

0 km

total: 47.4 km

border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km

Land use

arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

other: 100% (1998 est.)

-

Languages

English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian

English, Greek

Legal system

based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law

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

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)

elections: last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004)

election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9

-

Life expectancy at birth

total population: NA years

male: NA years

female: NA years

-

Literacy

NA

-

Location

Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia

peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus

Map references

Oceania

Middle East

Maritime claims

exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

-

Merchant marine

none (2002 est.)

-

Military - note

defense is the responsibility of Australia

Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit

National holiday

Pitcairners Arrival Day, 8 June (1856)

-

Nationality

noun: Norfolk Islander(s)

adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)

-

Natural hazards

typhoons (especially May to July)

-

Natural resources

fish

-

Net migration rate

NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

-

Political parties and leaders

none

-

Political pressure groups and leaders

none

-

Population

1,866 (July 2002 est.)

no indigenous inhabitants

note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there

Population below poverty line

NA%

-

Population growth rate

-0.69% (2002 est.)

-

Ports and harbors

none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade

-

Radio broadcast stations

AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

AM NA, FM 1, shortwave NA (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006)

Radios

2,500 (1996)

-

Railways

0 km

-

Religions

Anglican 37.4%, Uniting Church in Australia 14.5%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, none 12.2%, unknown 17.4%, other 3.9% (1996)

-

Sex ratio

at birth: NA male(s)/female

under 15 years: NA male(s)/female

15-64 years: NA male(s)/female

65 years and over: NA male(s)/female

total population: NA male(s)/female

-

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

-

Telephone system

general assessment: adequate

domestic: NA

international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia)

-

Telephones - main lines in use

1,087 (1983)

-

Telephones - mobile cellular

0 (1983)