Paracel Islands (2003) | Akrotiri (2007) | |
Airports | 1 (2002) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: NA sq km
land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
Area - comparative | NA | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | 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; 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 | tropical | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters |
Coastline | 518 km | 56.3 km |
Constitution | - | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Paracel Islands |
conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of UK; 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, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam | - |
Economy - overview | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. | 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: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m |
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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 - 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)
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 | 16 30 N, 112 00 E | 34 37 N, 32 58 E |
Geography - note | composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | - |
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, 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 | 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 | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | NA | - |
Military - note | occupied by China | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit |
Natural hazards | typhoons | - |
Natural resources | none | - |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2003 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 |
Ports and harbors | small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded | - |
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 | mostly low and flat | - |
Waterways | none | - |