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            | page last updated on May 1, 2012 | 
           
          
            
              
                  
                     
                             
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                        (CONTAINS DESCRIPTION)
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           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. 
        
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           Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus 
        
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                     34 37 N, 32 58 E 
                  
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                   total: 123 sq km 
					
				
                        country comparison to the world:   224  
                        
              
                
                  note:
                  
                includes a salt lake and wetlands 
              
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                     about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC 
                  
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                   total: 47.4 km 
					
				
              
                border countries:
                
                Cyprus 47.4 km 
              
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                     56.3 km 
                  
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                     temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters 
                  
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                     hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base 
                  
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                     British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) land, 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land 
                  
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           English, Greek 
        
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                     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 
                  
                        country comparison to the world:   221  
                        
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           conventional long form: none  
          
              
                conventional short form:
                
                Akrotiri 
              
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                     a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus 
                  
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                   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 
              
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                     Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document 
                  
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                     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 
                  
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                   chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) 
					
				
              
                head of government:
                
                Administrator Air Vice Marshall Graham STACEY (since 4 November 2010); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense; the Chief Officer is responsible for the day-to-day running of the civil government of the Sovereign Bases 
              
              
                elections:
                
                none; the monarchy is hereditary; the administrator appointed by the monarch 
              
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                     The Court headed by a resident judge and senior judges from the UK as needed; note - the laws of the Sovereign Base Areas are kept as close as possible to the laws of the Republic of Cyprus; concerned with non-military offenses by any person within Akrotiri and Dhekalia 
                  
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                     none (overseas territory of the UK) 
                  
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                     none (overseas territory of the UK) 
                  
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                     the flag of the UK is used 
                  
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                   note: as a United Kingdom area of special sovereignty, "God Save the Queen" is official (see United Kingdom) 
					
				
						
				
					
					
					
				
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           Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. 
        
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                   note: uses the euro 
					
				
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          | Communications ::Akrotiri | 
         
       
      
   
  
  
    
        
    
      
      
        
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           British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base (2009) 
        
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           Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit 
        
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