Akrotiri
Akrotiri
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Overview
- 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 southernmost and smaller of the two is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.
Geography
Area
- Note
- note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
- Total
- 123 sq km
- Climate
- temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
- Location
- Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
- Coastline
- 56.3 km
- Map references
- Middle East
Land Boundaries
- Total
- 48 km
- Border countries
- Cyprus 48 km
- Geography note
- 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
- Area comparative
- about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
- Geographic coordinates
- 34 37 N, 32 58 E
People & Society
Languages
- Languages
- English, Greek
- Major language sample(s)
Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
- Birth rate
- NA
- Death rate
- NA
- Population
- (2020) approximately 18,195 on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 11,000 Cypriots and 7,195 Service and UK-based contract personnel and dependents
Age Structure
- 0 14 years
- NA
- 15 64 years
- NA
- 65 years and over
- NA
Dependency Ratios
- Total dependency ratio
- NA
- Youth dependency ratio
- NA
- Potential support ratio
- NA
- Elderly dependency ratio
- NA
Drinking Water Source
- Improved: rural
- rural: NA
- Improved: total
- total: NA
- Improved: urban
- urban: NA
- Unimproved: rural
- rural: NA
- Unimproved: total
- total: NA
- Unimproved: urban
- urban: NA
- Education expenditures
- NA
- Current health expenditure
- NA
- Contraceptive prevalence rate
- NA
- Children under the age of 5 years underweight
- NA
Government
Capital
- Name
- Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
- Etymology
- "Episkopi" means "episcopal" in Greek and stems from the fact that the site previously served as the bishop's seat of an Orthodox diocese
- 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
- Geographic coordinates
- 34 40 N, 32 51 E
Constitution
- History
- presented 3 August 1960, effective 16 August 1960 (The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960 serves as a basic legal document)
- Amendments
- amended 1966
Country Name
- Etymology
- named for the village that lies within the Western Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus
- Conventional long form
- none
- Conventional short form
- Akrotiri
- Legal system
- laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus; note - the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters
Judicial Branch
- Highest court(s)
- Senior Judges' Court (consists of several visiting judges from England and Wales)
- Subordinate courts
- Resident Judges' Court; Courts Martial
- Judge selection and term of office
- see entry for United Kingdom
- National anthem
- note: as a UK area of special sovereignty, "God Save the King" is official (see United Kingdom)
Executive Branch
- Chief of state
- King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)
- Head of government
- Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Peter J.M. SQUIRES (since 1 September 2022); note - administrator reports to the British Ministry of Defense and is also Commander, British Forces Cyprus (BFC); the chief officer, an appointed civilian, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the civil government of the Sovereign Base Areas
- Elections/appointments
- the monarchy is hereditary; administrator appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Ministry of Defense
- Flag description
- the flag of the UK is used
- Dependency status
- a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic Representation from the US
- Embassy
- none (overseas territory of the UK)
Economy
- Exchange rates
- note: uses the euro
Communications
- Broadcast media
- British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
Environment
- Climate
- temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
- Environment current issues
- hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base
Military & Security
- Military note
- defense is the responsibility of the UK; Akrotiri (aka the Western Sovereign Base Area) has a full Royal Air Force base, headquarters for British Forces Cyprus, and the Episkopi Cantonment
Transnational Issues
- Illicit drugs
- NA
Cite this page
Cite this page
Civica. (2026). Civica Atlas — Akrotiri — vintage 2026-Q1: Akrotiri factbook. Civica Atlas. Retrieved May 7, 2026, from https://civicaatlas.org/factbook/akrotiri
Sources: CIA World Factbook