Country exposure · AX
Akrotiri
Europe · Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
What Akrotiri means for your money — the prices you pay, the tariffs in motion, and where U.S. policy could change both.
2K
Population
U.S. exposure
Minimal direct economic exposure
Akrotiri is not a significant U.S. goods-trade partner and has no tracked tariff actions. Policy changes here are unlikely to reach American prices directly.
Reference
The country itself
Europe · Geography, people, economy, and government — public-domain data from the CIA World Factbook.
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
- Location
- Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
- Area
- 123 sq km
- Climate
- temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
- Coastline
- 56.3 km
People & society
- 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
- Languages
- English, Greek
Government
- Capital
- Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
- Constitution
- 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)
- Executive branch
- King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)
Full reference data
Every field, by section — CIA World Factbook. Open a topic to expand it.
Introduction
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
Location
Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus
Geographic coordinates
34 37 N, 32 58 E
Map references
Middle East
Area - total
123 sq km
Area - note
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands
Area - comparative
about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries - total
48 km
Land boundaries - border countries
Cyprus 48 km
Coastline
56.3 km
Climate
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
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
People and Society
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
Languages - Languages
English, Greek
Languages - major-language sample(s)
Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Age structure - 0-14 years
NA
Age structure - 15-64 years
NA
Age structure - 65 years and over
NA
Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio
NA
Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio
NA
Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio
NA
Dependency ratios - potential support ratio
NA
Birth rate
NA
Death rate
NA
Contraceptive prevalence rate
NA
Drinking water source - improved: urban
urban: NA
Drinking water source - improved: rural
rural: NA
Drinking water source - improved: total
total: NA
Drinking water source - unimproved: urban
urban: NA
Drinking water source - unimproved: rural
rural: NA
Drinking water source - unimproved: total
total: NA
Current health expenditure
NA
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
NA
Education expenditures
NA
Government
Country name - conventional long form
none
Country name - conventional short form
Akrotiri
Country name - etymology
named for the village that lies within the Western Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus
Dependency status
a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus
Capital - name
Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
Capital - geographic coordinates
34 40 N, 32 51 E
Capital - time difference
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Capital - daylight saving time
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Capital - 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
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)
Constitution - amendments
amended 1966
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
Executive branch - chief of state
King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)
Executive branch - 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
Executive branch - elections/appointments
the monarchy is hereditary; administrator appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Ministry of Defense
Judicial branch - highest court(s)
Senior Judges' Court (consists of several visiting judges from England and Wales)
Judicial branch - judge selection and term of office
see entry for United Kingdom
Judicial branch - subordinate courts
Resident Judges' Court; Courts Martial
Diplomatic representation in the US
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US - embassy
none (overseas territory of the UK)
Flag description
the flag of the UK is used
National anthem
note: as a UK area of special sovereignty, "God Save the King" is official (see United Kingdom)
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
Military and 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
Environment
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
Climate
temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters