Overview
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
- Total Area
- 123 sq km
- Climate
- temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters
- Coastline
- 56.3 km
- Land Borders
- 48 km
People & Society
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)
- 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
- King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)
Economy
Infrastructure & Communications
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