The 2008 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

      Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

      male: 371,451 female: 351,295 (2008 est.)

      Military expenditures:

      1.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

      Transnational Issues

       Afghanistan

      Disputes - international:

      Pakistan has built fences in some portions of its border with Afghanistan which remains open in some areas to foreign terrorists and other illegal activities

      Refugees and internally displaced persons:

      IDPs: 132,246 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in south and west due to drought and instability) (2007)

      Illicit drugs:

      world's largest producer of opium; poppy cultivation increased 17% to a near-record 202,000 hectares in 2007; good growing conditions pushed potential opium production to a record 8,000 metric tons, up 42% from last year; if the entire opium crop were processed, 947 metric tons of heroin potentially could be produced; drug trade is a source of instability and the Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the drug trade; widespread corruption impedes counterdrug efforts; most of the heroin consumed in Europe and Eurasia is derived from Afghan opium; vulnerable to drug money laundering through informal financial networks; regional source of hashish

      This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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      @Akrotiri

      Introduction

       Akrotiri

      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 smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.

      Geography

       Akrotiri

      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 note: includes a salt lake and wetlands

      Area - comparative:

      about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

      Land boundaries:

      total: 47.4 km border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km

      Coastline:

      56.3 km

      Climate:

      temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

      Environment - current issues:

      shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base

      Geography - note:

      British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area land, 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land

      People

       Akrotiri

      Population:

      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

      Languages:

      English, Greek

      Government

       Akrotiri

      Country name:

      conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area conventional short form: Akrotiri

      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) 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

      Constitution:

      Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document

      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

      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

      Diplomatic representation in the US:

      none (overseas territory of the UK)

      Diplomatic representation from the US:

      none (overseas territory of the UK)

      Flag description:

      the flag of the UK is used

      Economy

       Akrotiri

      Economy - overview:

      Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.

      Currency (code):

      euro (EUR) adopted 1 January 2008; note - the Cypriot pound (CYP) formerly used

      Exchange rates:

      euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.4286 (2007), 0.46019 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003)

      Communications

       Akrotiri

      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)

      Military

       Akrotiri

      Military - note:

      Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on

       Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit

      This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

      ======================================================================

      @Albania

      Introduction

       Albania

      Background:

      Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans