2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 9 (2010)
Heliports:
11 (2010)
Pipelines:
gas 466 km (2009)
Roadways:
total: 42,150 km country comparison to the world: 87 paved: 12,350 km
unpaved: 29,800 km (2006)
Waterways:
1,200 km; (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2008) country comparison to the world: 59
Ports and terminals:
Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Military ::Afghanistan
Military branches:
Afghan Armed Forces: Afghan National Army (ANA, includes Afghan
National Army Air Force, ANAAF) (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
22 years of age; inductees are contracted into service for a 4-year term (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 6,800,888
females age 16–49: 6,413,647 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 3,888,358
females age 16–49: 3,641,998 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 378,996
female: 357,822 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.9% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 75
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 decreased 22% to 157,000 hectares in 2008 but remains at a historically high level; less favorable growing conditions in 2008 reduced potential opium production to 5,500 metric tons, down 31 percent from 2007; if the entire opium crop were processed, 648 metric tons of pure heroin potentially could be produced; the Taliban and other antigovernment groups participate in and profit from the opiate trade, which is a key source of revenue for the Taliban inside Afghanistan; widespread corruption and instability impede 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 (2008)
page last updated on January 13, 2011
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@Akrotiri (Europe)
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:
Europe
Area:
total: 123 sq km country comparison to the world: 223 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:
hunting 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
(SBA) 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 country comparison to the world: 219
Languages:
English, Greek
Government ::Akrotiri
Country name:
conventional long form: none
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 Major General Jamie GORDON (since October 2008); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; the administrator appointed by the monarch
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)