"text":"A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority communities came to a head in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued, forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to overthrow the elected president of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot administered area declared itself the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus\" (\"TRNC\"), but it is recognized only by Turkey. An UN-mediated agreement, the Annan Plan, failed to win approval by both communities in 2004. In February 2014, after a hiatus of nearly two years, the leaders of the two communities resumed formal discussions under UN auspices aimed at reuniting the divided island. The most recent round of negotiations to reunify the island were suspended in July 2017 after failure to achieve a breakthrough. The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under the internationally recognized government, and is suspended in the \"TRNC.\" However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of EU states."
"text":"Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey; note - Cyprus views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both"
},
"Geographic coordinates":{
"text":"35 00 N, 33 00 E"
},
"Map references":{
"text":"Middle East"
},
"Area":{
"total":{
"text":"9,251 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus)"
"text":"population concentrated in central Nicosia and in the major cities of the south: Paphos, Limassol, and Larnaca"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"moderate earthquake activity; droughts"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia); several small Cypriot enclaves exist within the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area"
"text":"Greek (official) 80.9%, Turkish (official) 0.2%, English 4.1%, Romanian 2.9%, Russian 2.5%, Bulgarian 2.2%, Arabic 1.2%, Filipino 1.1%, other 4.3%, unspecified 0.6%; note - data represent only the Republic of Cyprus (2011 est.)"
"text":"<br>Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"Orthodox Christian 89.1%, Roman Catholic 2.9%, Protestant/Anglican 2%, Muslim 1.8%, Buddhist 1%, other (includes Maronite, Armenian Church, Hindu) 1.4%, unknown 1.1%, none/atheist 0.6% (2011 est.)",
"text":"demographic data for Cyprus represent the population of the government-controlled area and the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, unless otherwise indicated"
"text":"water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to island's largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage, industrial wastes, and pesticides; coastal degradation; erosion; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Air pollutants":{
"particulate matter emissions":{
"text":"16.79 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)"
},
"carbon dioxide emissions":{
"text":"6.63 megatons (2016 est.)"
},
"methane emissions":{
"text":"0.86 megatons (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters"
"text":"the derivation of the name \"Cyprus\" is unknown, but the extensive mining of copper metal on the island in antiquity gave rise to the Latin word \"cuprum\" for copper"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Turkish Cypriot community, which administers the northern part of the island, refers to itself as the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus\" or \"TRNC\" (\"Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti\" or \"KKTC\")"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> a separation of the two main ethnic communities inhabiting the island began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified when a Greek military-junta-supported coup attempt prompted the Turkish military intervention in July 1974 that gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government on the island; on 15 November 1983, then Turkish Cypriot \"President\" Rauf DENKTAS declared independence and the formation of the \"TRNC,” which is recognized only by Turkey"
"text":"a mispronunciation of the city's Greek name Lefkosia and its Turkish name Lefkosa, both of which mean \"White City\"; the Greek name may derive from the Greek phrase \"leuke ousia\" (\"white estate\")"
"text":"6 districts; Ammochostos (Famagusta); (all but a small part located in the Turkish Cypriot community), Keryneia (Kyrenia; the only district located entirely in the Turkish Cypriot community), Larnaka (Larnaca; with a small part located in the Turkish Cypriot community), Lefkosia (Nicosia; a small part administered by Turkish Cypriots), Lemesos (Limassol), Pafos (Paphos); note - the 5 \"districts\" of the \"TRNC\" are Gazimagusa (Famagusta), Girne (Kyrenia), Guzelyurt (Morphou), Iskele (Trikomo), Lefkosa (Nicosia)"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"16 August 1960 (from the UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these proclamations are recognized only by Turkey"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 1 October (1960); note - Turkish Cypriots celebrate 15 November (1983) as \"Republic Day\""
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"ratified 16 August 1960; note - in 1963, the constitution was partly suspended as Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government; Turkish-held territory in 1983 was declared the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus\" (\"TRNC\"); in 1985, the \"TRNC\" approved its own constitution"
"text":"constitution of the Republic of Cyprus - proposed by the House of Representatives; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the total membership of the \"Greek Community\" and the \"Turkish Community\"; however, all seats of Turkish Cypriot members have remained vacant since 1964; amended many times, last in 2020;<br>constitution of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” - proposed by at least 10 members of the \"Assembly of the Republic\"; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the total Assembly membership and approval by referendum; amended 2014"
"text":"President Nikos ANASTASIADIS (since 28 February 2013); the president is both chief of state and head of government; note - vice presidency reserved for a Turkish Cypriot, but vacant since 1974 because Turkish Cypriots do not participate in the Republic of Cyprus Government"
"text":"President Nikos ANASTASIADIS (since 28 February 2013)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - under the 1960 constitution, 3 of the ministerial posts reserved for Turkish Cypriots, appointed by the vice president; positions currently filled by Greek Cypriots"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term; election last held on 28 January 2018 with a runoff on 4 February 2018 (next to be held in February 2023)"
"text":"Nikos ANASTASIADIS reelected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Nikos ANASTASIADIS (DISY) 35.5%, Stavros MALAS (AKEL) 30.2%, Nicolas PAPADOPOULOS (DIKO) 25.7%, other 8.6%; percent of vote in second round - Nikos ANASTASIADIS 56%, Stavros MALAS 44%"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the first round of the TRNC presidential election, originally scheduled for 26 April 2020, was postponed to 11 October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the second round was held on 18 October 2020; percent of vote in the first round - Ersin TATAR (UBP) 32.4%, Mustafa AKINCI (independent) 29.8%, Tufan ERHURMAN (RTP) 21.7%, Kudret OZERSAY (independent) 5.7%, Erhan ARIKLI (YDP) 5.4%, Serdar DENKTAS (independent) 4.2%, other 0.8%; percent of vote in the second round - Ersin TATAR 51.7%, Mustafa AKINCI 48.3%"
"text":"area under government control: unicameral House of Representatives or Vouli Antiprosopon (80 seats; 56 assigned to Greek Cypriots, 24 to Turkish Cypriots, but only those assigned to Greek Cypriots are filled; members directly elected by both proportional representation and preferential vote; members serve 5-year terms); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: unicameral \"Assembly of the Republic\" or Cumhuriyet Meclisi (50 seats; members directly elected to 5-year terms by proportional representation system using a hybrid d'Hondt method with voter preferences for individual candidates"
},
"elections":{
"text":"area under government control: last held on 30 May 2021 (next to be held in 2026); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: last held on 7 January 2018 (next to be held in 2023, unless early election called)"
"text":"area under government control: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - DISY 27.8%, AKEL 22.3%, DIKO 11.3%, ELAM 6.8%, EDEK-SP 6.7%, DiPa 6.1%, Movement of Ecologists - Citizens' Cooperation 4.4%, other 14.6%; seats by party/coalition - DISY 17, AKEL 15, DIKO 9, ELAM 4, EDEK-SP 4, DiPa 4, Movement of Ecologists - Citizens' Cooperation 3; area administered by Turkish Cypriots: \"Assembly of the Republic\" - percent of vote by party - UBP 35.6%, CTP 20.9%, HP 17.1%, TDP 8.6%, DP 7.8%, YDP 7%, 3%; seats by party - UBP 21, CTP 12, HP 9, DP 3, TDP 3, YDP 2"
"text":"Supreme Court of Cyprus (consists of 13 judges, including the court president); note - the highest court in the \"TRNC\" is the \"Supreme Court\" (consists of 8 \"judges,\" including the \"court president\")"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Republic of Cyprus Supreme Court judges appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the Supreme Court judges; judges can serve until age 68; \"TRNC Supreme Court\" judges appointed by the \"Supreme Council of Judicature,\" a 12-member body of judges, the attorney general, appointees by the president of the \"TRNC,\" and by the \"Legislative Assembly,\" and members elected by the bar association; judge tenure NA"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Republic of Cyprus district courts; Assize Courts; Administrative Court; specialized courts for issues relating to family, industrial disputes, the military, and rent control; \"TRNC Assize Courts\"; \"district and family courts\""
"text":"<strong>area under government control:</strong> <br>Citizens' Alliance or SP [Giorgos LILLIKAS]<br>Democratic Front or DiPa [Marios GAROYIAN]<br>Democratic Party or DIKO [Nikolas PAPADOPOULOS]<br>Democratic Rally or DISY [Averof NEOPHYTOU]<br>Movement of Ecologists - Citizens' Alliance [Charalambos THEOPEMPTOU]<br>Movement of Social Democrats EDEK [Marinos SIZOPOULOS]<br>National Popular Front or ELAM [Christos CHRISTOU]<br>Progressive Party of the Working People or AKEL (Communist party) [Stefanos STEFANOU]<br>Solidarity Movement [Eleni THEOCHAROUS]<br><br><strong>area administered by Turkish Cypriots:</strong> <br>Communal Democracy Party or TDP [Cemal OZYIGIT]<br>Communal Liberation Party-New Forces or TKP-YG [Mehmet CAKICI]<br>Cyprus Socialist Party or KSP [Mehmet BIRINCI]<br>Democratic Party or DP [Serdar DENKTAS]<br>National Democratic Party or NDP [Buray BUSKUVUTCU]<br>National Unity Party or UBP [Faiz SUCUOGLU]<br>New Cyprus Party or YKP [Murat KANATLI]<br>People's Party or HP [Kudret OZERSAY]<br>Rebirth Party or YDP [Erhan ARIKLI]<br>Republican Turkish Party or CTP [Tufan ERHURMAN]<br>United Cyprus Party or BKP [Izzet IZCAN]"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> representative of the Turkish Cypriot community in the US is Mustafa LAKADAMYALI; office at 1667 K Street NW, Washington, DC; telephone [1] (202) 887-6198"
"text":"centered on a white field is a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the island has long been famous for its copper deposits) above two olive-green-colored, crossed olive branches; the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> one of only two national flags that uses a map as a design element; the flag of Kosovo is the other<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus\" flag retains the white field of the Cyprus national flag but displays narrow horizontal red stripes positioned a small distance from the top and bottom edges between which are centered a red crescent and a red five-pointed star; the banner is modeled after the Turkish national flag but with the colors reversed"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1960; Cyprus adopted the Greek national anthem as its own; the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus uses the anthem of Turkey"
"text":"<p>The area of the Republic of Cyprus under government control has a market economy dominated by a services sector that accounts for more than four-fifths of GDP. Tourism, finance, shipping, and real estate have traditionally been the most important services. Cyprus has been a member of the EU since May 2004 and adopted the euro as its national currency in January 2008.</p><p></p><p>During the first five years of EU membership, the Cyprus economy grew at an average rate of about 4%, with unemployment between 2004 and 2008 averaging about 4%. However, the economy tipped into recession in 2009 as the ongoing global financial crisis and resulting low demand hit the tourism and construction sectors. An overextended banking sector with excessive exposure to Greek debt added to the contraction. Cyprus’ biggest two banks were among the largest holders of Greek bonds in Europe and had a substantial presence in Greece through bank branches and subsidiaries. Following numerous downgrades of its credit rating, Cyprus lost access to international capital markets in May 2011. In July 2012, Cyprus became the fifth euro-zone government to request an economic bailout program from the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - known collectively as the \"Troika.\"</p><p></p><p>Shortly after the election of President Nikos ANASTASIADES in February 2013, Cyprus reached an agreement with the Troika on a $13 billion bailout that triggered a two-week bank closure and the imposition of capital controls that remained partially in place until April 2015. Cyprus' two largest banks merged and the combined entity was recapitalized through conversion of some large bank deposits to shares and imposition of losses on bank bondholders. As with other EU countries, the Troika conditioned the bailout on passing financial and structural reforms and privatizing state-owned enterprises. Despite downsizing and restructuring, the Cypriot financial sector remains burdened by the largest stock of non-performing loans in the euro zone, equal to nearly half of all loans. Since the bailout, Cyprus has received positive appraisals by the Troika and outperformed fiscal targets but has struggled to overcome political opposition to bailout-mandated legislation, particularly regarding privatizations. The rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) is still very high at around 49%, and growth would accelerate if Cypriot banks could increase the pace of resolution of the NPLs.</p><p></p><p>In October 2013, a US-Israeli consortium completed preliminary appraisals of hydrocarbon deposits in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which estimated gross mean reserves of about 130 billion cubic meters. Though exploration continues in Cyprus’ EEZ, no additional commercially exploitable reserves have been identified. Developing offshore hydrocarbon resources remains a critical component of the government’s economic recovery efforts, but development has been delayed as a result of regional developments and disagreements about exploitation methods.</p>"
"text":"tourism, food and beverage processing, cement and gypsum, ship repair and refurbishment, textiles, light chemicals, metal products, wood, paper, stone and clay products"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment"
"text":"<p><strong>Economy - overview:</strong> Even though the whole of the island is part of the EU, implementation of the EU \"acquis communautaire\" has been suspended in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, known locally as the \"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus\" (\"TRNC\"), until political conditions permit the reunification of the island. The market-based economy of the \"TRNC\" is roughly one-fifth the size of its southern neighbor and is likewise dominated by the service sector with a large portion of the population employed by the government. In 2012 - the latest year for which data are available - the services sector, which includes the public sector, trade, tourism, and education, contributed 58.7% to economic output. In the same year, light manufacturing and agriculture contributed 2.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Manufacturing is limited mainly to food and beverages, furniture and fixtures, construction materials, metal and non-metal products, textiles and clothing. The \"TRNC\" maintains few economic ties with the Republic of Cyprus outside of trade in construction materials. Since its creation, the \"TRNC\" has heavily relied on financial assistance from Turkey, which supports the \"TRNC\" defense, telecommunications, water and postal services. The Turkish Lira is the preferred currency, though foreign currencies are widely accepted in business transactions. The \"TRNC\" remains vulnerable to the Turkish market and monetary policy because of its use of the Turkish Lira. The \"TRNC\" weathered the European financial crisis relatively unscathed - compared to the Republic of Cyprus - because of the lack of financial sector development, the health of the Turkish economy, and its separation from the rest of the island. The \"TRNC\"economyexperiencedgrowthestimatedat2.8%in2013and2.3%in2014andisprojectedtogrow3.8%in2015.;</p><p><strong>GDP(purchasingpowerparity):</strong>$1.829billion(2007est.);</p><p><strong>GDP-realgrowthrate:</strong>2.3%(2014est.);</p><p>2.8%(2013est.);</p><p><strong>GDP-percapita:</strong>$11,700(2007est.);</p><p><strong>GDP-compositionbysector:</strong>agriculture:6.2%,;industry:35.1%,;services:58.7%(2012est.);</p><p><strong>Laborforce:</strong>95,030(2007est.);</p><p><strong>Laborforce-byoccupation:</strong>agriculture:14.5%,;industry:29%,;services:56.5%(2004);</p><p><strong>Unemploymentrate:</strong>9.4%(2005est.);</p><p><strong>Populationbelowpovertyline:</strong>%NA;</p><p><strong>Inflationrate:</strong>11.4%(2006);</p><p><strong>Budget:</strong>revenues:$2.5billion,;expenditures:$2.5billion(2006);</p><p><strong>Agriculture-products:</strong>citrusfruit,dairy,potatoes,grapes,olives,poultry,lamb;</p><p><strong>Industries:</strong>foodstuffs,textiles,clothing,shiprepair,clay,gypsum,copper,furniture;</p><p><strong>Industrialproductiongrowthrate:</strong>-0.3%(2007est.);</p><p><strong>Electricityproduction:</strong>998.9millionkWh(2005);</p><p><strong>Electricityconsumption:</strong>797.9millionkWh(2005);</p><p><strong>Exports:</strong>$68.1million,f.o.b.(2007est.);</p><p><strong>Export-commodities:</strong>citrus,dairy,potatoes,textiles;</p><p><strong>Export-partners:</strong>Turkey40%;directtradebetweentheareaadministeredbyTurkishCypriotsandtheareaundergovernmentcontrolremainslimited;</p><p><strong>Imports:</strong>$1.2billion,f.o.b.(2007est.);</p><p><strong>Import-commodities:</strong>vehicles,fuel,cigarettes,food,minerals,chemicals,machinery;</p><p><strong>Import-partners:</strong>Turkey60%;directtradebetweentheareaadministeredbyTurkishCypriotsandtheareaundergovernmentcontrolremainslimited;</p><p><strong>Reservesofforeignexchangeandgold:</strong>NA;</p><p><strong>Debt-external:</strong>NA;</p><p><strong>Currency(code):</strong>Turkishnewlira(YTL);</p><p><strong>Exchangerates:</strong>TurkishnewliraperUSdollar:;1.9(2013);1.8(2012);1.668
"text":"despite the growth of Cyprus's telecom sector, the market is dominated by its state-owned operator; one of the highest broadband penetration rates in the region; DSL remains the dominant access platform as broadband is restricted to a few towns; fixed-line and mobile cable infrastructure available for more than half of premises; fiber infrastructure in development; improved regulations provide confidence for investment in network infrastructure and competing services; operator expanded FttP services and initiated cable connection to France and Egypt; operator signed vendor agreement with international investor, Huawei, to develop 5G; operators extended LTE services and upgraded transmission capacity on TE-North Cable System (2020)"
"text":"fixed-line about 35 per 100 and about 139 per 100 for mobile-cellular teledensity; open-wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay (2020)"
"text":"country code - 357 (area administered by Turkish Cypriots uses the country code of Turkey - 90); a number of submarine cables, including the SEA-ME-WE-3, CADMOS, MedNautilus Submarine System, POSEIDON, TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros/Medes, UGARIT, Aphrodite2, Hawk, Lev Submarine System, and Tamares combine to provide connectivity to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Southeast Asia; Turcyos-1 and Turcyos-2 submarine cable in Turkish North Cyprus link to Turkey; tropospheric scatter; satellite earth stations - 8 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat) (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"mixture of state and privately run TV and radio services; the public broadcaster operates 2 TV channels and 4 radio stations; 6 private TV broadcasters, satellite and cable TV services including telecasts from Greece and Turkey, and a number of private radio stations are available; in areas administered by Turkish Cypriots, there are 2 public TV stations, 4 public radio stations, and 7 privately owned TV and 21 radio broadcast stations plus 6 radio and 4 TV channels of local universities, plus 1 radio station of military, security forces and 1 radio station of civil defense cooperation, as well as relay stations from Turkey (2019)"
"text":"the inventory of the Cypriot National Guard is a mix of Soviet-era and some more modern weapons systems; since 2010, it has received equipment from France, Israel, Italy, Oman, and Russia (2021)"
"text":"Cypriot National Guard (CNG): 18-50 years of age for compulsory military service for all Greek Cypriot males; 17 years of age for voluntary service; 14-month service obligation (2021)"
"text":"the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was set up in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities on the island and bring about a return to normal conditions; the UNFICYP mission had about 1,000 personnel as of November 2021"
"text":"Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
"text":"<p>hostilities in 1974 divided the island into two de facto autonomous entities, the internationally recognized Cypriot Government and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the 1,000-strong UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served in Cyprus since 1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north and south; on 1 May 2004, Cyprus entered the EU still divided, with the EU's body of legislation and standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in the north; Turkey protests Cypriot Government creating hydrocarbon blocks and maritime boundary with Lebanon in March 2007</p>"
