Cyprus

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Cyprus (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Cypress.

Republic of Cyprus
  • Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία (Greek)
  • Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti (Turkish)
Anthem: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν[a]
(English: "Hymn to Liberty")
Location of the Republic of Cyprus in dark green, territory de jure but not controlled in light green
Location of the Republic of Cyprus in dark green, territory de jure but not controlled in light green
Capital
and largest city
Nicosia
35°10′N 33°22′E / 35.167°N 33.367°E / 35.167; 33.367
Official languages
Minority languages
Vernaculars
Ethnic groups
Religion
(2020; including Northern Cyprus)
Demonym(s)Cypriot
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic
• President
Nikos Christodoulides
Vacant[b]
Annita Demetriou
LegislatureHouse of Representatives
Independence from the United Kingdom
19 February 1959
• Independence proclaimed
16 August 1960
1 October 1960
Area
• Total[c]
9,251 km2 (3,572 sq mi) (162nd)
• Water (%)
0.11[3]
Population
• 2021 census
Neutral increase 923,272[d][4]
• Density
123.4[c][5]/km2 (319.6/sq mi) (82nd)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $55.140 billion[6] (124th)
• Per capita
Increase $59,858[6] (31st)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $34.790 billion[6] (105th)
• Per capita
Increase $37,767[6] (28th)
Gini (2022)Steady 29.4[7]
low inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.907[8]
very high (29th)
CurrencyEuro (€) (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Drives onleft
Calling code+357
ISO 3166 codeCY
Internet TLD.cy[e]

Cyprus[f] (/ˈsaɪprəs/ ⓘ), officially the Republic of Cyprus,[g] is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is geographically a part of West Asia, but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean.[9][10] It is east of Greece, north of Egypt, south of Turkey, and west of Lebanon and Syria. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. Cyprus also shares land borders with Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Cyprus was first settled by hunter-gatherers around 13,000 years ago, with farming settlements emerging a few thousand years later. During the late Bronze Age, Cyprus, known in contemporary sources as Alashiya, developed an urbanised society closely connected to the wider Mediterranean world. Cyprus experienced waves of settlement by Mycenaean Greeks at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. It was subsequently occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians, from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914).[11] Cyprus was placed under the United Kingdom's administration based on the Cyprus Convention in 1878 and was formally annexed by the UK in 1914.

The future of the island became a matter of disagreement between the two prominent ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. From the 19th century onwards, the Greek Cypriot population pursued enosis, union with Greece, which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s.[12][13] The Turkish Cypriot population initially advocated the continuation of the British rule, then demanded the annexation of the island to Turkey, and in the 1950s, together with Turkey, established a policy of taksim, the partition of Cyprus and the creation of a Turkish polity in the north.[14] Following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960.[15] The crisis of 1963–64 brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves[16]: 56–59 [17] and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic. On 15 July 1974, a coup d'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists[18][19] and elements of the Greek military junta.[20] This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July,[21] which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots[22][23] and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots.[24] A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983; the move was widely condemned by the international community, with Turkey alone recognising the new state. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute.

Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean.[25][26][27] The country has an advanced high-income economy. The Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.[28] On 1 January 2008, Cyprus joined the eurozone.[29]

  1. ^ "National Anthem". presidency.gov.cy. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Cyprus". Global Religious Future. Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CIA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2021, Preliminary Results by District, Municipality/Community". Nicosia: Statistical Service of Cyprus. 4 August 2023. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  5. ^ "World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision, DB02: Stock Indicators". United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. New York. 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024". Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey". Luxembourg: Eurostat. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ Pariona, Amber (4 August 2017). "Biggest Islands In The Mediterranean Sea By Area". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  10. ^ Nag, Oishimaya Sen (15 August 2017). "The Most Populated Islands In The Mediterranean Sea". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Treaty of Lausanne". Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  12. ^ Faustmann, Hubert; Ker-Lindsay, James (2008). The Government and Politics of Cyprus. Peter Lang. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-03911-096-4. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  13. ^ Mirbagheri, Farid (2009). Historical Dictionary of Cyprus. Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780810862982. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  14. ^ Trimikliniotis, Nicos (2012). Beyond a Divided Cyprus: A State and Society in Transformation. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-137-10080-1. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference independence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hoffmeister 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Intercommunal Violence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Mallinson, William (2005). Cyprus: A Modern History. I. B. Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-85043-580-8. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  19. ^ "website". BBC News. 4 October 2002. Archived from the original on 26 July 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
  20. ^ Hoffmeister, Frank (2006). Legal aspects of the Cyprus problem: Annan Plan and EU accession. EMartinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 34–5. ISBN 978-90-04-15223-6.
  21. ^ Eyal Benvenisti (23 February 2012). The International Law of Occupation. Oxford University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-19-958889-3. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  22. ^ Barbara Rose Johnston, Susan Slyomovics. Waging War, Making Peace: Reparations and Human Rights (2009), American Anthropological Association Reparations Task Force, p. 211 Archived 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Morelli, Vincent. Cyprus: Reunification Proving Elusive (2011), DIANE Publishing, p. 10 Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Borowiec, Andrew. Cyprus: A Troubled Island (2000), Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 125 Archived 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Lesley Pender; Richard Sharpley (2005). The Management of Tourism. SAGE. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-7619-4022-7. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  26. ^ Richard Sharpley (16 May 2012). Tourism Development and the Environment: Beyond Sustainability?. Routledge. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-136-57330-9. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  27. ^ Sharpley, Richard; Telfer, David John (2002). Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues. Channel View Publications. p. 334. ISBN 978-1-873150-34-4. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  28. ^ "The Non-Aligned Movement: Background Information". Non-Aligned Movement. 21 September 2001. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  29. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)–2011 Rankings". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.


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