Cyprus

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, occupied territory in light green
Location of the Republic of Cyprus in dark green, occupied territory 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
• Joined the EU
1 May 2004
Area
• Total[c]
9,251 km2 (3,572 sq mi) (162nd)
• Water (%)
0.11[4]
Population
• 2021 estimate
1,244,188[c][5][6] (158th)
• 2021 census
Neutral increase 923,272[d][7]
• Density
123.4[c][8]/km2 (319.6/sq mi) (82nd)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $49.655 billion[9] (124th)
• Per capita
Increase $53,931[9] (32nd)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $32.032 billion[9] (104th)
• Per capita
Increase $34,791[9] (27th)
Gini (2022)Steady 29.4[10]
low
HDI (2022)Increase 0.907[11]
very high (29th)
CurrencyEuro () (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Driving sideleft
Calling code+357
ISO 3166 codeCY
Internet TLD.cy[e]

Cyprus[f] (/ˈsprəs/ ), officially the Republic of Cyprus,[g] is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, north of the Sinai Peninsula, south of the Anatolian Peninsula, and west of the Levant. 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.[12][13] It is east of Greece, north of Egypt, south of Turkey, and west of Lebanon and Syria. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains include the well-preserved ruins from the Hellenistic period such as Salamis and Kourion, and Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.[14] Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. As a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean, 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).[15]

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, who made up 77% of the population in 1960, and Turkish Cypriots, who made up 18% of the population. From the 19th century onwards, the Greek Cypriot population pursued enosis, union with Greece, which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s.[16][17] 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.[18]

Following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960.[19] The crisis of 1963–64 brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves[20]: 56–59 [21] 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[22][23] and elements of the Greek military junta[citation needed] in an attempt at enosis. This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July,[24] which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots[25][26] and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots.[27] 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.[28][29][30] With an advanced,[31] high-income economy and a very high Human Development Index,[32][33] Cyprus ranked 28th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.[34]. 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.[35] On 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone.[36]

  1. ^ "National Anthem". www.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. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Cyprus". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 29 April 2022. (Archived 2022 edition)
  5. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  6. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Census of Population and Housing 2021, Preliminary Results by District, Municipality/Community". Nicosia: Statistical Service of Cyprus. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023". Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey". Luxembourg: Eurostat. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Biggest Islands In The Mediterranean Sea By Area". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  13. ^ "The Most Populated Islands In The Mediterranean Sea". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Stone Age wells found in Cyprus". BBC News. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  15. ^ "Treaty of Lausanne". Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  16. ^ Faustmann, Hubert; Ker-Lindsay, James (2008). The Government and Politics of Cyprus. Peter Lang. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-03911-096-4.
  17. ^ Mirbagheri, Farid (2009). Historical Dictionary of Cyprus. Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780810862982.
  18. ^ Trimikliniotis, Nicos (2012). Beyond a Divided Cyprus: A State and Society in Transformation. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-137-10080-1.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference independence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hoffmeister 2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Intercommunal Violence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Mallinson, William (2005). Cyprus: A Modern History. I. B. Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-85043-580-8.
  23. ^ "website". BBC News. 4 October 2002. Archived from the original on 26 July 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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
  26. ^ Morelli, Vincent. Cyprus: Reunification Proving Elusive (2011), DIANE Publishing, p. 10 Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Borowiec, Andrew. Cyprus: A Troubled Island (2000), Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 125 Archived 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database May 2001". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  32. ^ "Country and Lending Groups". World Bank. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  33. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)–2011 Rankings". United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  34. ^ WIPO. "Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  35. ^ "The Non-Aligned Movement: Background Information". Non-Aligned Movement. 21 September 2001. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  36. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)–2011 Rankings". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.


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