Cyprus
Mediterranean island country in the Middle East / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cyprus[lower-alpha 6] (/ˈsaɪprəs/ ⓘ), officially the Republic of Cyprus,[lower-alpha 7] 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.[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. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Republic of Cyprus | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν[lower-alpha 1] (English: "Hymn to Liberty") | |
.svg) Location of the Republic of Cyprus in dark green, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in light green | |
| Capital and largest city | Nicosia 35°10′N 33°22′E |
| Official languages | |
| Minority languages | |
| Vernaculars | |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Religion (2020; including Northern Cyprus) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Cypriot |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
| Nikos Christodoulides | |
| Vacant[lower-alpha 2] | |
| Annita Demetriou | |
| Legislature | House of Representatives |
| Independence from the United Kingdom | |
| 19 February 1959 | |
• Independence proclaimed | 16 August 1960 |
| 1 October 1960 | |
| 1 May 2004 | |
| Area | |
• Total[lower-alpha 3] | 9,251 km2 (3,572 sq mi) (162nd) |
• Water (%) | 0.11[3] |
| Population | |
• 2021 census |  923,272[lower-alpha 4][4] |
• Density | 123.4[lower-alpha 3][5]/km2 (319.6/sq mi) (82nd) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $54.104 billion[6] (125th) |
• Per capita | $58,733[6] (30th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total | $34.221 billion[6] (105th) |
• Per capita | $37,149[6] (27th) |
| Gini (2022) |  29.4[7]low |
| HDI (2022) | 0.907[8] very high (29th) |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| UTC+03:00 (EEST) | |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +357 |
| ISO 3166 code | CY |
| Internet TLD | .cy[lower-alpha 5] |
.svg)
Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.[11] 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).[12]
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.[13][14] 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.[15]
Following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960.[16] The crisis of 1963–64 brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves[17]: 56–59 [18] 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[19][20] 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,[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, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone.[29]