Cyprus

Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία
Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti
Republic of Cyprus

(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: None
Official languages	Greek, Turkish, English as second language
Capital	Nicosia
President	Tassos Papadopoulos
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 161st 9,250 km² ¹ Negligible
Population  - Total (2002)	Ranked 155th 771,657
Independence  - Date	From the UK August 16, 1960
Currency	Cyprus pound
Time zone	UTC +2
National anthem	Imnos pros tin Eleftherian
Internet TLD	.CY
Calling Code	357
¹ 3,355 km² are in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Cyprus, sometimes spelled Kypros, is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, 70 miles south of Turkey.

(Kypros is a straight transliteration of the Greek name Κυπρος; Cyprus is a Latinized version of the name.)

The Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognized government of most of the island, but controls only the southern two-thirds of that territory. The northern third was occupied by Turkey in a 1974 invasion, which has since set up the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, though this government is not recognized by any country except Turkey. In the decades since the invasion, the northern third has become almost exclusively Turkish, and the southern two-thirds almost exclusively Greek, so the territories are now sometimes referred to as the "Greek part" and the "Turkish part" of Cyprus.

The other power with territory on Cyprus is the United Kingdom. Under the independence agreement, the UK retained title to two small areas on the southern coast of the island, around Dhekalia and Akrotiri. They are used to host military bases.

Negotiations have been ongoing for years to reunify the island, but have not as of yet seen substantial success. Barring a last-minute breakthrough, the 2004 admittance of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union will thus mean that effectively only the southern, Greek portion of the island will become part of the EU.

• History of Cyprus
• Geography of Cyprus
• Demographics of Cyprus
• Politics of Cyprus
• Culture of Cyprus (Music of Cyprus)
• Economy of Cyprus
• Communications in Cyprus
• Transportation in Cyprus
• Military of Cyprus
• Foreign relations of Cyprus

See also

• Cyprus dispute

Reference

• Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

Referenced By