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Republic of Cyprus Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία (Greek) Kypriakí Dimokratía Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti (Turkish)
Flag Coat of arms of Cyprus Coat of arms
Motto: none
Anthem:  Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν Imnos is tin Eleftherian  (transliteration) Hymn to Freedom
Location of Cyprus (orange) within the European Union (camel).
Capitaland largest city	Nicosia
Official languages	Greek, Turkish
Government	Republic
• President	Tassos Papadopoulos
Independence from United Kingdom
• Date	16 August 1960
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2006 estimate	784,301 (157th)
• 2005 census	835,000
GDP (PPP)	2007 estimate
• Total	$23.74 billion (113th)
• Per capita	$31,053 (25th)
HDI (2004)	0.903 Error: Invalid HDI value (29th)
Currency	Cypriot pound (CYP)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Calling code	357
ISO 3166 code	CY
Internet TLD	.cy
"Ymnos pros tin Eleutherian" is also used as the national anthem of Greece. UN population estimate for entire island including Turkish-controlled areas. The .eu domain is also used, shared with other European Union member states.

Cyprus (Template:Lang-el; Template:Lang-tr), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Template:Lang-el) is a Eurasian island country in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey (Anatolia). It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year. A former British colony, it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and became a Commonwealth republic in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is a developed country, and has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004.

In 1974, following a period of violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and an attempted Greek Cypriot coup sponsored by the Greek military junta of that period, Turkey invaded and occupied one third of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. This and the resulting political situation is a matter of ongoing dispute.

The Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognized state, has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus and surrounding waters. However, the island is de facto partitioned into four main parts:

• the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus in the south of the island;
• the area in the north, styling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus;
• the United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two; and
• two Sovereign Base Areas (Akrotiri and Dhekelia), over which the United Kingdom retained jurisdiction after Cypriot independence.

Etymology

The name Cyprus has a somewhat uncertain etymology. Suggestion is that it comes from the Greek word for the Mediterranean cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens), κυπάρισσος (kypárissos) or even from the Greek name of the henna plant (Lawsonia alba), κύπρος (kýpros). Another school suggests that it stems from the Eteocypriot word for copper. Dossin, for example, suggests that it has roots to the Sumerian word for copper (zubar) or even the word for bronze (kubar), due to the large deposits of copper ore found on the island. Through overseas trade, the island has already given its name to the Classical Latin word for the metal, which appears in the phrase aes Cyprium, "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum.Cyprus is also called "the island of Aphrodite", because according to Greek mythology the goddess of love, Aphrodite (Venus), was born in Cyprus.

History

Prehistoric and ancient Cyprus

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Over the past twenty years there have been a number of discoveries that have greatly enhanced our knowledge of the early prehistory of Cyprus. Currently, the earliest confirmed site of human activity on the island is Aetokremnos situated on the Akrotiri Peninsula on the south coast. This site indicates that hunter-gatherers were active on the island from around 10,000 BC. There is also new evidence that suggests that there may be short lived occupation sites contemporary with Aeotokremnos on the west coast of the island in the area of the Akamas.

At present the archaeological record presents us with a chronological gap in the use or occupation of the island between the earliest hunter-gatherers and the appearance in the record of more settled village communities at around 8200 BC. These people probably practiced a limited form of agriculture and animal husbandry, supplemented by hunting. Important remains from this early-Neolithic period can be found at Mylouthkia, Shillourokambos, Kastros, Tenta and later towards the end of this period the famous village of Khirokitia.

During the Painted-Pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods that follow small scale settlements and activity areas were in use all over the island. During this period the people of Cyprus produced decorated pottery and figurines of stone quite distinct from the cultures of the surrounding mainland. This has traditionally led some archaeologists to consider the island as being somewhat isolated and insular at this time. More recently this idea is being challenged.

The Bronze Age is also rich in finds. The people learned to work the rich copper mines of the island. The Mycenæan culture seems to have reached Cyprus at around 1600 BC and several Greek and Phoenicia settlements that belong to the Iron Age can be found on the island. Cyprus came into contact with Egypt about 1500 BC and became an important trade partner.

Around 1200 BC, the Sea Peoples may have arrived in Cyprus, although the nature of their influence is disputed. The Phœnicians arrived at the island in the early first millennium BC. In those times, Cyprus supplied the Greeks with timber for their fleets.

In the sixth century BC, Amasis of Egypt conquered Cyprus, which soon fell under the rule of the Persians when Cambyses conquered Egypt. In the Persian Empire, Cyprus formed part of the fifth satrapy and in addition to tribute it had to supply the Persians with ships and crews. In their new fate, the Greeks of Cyprus had as companions the Greeks of Ionia (west coast of Anatolia) with whom they forged closer ties. When the Ionian Greeks revolted against Persia (499 BC), the Cypriots, except for the city of Amathus, joined in, led by Onesilos who dethroned his brother, the king of Salamis, for not wanting to fight for independence. The Persians reacted quickly, sending a considerable force against Onesilos. The Persians finally won despite Ionian help.

After their defeat, the Greeks mounted various expeditions in order to take Cyprus from Persian rule, but all their efforts bore only temporary results. Eventually, under Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) the island went over to the Macedonians. Later, the Ptolemies of Egypt controlled it; finally Rome annexed it in 58-57 BC. Cyprus was visited by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas accompanied by St Mark who came to the island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 AD. After their arrival at Salamis they proceeded to Paphos where they converted the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus to Christianity.

Cyprus in ancient myth

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Cyprus is the legendary birthplace of the goddess of beauty and love, the beautiful Aphrodite (also known as Kypris or the Cyprian). According to Hesiod's Theogony, the goddess emerged fully grown from the sea where the severed genitals of the god Uranus were cast by his son, Kronos, causing the sea to foam (Template:Lang-gr). Her birth was famously depicted by the artist Botticelli in The Birth of Venus. The legendary site of Aphrodite's birth is at Petra Tou Romiou ("Aphrodite's Rock"), a large sea stack close to the coastal cliffs near Paphos. Throughout ancient history, Cyprus was a flourishing centre for the cultic worship of Aphrodite.

Other mythological characters associated to Cyprus are King Cinyras, Teucer (founder of Salamis), the Cypriot sculptor Pygmalion, and (in some versions) Adonis.

Post-classical and modern Cyprus

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Cyprus became part of the Byzantine Empire after the partitioning of the Roman Empire in 395, and remained so for almost eight hundred years, interrupted by a brief period of Arab domination and influence.

After the rule of the rebellious Byzantine Emperor Isaac Komnenos, King Richard I of England captured the island in 1191 during the Third Crusade. On May 6, 1191, Richard's fleet arrived in the port of Lemesos and took the city. When Isaac arrived to stop the Crusaders he discovered he was too late and retired to Kolossi Castle. Richard called Isaac to negotiations but Isaac broke his oath of hospitality and started demanding Richard's departure. Richard ordered his cavalry to follow him in a battle against Isaac's army in Tremetusia. The few Roman Catholics of the island joined Richard's army and so did the island's nobles who were dissatisfied with Isaac's seven years of tyrannical rule. Richard's army was bigger and better equipped, assuring his victory. Isaac continued to resist from the castles of Pentadactylos but after the siege of his castle of Kantara he finally surrendered. In a fit of sardonic irony, Richard had Isaac confined with silver chains, scrupulously abiding by a previous promise that he would not place Isaac in irons should he be taken prisoner. Richard became the new ruler of Cyprus, gaining for the Crusade a major supply base that was not under immediate threat from the Turks as was Tyre. Richard looted the island and massacred those trying to resist him. He and most of his army left Cyprus for the Holy Land early in June. In his absence Cyprus was governed by Richard Camville.

In 1192, the French knight Guy of Lusignan purchased the island, in compensation for the loss of his kingdom, from the Templars. The Republic of Venice took control in 1489 after the death of the last Lusignan Queen.

Throughout the period of Venetian rule, Ottoman Turks raided and attacked the peoples of Cyprus at will. The Greek population of Cyprus were given weapons by the Venetians and fought the attacking Ottomans.

In 1489, the first year of Venetian control, Turks attacked the Karpasia Peninsula. In 1539 the Turkish fleet attacked and destroyed Limassol. Fearing the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire, the Venetians had fortified Famagusta, Nicosia, and Kyrenia, but most other cities were easy prey.

In the summer of 1570, the Turks attacked again, but this time with a full-scale invasion rather than a raid. A fleet commanded by Piyale Pasha carried about 60,000 troops, including cavalry and artillery, under the command of Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha to the island and landed unopposed near Limassol on July 2, 1570, and laid siege to Nicosia. The city fell (September 9, 1570), 20,000 Nicosian Greeks were put to death, and every church, public building, and palace was looted. Word of the massacre spread, and a few days later Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha took Kyrenia without having to fire a shot. Famagusta, however, resisted and put up a heroic defense that lasted from September 1570 until August 1571.

Ottoman rule brought about two radical results in the history of the island. For the first time since the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, a new population group appeared, the Turks. The Ottoman Empire gave timars – land grants – to soldiers under the condition that they and their families would stay there permanently. This event radically changed the demographics of Cyprus. During the seventeenth century the Turkish population grew rapidly. Most of the Turks who had settled on the island during the three centuries of Ottoman rule remained when control of Cyprus – although not sovereignty (see Cyprus Convention) – was ceded to Britain in 1878. Many, however, left for Turkey during the 1920s. By 1970, ethnic Turks represented 18% of the total population of the island, with ethnic Greeks representing the remainder. The distinction between the two groups was by religion and language.

The second important result of the Ottoman conquest benefited the Greek peasants who no longer remained serfs of the land they were cultivating. Now they could acquire it by purchase, thus becoming owners of it. In reality, they were purchasing their own land from invaders and conquerors. The Ottomans also applied the millet system to Cyprus, which allowed religious authorities to govern their own non-Muslim minorities. This system reinforced the position of the Orthodox Church and the cohesion of the ethnic Greek population. Gradually the Archbishop of Cyprus became not only the religious but the ethnic leader as well. In this way the Church undertook the task of the guardian of Greek cultural legacy, which is partly carried on even now, although diminished after independence. The Church itself paid no taxes to the Ottoman conquerors but was responsible for collecting taxes from the population and passing it on to the rulers.

The heavy taxes and the abuses against the population on the part of the Ottoman rulers in the early years after the Ottoman conquest gave rise to opposition, following which the Sultan ordered the Governor (the "Kadi") and the Treasurer to govern with justice. While the Sultan's orders indicated his goodwill towards the local population, the local administration proved indifferent, arbitrary and often corrupt, along with imposing a heavy burden of taxes. Cypriots disappointed at the mismanagement of Ottoman governors, soon turned to Western Europe in search of help for liberation as their motherland, Greece, was also under the Ottomans.

Between 1572 and 1668, around twenty-eight bloody uprisings took place on the island and in many of these both Greeks and Turk peasants took part. All ended in failure.

About 1660, in order to eliminate the mismanagement of the Ottoman administration, the Sultan recognised the Archbishop and the Bishops as "the protectors of people" and the representatives of the Sultan. In 1670, Cyprus ceased to be a "pasaliki" for the Ottoman Empire and came under the jurisdiction of the Admiral of the Ottoman fleet. In his turn, the Admiral sent an officer to govern in his place.

In 1703, Cyprus came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Vizier (Anthony Petane) who sent to the island a military and civil administrator. The title and function of this officer were awarded to the person who could raise the highest revenues in exchange. As a result, even heavier taxation was imposed. About 1760 the situation in Cyprus was intolerable. A terrible epidemic of plague, bad crops and earthquakes, drove many Cypriots to emigrate. In addition, what was worse for the Greeks and Turks of the island, the newly- appointed Pasha, doubled the taxes in 1764. In the end, Chil Osman and 18 of his friends were killed by Greek and Turkish Cypriots, but the two ethnic elements had to pay a huge sum of money to the Sultan and the families of the victims. The latter did not accept this judgement and broke into an open rebellion, having Khalil Agha, the commander of the guard of the castle of Kyrenia, as their leader. Finally the uprising was crushed and Khalil Agha was beheaded.

Detailed population statistics from Cyprus are available going back to the 1830s. The first large scale census of the Ottoman Empire in 1831 included Cyprus. Only men were counted and information on religion was recorded. The male population at the time was 14,983 Muslims and 29,190 Christians. This implies a total population of 88,000 for the island.

By 1872, the population of the island had risen to 144,000 comprising 44,000 Muslims (mostly Turks) and 100,000 Christians (mostly Greeks).

Cyprus was placed under British control on 4 June 1878 as a result of the Cyprus Convention, which granted control of the island to Britain in return for British support of the Ottoman Empire in the Russian-Turkish War.

Famagusta harbour was completed in June 1906; by this time the island was a strategic naval outpost for the British Empire, shoring up influence over the Eastern Mediterranean and Suez Canal, the crucial main route to India.

Cyprus was formally annexed by the United Kingdom in 1913 in the run-up to the First World War, since former British ally (Turkey) had joined the Central Powers. Many Cypriots, now British subjects, signed up to fight in the British Army, promised by the British that when the war finished Cyprus would be united with Greece. This happened twice both in the First and in the Second World War.

During the 1900s and 1950s, Greek Cypriots began to demand union with Greece. Various referenda were held, mainly organised by the church of Cyprus. In January 1950, a clear majority of Cypriots voted in a referendum in support of enosis (union). Turkish Cypriots claim that the enosis movement largely ignored the Turkish Cypriots minority presence on the island, but all peoples of Cyprus recognize that the British sought to quell any movement which could threaten their possession of the island. In 1955, the struggle against British rule erupted with the foundation of EOKA, which lasted until 1959. In this struggle the overwhelming majority of the island (the Greek Cypriots) took part.

Independence was attained in 1960 after exhaustive negotiations between the United Kingdom, as the colonial power, and Greece and Turkey, the cultural 'motherlands' for both the majority and minority communities in Cyprus. The UK ceded the island under a constitution allocating government posts and public offices by ethnic quota, but retained two small Sovereign Base Areas.

Post-independence (1960-1974)

Cyprus was declared an independent state on August 16, 1960. The constitution of the new state, which was defined by the Zürich and London Agreements, was drawn up in terms that explicitly defined the two main ethnic communities in Cyprus, the numerically larger Greek Cypriot community at approximately 80% of the total Cypriot population and the numerically smaller Turkish Cypriot community at approximately 18% of the total Cypriot population. These agreements were atypical in that they granted the numerically smaller Turkish Cypriot community political rights within the new republic greater than those of just an ethnic minority community. They were also atypical in that they placed certain limits within the constitution on the absolute independence of the new republic, with certain articles deemed unalterable as well as granting rights and responsibilities to the external guarantor states of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The complexity and limits on the new Republic’s independence of these agreements was a reflection of the complex situation in Cyprus pre-independence, where there was little or no cohesive pan Cypriot national identity, with each of the two main ethnic communities seeking to pursue purely ethnic based visions for Cyprus' future. Pre-independence the Greek Cypriot community, on the whole considering themselves Greeks that happened to live in Cyprus rather than Cypriots with a Greek ethnic background, sought a Cypriot future based on Enosis, the ceding of Cyprus to Greece, as a natural stage after the end of British rule and a fulfillment of the Greek nationalist Megali Idea. For the Turkish Cypriot community who also on the whole tended to see themselves as Turks that happened to live in Cyprus rather than Cypriots with a Turkish ethnic background, the idea of Cyprus being handed over to Greece after the end of British rule and of them becoming Greek citizens in a Hellenic republic, with them having no effective say as a community in this fundamental matter related to their own lives, was an anathema. Largely in response to calls from the Greek Cypriots community for enosis the Turkish Cypriot community developed the concept of Taksim, the partition of Cyprus into a Greek Cypriot controlled part, which would be free to pursue enosis as it saw fit and a Turkish Cypriot controlled part, despite the fact that the two ethnic communities were geographically intermingled throughout Cyprus and taksim by its very nature would have required mass population movements. It is against this background that the Zürich and London Agreements were drawn up after lengthy negotiation principally by Greece- Turkey and the United Kingdom and why they ended up being both complex and atypical granting the Turkish Cypriot community political rights disproportionate to their numerical numbers and containing permanent restrictions on the pursuit of both enosis and taksim alike. It is a common Greek Cypriot position that these agreements were imposed on them against their will by external powers and that despite Archbishop Makarios, as the recognized leader of the Greek Cypriot community putting his signature on them he did so only because he was forced too. There is no real doubt that great pressure was placed on Archbishop Makarios by both the United Kingdom and by Greece to sign the agreements, however it should also be pointed out that there is also little doubt that had the agreements been put before the two communities in referendum, which was not a legal requirement for them to carry legal validly, the two communities would have given their support to these agreements, as even the pro enosis authors of the Akritas plan were to admit.

In the period from independence in 1960 to 1963 a series of disputes arose between the two communities over the implementation and interpretation of the agreements and constitution. These disputes centered on 70:30 ratio of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in the public service mandated by the constitution but never achieved in practice, the establishment of separate municipalities as required by the constitution also not achieved, the use by the Turkish Cypriot leadership of its veto on tax legislation as a means of gaining leverage on the other areas of dispute and the status of the Turkish Cypriot vice president who constitutionally had a veto on foreign policy but complained of frequently not being informed of foreign policy initiatives by the Greek Cypriot foreign minister. Relations between the two communities became increasingly strained in this period and distrust on both sides grew with both sides preparing for physical confrontation with the establishment of armed irregulars as well as military officers from the two communities respective 'motherlands'. In November 1963 Archbishop Makarios, by then the first President of the Republic of Cyprus, proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution. It is claimed then and now that the intent of these amendments was simply to try and make the cumbersome 60's agreements and constitution more workable and remove causes of friction. Whilst it is true that the amendments did address these issues they also removed nearly all of the political protections the Turkish Cypriot community had gained in the 1960 agreements and essentially represented a fundamental altering of the entire basis of the 1960 agreements. The proposed amendments were immediately reject first by Turkey and then later by the Turkish Cypriot Vice-President Dr. Kutchuk. On 21 December 1963 a street brawl in a Turkish quarter in Nicosia between a Turkish Cypriot crowd and Yorgadjis', the Greek Cypriot interior minister, plainclothes special constables was followed immediately by a major Greek Cypriot attack by the various para-military forces against the Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia and in Larnaca. Against this background of a breakdown of internal security in Cyprus and inter-communal violence that threaten to bring into direct conflict the two NATO members of Greece and Turkey during the height of the cold war, the United Kingdom and the USA first tried to implement a neutral NATO force to be stationed within Cyprus to prevent further inter-communal conflict. The Makarios government blocked this move and the United Kingdom then raised the matter with the UN security council in a letter of 15 February 1964. The Makarios government also raised issues of alleged preparation by Turkey for an imminent and obvious invasion of Cyprus in a letter to the Security Council also on the 15 February 1964. The Security Council debated the unfolding crisis in Cyprus at its 1094th to 1103rd meetings from the 17 February to 4 March 1964, the result of which was UN Security Council resolution 186 of the 4th March 1964, which established a UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus that remains to this day.

Turkish Invasion (1974)

By 1974, dissatisfaction among Greek nationalist right-wing elements in favour of the long-term goal of unification with Greece precipitated a coup d'etat against President Makarios which was sponsored by the military government of Greece and led by Greek officers in the Cypriot National Guard. The Greek military junta and their supporters attempted to assassinate President Makarios. The new regime replaced Makarios with Nikos Giorgiades Sampson as president, and Bishop Gennadios as head of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. Seven days after these events Turkey invaded Cyprus by sea and air on 20 July 1974. At the time Turkey claimed it was invading to uphold its obligation under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee "to re-instate the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus". The coup was dissolved after strong resistance by the Greek Cypriot people, however the constitution was replaced only in the free areas of Cyprus, not under the Turkish occupation army. Talks in Geneva involving Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the two Cypriot factions stalled and on August 12 Turkey offered a proposal for a communal system, with confederate cantons, and gave Greece 24 hours to accept. The talks soon collapsed after Turkish planes attacked Nicosia, and Turkish forces subsequently moved from the previous cease-fire lines to gain control of 37% of the island's territory. During the invasion, 200,000 Greek Cypriots were displaced from their home land. While this was happening, the entire Turkish Cypriot male population of Tokhni was massacred by Greek Cypriot paramilitaries in reprisal for the landings. Further mass graves were uncovered in Aloa, Sandalaris and Maratha. As of today, there are still 1,468 Greek Cypriots and 502 Turkish Cypriots unaccounted for as well as over 150,000 Greek Cypriot refugees and over 60,000 Turkish Cypriot displaced persons. The events of the summer of 1974 have dominated Cypriot politics ever since and have been a major point of contention between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, as well as Greece and Turkey.

Since 1974, there have been continual efforts to negotiate a settlement, which met with varying levels of disagreement from either side. The Turkish government arranged an influx of settlers from Turkey whose exact numbers are disputed, but believed to be in the range of over 100,000, thus altering the demographics of the island against the rules of the Geneva Convention. Turkey counters that the Turkish Cypriots - before 1963 - owned and farmed 33% of Cypriot land before being forced into enclaves by the TMT (the Turkish Cypriot counter organization to EOKA and later EOKA-B), thus the take-over of one-third of Cyprus was seen as compensating the Turkish Cypriots for their lost land. These figures are rejected by both the Colonial land registry and the Cyprus Republic Authorities as fictional. According to the records held by the Cyprus Land Registry, only 12.3% of all Cypriot land, or 16.7% of privately owned land was owned by Turkish Cypriots. Of the 3,240 square kilometers of the occupied area, 60.27% is owned by Greek Cypriots, 16.39% is owned by Turkish Cypriots and 23.09% is state owned land.

Turkish Cypriots proclaimed a separate state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), under Rauf Denktaş on November 15 1983. The UN Security Council, in its Resolution 541 of November 18 1983, declared the action legally invalid and called for a withdrawal of Turkish troops. The above-mentioned Resolutions also asked all states to refrain from recognizing the declaration, which was created through secessionist actions, and not to facilitate or in any other way aid the secessionist entity. Turkey is the only country to date that recognizes the administration on the northern third of Cyprus in violation of the resolution. Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus's authority over the whole island, and refers to it as the Greek Cypriot administration.

Modern Era (1974-present)

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In 2004, the UN-backed Annan Plan for Cyprus sought to reunify the island before EU accession. Turkish Cypriots accepted the plan whilst Greek Cypriots rejected it, with the result that the island entered the EU as a divided country. EU countries recognize the official government and still officially treat the North as a militarily occupied area: although this has affected discussions with Turkey over accession, it has not prevented them, and EU ministers have repeatedly stressed their intention to open direct trade links with the occupied area. The EU Acquis communautaire applies only to those (Greek) areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.

Since the invasion, the economy of Cyprus has grown greatly and citizens of the Republic in particular enjoy a high standard of living. The north maintains a lower standard of living due to international embargoes, and is still reliant on Turkey for aid, though increased revenues through tourism and a recent construction boom have led to rapid economic development in recent years. The Turkish Cypriot administration has allowed the illegal sale of real estate, consisting almost entirely of property and land still owned by Greek Cypriots from before the 1974 Turkish invasion, to private buyers from overseas. In 2005, the UK's Guardian newspaper reported that up to 10,000 Europeans had invested in property in the north of Cyprus, a trend that still causes concern in the south. This concern was highlighted by the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper in 2006 when Cherie Blair, the wife of Britain's prime minister, touched a diplomatic nerve; Mrs Blair, in her capacity as an advocate at law, represented a UK couple, the Orams, who had been taken to court by Greek Cypriots who claimed ownership of the land on which the Orams had built a house. President Tassos Papadopoulos referred to Blair's decision to represent the Orams as "a provocative action".

On 5 December 2006, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended a further six-month extension in the mandate of the UN mission that has been deployed on the island for over four decades. Mr. Annan said that while the situation remained “calm and stable with no major violations of the ceasefire lines,” he regretted the continued stalemate in the political process and the “missed opportunities” over the past 10 years. In July of 2006, the island served as a safe haven for Lebanese displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Geography

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The third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia), Cyprus is geographically situated in the eastern Mediterranean and just south of the Anatolian peninsula (or Asia Minor) of the Asian mainland; thus, it is commonly included in the Middle East (see also Western Asia and Near East). Turkey is 75 kilometres (47 miles) north; other neighbouring countries include Syria and Lebanon to the east, Israel to the southeast, Egypt to the south, and Greece to the west-north-west.

Historically, politically and culturally, however, it is closely aligned with Europe – the Greek Cypriots in the internationally recognised Government controlled area with Greece and the Turkish Cypriots in the occupied North with Turkey. Historically, Cyprus has been at the crossroads between Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa, with lengthy periods of mainly Greek and intermittent Anatolian, Levantine, and British influences. Thus, it is generally considered a transcontinental island.

The central plain (Mesaoria) with the Kyrenia and Pentadactylos mountains to the north and the Troodos mountain range to the south and west. There are also scattered, but significant, plains along the southern coast.

The climate is temperate and Mediterranean with dry summers and variably rainy winters. Summer temperatures range from warm at higher elevations in the Troodos mountains to hot in the lowlands. Winter temperatures are mild at lower elevations, where snow rarely occurs, but are significantly colder in the Troodos mountains, where there is sufficient snow for a seasonal ski facility. Dust storms are frequent throughout the year.

Districts

The Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts: Nicosia (the capital), Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, and Paphos.

Map of Cyprus	Districts	Greek name	Turkish name
	Famagusta	Αμμόχωστος (Ammochostos)	Gazimağusa/Mağusa
	Kyrenia	Κερύvεια (Keryneia)	Girne
	Larnaca	Λάρνακα (Larnaka)	Larnaka/İskele
	Limassol	Λεμεσός (Lemesos)	Limasol/Leymosun
	Nicosia	Λευκωσία (Lefkosia)	Lefkoşa
	Paphos	Πάφος (Pafos)	Baf

Politics

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After independence, Cyprus became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement despite all three guarantor powers (Greece, Turkey and the UK) being NATO members. Cyprus left the Non-Aligned Movement in 2004 to join the European Union, though it retains special observer status.

The 1960 Cypriot Constitution provided for a presidential system of government with independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as a complex system of checks and balances, including a weighted power-sharing ratio designed to protect the interests of the Turkish Cypriots. The executive, for example, was headed by a Greek Cypriot president, Archbishop Makarios III, and a Turkish Cypriot vice president, Dr. Fazıl Küçük, elected by their respective communities for five-year terms and each possessing a right of veto over certain types of legislation and executive decisions.

The House of Representatives was elected on the basis of separate voters' rolls. Since 1964, following clashes between the two communities, the Turkish Cypriot seats in the House remained vacant, while the Greek Cypriot Communal Chamber was abolished. The responsibilities of the chamber were transferred to the newly founded Ministry of Education.

By 1967, when a military junta had seized power in Greece, the political impetus for enosis had faded, partly as a result of the non-aligned foreign policy of Cypriot President Makarios. Enosis remained an ideological goal, despite being pushed significantly further down the political agenda. Dissatisfaction in Greece with Makarios's perceived failure to deliver on earlier promises of enosis convinced the Greek colonels to sponsor the 1974 coup in Nicosia.

Turkey responded by launching a military operation on Cyprus, the "Cyprus Peace Operation". Turkish forces captured the northern part of the island. Many thousands of others, from both sides, left the island entirely. In addition to many of the Greek Cypriot refugees (a third of the population), many Turkish Cypriots also moved to the UK and other countries where for the past 30 years they have lived as neighbours with the Greek Cypriots. In the meantime Turkey illegally imported Turkish colonists to populate the occupied territories, thereby altering the ethnic make up of the occupied north. Under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, it is a war crime to transfer, directly or indirectly, the civilian population of a country power onto land under that country's military occupation.

Subsequently, the Turkish Cypriots established their own separatist institutions with a popularly elected de facto President and a Prime Minister responsible to the National Assembly exercising joint executive powers. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots declared an independent state called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), an action opposed by the United Nations Security Council. In 1985, the TRNC adopted a constitution and held its first elections.

Political division

Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, with the UK, Greece and Turkey retaining limited rights to intervene in internal affairs.

In July 1974, after an attempted coup against the Makarios government by extreme right-wing factions aided by the Greek junta, Turkey invaded Cyprus. The coup had been quashed before the arrival of Turkish paratroopers. Turkey has ever since occupied the northern part by a massive military force, estimated at 35 to 60 thousand troops . Cyprus has been divided, de facto, into the Greek-Cypriot controlled rump of the Republic, somewhat less than two-thirds of the island and the Turkish-occupied approximately one third in the north. Further, British sovereign bases under the term of the establishment of the Republic in 1960, occupy 99 square miles (256 square kilometers). The Republic of Cyprus is the legitimate internationally-recognised government of Cyprus. Turkey aside, all foreign governments and the United Nations recognise the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island of Cyprus.

The Turkish Cypriot administration of the northern part of the island, together with Turkey, rejects the Republic's rule over the whole island and refers to it as the "Greek Authority of Southern Cyprus". Its territory, known as the "occupied area", extends over the northern 36 percent of the island.

The other power with territory on Cyprus is the United Kingdom. Under the independence agreement, the UK retained entitlement to lease two extensive areas on the southern coast of the island, around Akrotiri and Dhekelia, known collectively as the UK sovereign base areas. They are used as military bases.

Exclaves and enclaves

Cyprus has four exclaves, all in territory that belongs to the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia. The first two are the villages of Ormidhia and Xylotymvou. Additionally there is the Dhekelia Power Station, which is divided by a British road into two parts. The northern part is an enclave, like the two villages, whereas the southern part is located by the sea and therefore not an enclave —although it has no territorial waters of its own .

The UN buffer zone separating the territory controlled by the Turkish Cypriot administration from the rest of Cyprus runs up against Dhekelia and picks up again from its east side, off Ayios Nikolaos (connected to the rest of Dhekelia by a thin land corridor). In that sense, the buffer zone turns the south-east corner of the island, the Paralimni area, into a de facto, though not de jure, exclave.

Reunification, the Annan Plan and EU entry

The results of early negotiations between Greek and Turkish politicians led to a broad agreement in principle for reunification as a bi-cameral, bi-zonal federation with territory allocated to the Greek and Turkish communities within a united island. However, agreement was never reached on the finer details, and negotiations were often deadlocked over the following points, among others:

The Greek side:

• took a strong line on the right of return for refugees to properties vacated in the 1974 displacement of Cypriots on both sides, which was based on both UN Resolutions and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights;
• took a dim view of any proposals which did not allow for the repatriation of Turkish settlers from the mainland who had emigrated to Cyprus since 1974; and
• supported a stronger central government.

The Turkish side:

• favoured a weak central government presiding over two sovereign states in voluntary association, a legacy of earlier fears of domination by the majority Greek Cypriots; and
• opposed plans for demilitarisation, citing security concerns.

The continued difficulties in finding a settlement presented a potential obstacle to Cypriot entry to the European Union, for which the government had applied in 1997. UN-sponsored talks between the Greek and Turkish leaders, Glafkos Klerides and Rauf Denktash, continued intensively in 2002, but without resolution. In December 2002, the EU formally invited Cyprus to join in 2004, insisting that EU membership would apply to the whole island and hoping that it would provide a significant enticement for reunification resulting from the outcome of ongoing talks. However, weeks before the UN deadline, Klerides was defeated in presidential elections by centre candidate Tassos Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos had a reputation as a hard-liner on reunification and based his stance on international law and human rights. By mid-March, the UN declared that the talks had failed.

A United Nations plan sponsored by Secretary-General Kofi Annan was announced on 31 March 2004, based on what progress had been made during the talks in Switzerland and fleshed out by the UN, was put for the first time to civilians on both sides in separate referenda on 24 April 2004. The Greek side overwhelmingly rejected the Annan Plan, and the Turkish side voted in favour. In considering the outcome it is interesting to note that whilst the Turkish settlers (who make up the majority in the occupied north) were allowed to vote, the refugees who had fled Cyprus had no right to vote in a referendum which would ultimately determine their future (their right to return and right to their property).

In May 2004, Cyprus entered the European Union, although in practice membership only applies to the southern part of the island which is in the control of the Republic of Cyprus, but this reality does not concern the personal rights of native Turkish Cypriots as EU citizens, as they are considered as citizens of the Member State Republic of Cyprus. 

In 2005, Turkish Cypriots demolished the part of the wall along the boundary that for decades has split Europe's last divided capital. The demolished wall had cut across Ledra Street, which runs through the heart of the city's tourist area and is seen as the strongest symbol of the island's 32-year partition.

In March 2007, Greek Cypriots demolished the part of the wall on the Greek side.

Economy

The Cypriot economy is prosperous and has diversified in recent years. Cyprus has been sought as a basis for several offshore businesses, due to its highly developed infrastructure. Economic policy of the Cyprus government has focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the European Union. Adoption of the euro as a national currency is required of all new countries joining the European Union, and the Cypriot government intends to adopt the currency on 1 January 2008.

Recently, oil has been discovered in the seabed between Cyprus and Egypt and talks are underway between Lebanon and Egypt to reach an agreement as to the exploration of these resources. The seabed separating Lebanon and Cyprus is believed to hold significant amounts of crude oil and natural gas.

The economy of the Turkish Cypriot North is dominated by the services sector including the public sector, trade, tourism and education, with smaller agriculture and light manufacturing sectors. The economy operates on a free-market basis, although it continues to be handicapped by the political isolation of Turkish Cypriots, the lack of private and governmental investment, high freight costs, and shortages of skilled labor. Despite these constraints, the Turkish Cypriot economy turned in an impressive performance in 2003 and 2004, with growth rates of 9.6% and 11.4%. The average income in the TRNC is $5,000 per capita: the Turkish government has pledged to increase this to $12,000 through investment and aid. This growth has been buoyed by the relative stability of the Turkish Lira and by a boom in the education and construction sectors.

Demographics

According to the last census carried out by the Republic, Greek Cypriots comprise 77% of the island's population, Turkish Cypriots 18%, while the remaining 5% are of other ethnicities.

However, after the Turkish invasion of 1974, about 150,000 Turks from Anatolia were transferred or decided to settle in the north. This has changed the actual demographic structure of the island. Northern Cyprus now claims 265,100 inhabitants, closer to 30% of the population of the island. The TRNC has granted citizenship to these immigrants: however, as the TRNC is not recognised by the Republic or the international community (with the exception of Turkey), its power to create new citizens is not recognised and the newcomers retain Turkish passports. The result of this situation is that percentage population estimates vary widely.

In the years since the census data was gathered in 2000, Cyprus has also seen a large influx of guest workers from countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as major increases in the numbers of permanent British residents. The island is also home to a significant Armenian minority, as well as a large refugee population consisting of people mainly from Serbia, Palestine and Lebanon.

Since the country joined the European Union, a significant Polish population has also grown up, joining sizeable communities from Russia and Ukraine (mostly Pontic Greeks, immigrating after the fall of the Eastern Bloc), Bulgaria, Romania and Eastern European states.

Religion

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Most Greek Cypriots, and thus the majority of the population of Cyprus, belong to the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus (Cypriot Orthodox Church), whereas most Turkish Cypriots are Sunni Muslims. Church attendance is relatively high and Cyprus is known, along with Malta and Greece, as one of the most religious countries in the European Union. In addition, there are also small Protestant, Roman Catholic, Maronite and Armenian Apostolic communities in Cyprus.

Culture

Language

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Greek is the predominant language in the south, while Turkish is spoken in the north . This delineation is only reflective of the post-1974 division of the island, which involved an expulsion of Greek Cypriots from the north and the analoguous move of Turkish Cypriots from the south. Historically, the Greek language was largely spoken by all Greek Cypriots and by many Turkish Cypriots too, given the fact that the Greek Cypriots formed the majority of the population. Turkish Cypriots use Turkish as VO language and as a rather distinctive dialect of Turkish.

English is widely understood, and is taught in schools from the primary age. Many official documents are published in English as well as the official languages of Greek and Turkish.

Human rights

The constant focus on the division of the island can sometimes mask other human rights issues. Prostitution is rife in both the government-controlled and the Turkish-occupied part, and the island has been criticised as forming one of the main routes of human trafficking of girls from Eastern Europe for the sex trade. The regime in the North has been the focus of occasional freedom of speech criticisms regarding heavy-handed treatment of newspaper editors. Domestic violence legislation in the Republic remains largely unimplemented, and has not yet been passed into law in the North. Reports on mistreatment of maids (often immigrant workers from Third World countries) are frequent in the Greek Cypriot press.

Amnesty International has criticised the Cypriot government over the treatment of foreign nationals, particularly asylum seekers, in Cypriot police stations and prisons. The 2005 report also restated Amnesty's long concern over discrimination towards Roma peoples in Cyprus.

Both Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic of Cyprus, and Greek Cypriots in the occupied areas, report racism directed towards them.

Education

Cyprus has a well-developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education. State schools are generally seen as equivalent in quality of education to private sector institutions. Although they don't offer A-level examinations, their end of year reports are partly recognized by the British universities. Graduates of public schools are required to take an entrance examination in order to enroll at the University of Cyprus or other Universities in Greece (List of universities in Greece). Private school students usually study in Britain and the USA although some of them go to the University of Cyprus or other Greek Universities. The main problem faced in public education is the need of extended extra lessons, while students in private schools need virtually no extra lessons. Neither for their entrance to the university nor for the school syllabus. The government is trying to eliminate this problem but this seems impossible at its current state.

The majority of Cypriots receive their higher education at Greek, British, Turkish, other European and North American universities, while there are also sizeable emigrant communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Private colleges and state-supported universities have been developed by both the Turkish and Greek communities.

According to the 1960 constitution, education is under the control of the two communities (the communal chambers). State education was based on nationalisation of existing community supported schools from the colonial period. Thus following 1974 the Cypriot system follows the Greek system in the area under the Republic's effective control, in other words providing their students with an apolytirion, and the Turkish system in the area not under the Republics effective control. A large number of students after sitting for A-levels and/or SATs study abroad, mainly in English speaking countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States, but also in other European destinations such as France and Germany. Traditionally the communist party AKEL provided scholarships for its members to study in Eastern Europe. Eastern European countries, especially Bulgaria and Hungary, are still popular destinations for students.

In the north there are several universities, which are mostly attended by Turkish Cypriot and Turkish students. These institutions are not regulated by the Republic of Cyprus, but are regulated by the Turkish higher education council and Turkish Cypriot Educational Administrations. The qualifications issued by the universities are not formally recognised by the Republic, the EU or American institutions.

Educational institutions

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Tertiary education

• Cyprus College (taught in English) situated in Nicosia
• The Cyprus Institute of Marketing situated in Nicosia
• Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health in association with Harvard School of Public Health (taught in English) situated in Nicosia
• Cyprus University of Technology situated in Limassol
• Frederick Institute of Technology (taught in English and Greek) situated in Nicosia and Limassol
• Higher Technical Institute (taught in English and Greek) situated in Nicosia
• Intercollege (taught in English) situated in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca
• Open University of Cyprus, open-access university).
• University of Cyprus situated in Nicosia
• Cyprus International Institute of Management
• Eastern Mediterranean University situated in Famagusta
• Girne American University situated in Kyrenia
• Near East University situated in Nicosia
• Cyprus International University situated in Nicosia
• Lefke European University situated in Lefka
• University of Northern Virginia Campus in Cyprus situated in Kyrenia

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Private secondary schools

• The Falcon School (Nicosia)
• The American Academy (Nicosia and Larnaca)
• Eastern Mediterranean College (Famagusta)
• The English School (Nicosia)
• GC School of Careers (Nicosia)
• Levent College (Nicosia)
• PASCAL English School (Nicosia, Larnaka, and Limassol)
• PASCAL Greek School (Ελληνική Σχολή ΠΑΣΚΑΛ)
• Foleys Grammar School (Limassol)
• The Heritage Private School (Limassol)
• The American International School (Nicosia)
• The Grammar School (Nicosia)
• Lyçée Français Arthur Rimbaud (The Only French school of Cyprus)

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International membership

The island nation Cyprus is member of: Australia Group, CE, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ITUC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO,ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO. 

Notables

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• Mehmet Nazım Adil, Sufi religious leader.
• Marcos Baghdatis (born 1985), tennis player.
• Michael Cacoyannis (born 1922), film director known for the movies Stella (1955) and Zorba the Greek (1964).
• Hüseyin Çağlayan, fashion designer.
• Hüseyin Çakmak, cartoonist/journalist.
• Rauf Denktaş, Turkish Cypriot leader.
• Evridiki (born 1968), singer.
• Mustafa Halilsoy (born 1949), physicist
• Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (born 1967), owner of easyGroup and self-styled "serial entrepreneur".
• Mick Karn (born 1958), bassist for the new-wave band Japan.
• Michalis Konstantinou (born 1978), football player for Olympiakos CFP and the Cyprus national football team's all-time leading goalscorer.
• Giannos Kranidiotis (1947-1999), former Greek deputy Minister of State.
• Dr. Fazil Küçük (1906-1984), the first and only Turkish Cypriot Vice President of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus.
• Michalis Hatzigiannis (born 1978), famous singer and songwriter.
• Archbishop Makarios (1913-1977), first President of the Republic of Cyprus.
• Asil Nadir, international businessman most active during the 1970s and 1980s.
• Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou (born 1946), Scripps Research Institute synthetic organic and natural products chemist.
• Giannis Okkas (born 1977), football player for Olympiakos CFP and the Cyprus national football team.
• Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha, three-times the Ottoman grand vizier during the mid-nineteenth century
• Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha, five-times the Ottoman grand-vizier during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century
• Peter Polycarpou, actor.
• Ziynet Sali (born 1975), singer.
• Alparslan Türkeş, leading Turkish politician.
• Anna Vissi (born 1957), singer.
• Vamik Volkan, psychoanalyst and author.
• Garo Yepremian, American football player.
• Zeno of Citium (333 BC - 264 BC), Hellenistic philosopher, founder of Stoicism; possibly Phoenician.

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International Rankings

See also

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References

1. Invest in Cyprus website - figures do not include tourism to the occupied North
2. The Republic of Cyprus exercises full effective control over approximately 59% of the island; the TRNC approximately 36% of the island; the remaining approximately 5% of the land mass is split evenly between British-controlled Sovereign Base Areas and the UN-controlled Green Line. See relevant articles for areas.
3. According to Article 1 and Annex A of the Treaty of Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus - see
5. "Memalik-i Mahrusa-i Sahanede 1247 senesinde mevcut olan nufus defteri", Istanbul University library, ms.kat d-8 no:8867
6. "Osmanli Nufusu 1830-1914" by Kemal Karpat, ISBN 975-333-169-X and "Die Volker des Osmanischen" by Ritter zur Helle von Samo
7. http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/mavratsas.html
8. http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/akritas_plan.html
9. http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-2.html#The%20%crisis%20%of%20%1963
10. http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/13_points.html
11. http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main-%203.html
12. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/repertoire/64-65_08.pdf
13. http://www.un.int/cyprus/scr186.htm
14. Whitney, Craig R. (1974-08-13). "Turkish Plan for Cyprus Disrupts Talks in Geneva". New York Times. p. 3. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. Staff (1974-08-14). "Cyprus Fighting Continues as Peace Talks Collapse; U.N. Called Into Session". New York Times. p. 1. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/mfa.nsf/FEB4D72828085695C2256FD50031BF1E/$FILE/MEMOResponse10.3.05.doc
17. http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative%20-%20part%204.htm
18. http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=30795&cat_id=1
19. People Daily. 2006 http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/21/eng20060721_285223.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |publlisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
20. EUROPA - The EU at a glance - Maps - Cyprus
21. calculated from the data provided on this page and TRNC (i.e. 3355/9251 km²]]
22. http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enlargement/turkish_cypriot_en.htm
23. ^ "Cyprus Economy". Republic of Cyprus. www.cyprus.gov.cy. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
24. ^ "Turkey warns Lebanon, Egypt aginst oil exploration deal with Cyprus". AP/International Herald Tribune. www.iht.com. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
25. Abdullah Gul, quoted in the Turkish Daily News 14 April 2007 .
26. http://www.observercyprus.com/observer/NewsDetails.aspx?id=1180
32. "Human Development Report 2006". United Nations Development Program. hdr.undp.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
33. ^ "Cyprus: Human Development Index Trends". United Nations Development Program. hdr.undp.org. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
34. "Worldwide Quality of Life - 2005" (PDF). The Economist. www.economist.com. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
35. "Index of Economic Freedom". Heritage Foundation & The WSJ. www.heritage.org. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
36. "North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea the worst violators of press freedom". Reporters Without Borders. www.rsf.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
37. "North Korea, Eritrea and Turkmenistan are the world's "black holes" for news". Reporters without Borders. www.ref.org. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
38. "CPI Table". Transparency International. www.transparency.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
39. "Transparency International's Annual Report 2005" (PDF). Transparency International. www.transparency.org. 2005. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accesdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
40. "Transparency International's Annual Report 2004" (PDF). 2004. Retrieved 2006-04-28.
41. "Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007" (PDF). World Economic Forum. www.weforum.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
42. "Gross domestic product per capita, current prices". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
43. "Environmental Sustainability Index" (PDF). Yale and Columbia University. www.yale.edu. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
44. "Labor Statistics: Strikes by Country". Nation Master. www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
45. "A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index 2006" (PDF). A.T. Kearney/FOREIGN POLICY. www.atkearney.com. 2006. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
46. "A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine Globalization Index 2005" (PDF). A.T. Kearney/FOREIGN POLICY. www.atkearney.com. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
47. "A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine Globalization Index 2004" (PDF). A.T. Kearney/FOREIGN POLICY. www.atkearney.com. 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-27.

Further reading

• Hitchens, Christopher (1997). Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger. Verso. ISBN 1-85984-189-9.
• Brewin, Christopher (2000). European Union and Cyprus. Eothen Press. ISBN 0-906719-24-0.
• Dods, Clement (ed.) (1999). Cyprus: The Need for New Perspectives. The Eothen Press. ISBN 0-906719-23-2. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Durrell, Lawrence (1957). Bitter Lemons. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571201-55-5.
• Gibbons, Harry Scott (1997). The Genocide Files. Charles Bravos Publishers. ISBN 0-9514464-2-8.
• Hannay, David (2005). Cyprus: The Search for a Solution. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-665-7.
• Ker-Lindsay, James (2005). EU Accession and UN Peacemaking in Cyprus. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-9690-3.
• Mirbagheri, Farid (1989). Cyprus and International Peacemaking. Hurst. ISBN 1-85065-354-2.
• Nicolet, Claude (2001). United States Policy Towards Cyprus, 1954-1974. Bibliopolis. ISBN 3-933925-20-7.
• Oberling, Pierre (1982). The Road to Bellapais. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-88033-000-7.
• O'Malley, Brendan and Ian Craig (1999). The Cyprus Conspiracy. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-86064-737-5.
• Palley, Claire (2005). An International Relations Debacle: The UN Secretary-General's Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus, 1999-2004. Hart Publishing. ISBN 1-84113-578-X.
• Papadakis, Yiannis (2005). Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-428-X.
• Plumer, Aytug (2003 ID=ISBN 975-6912-18-9). Cyprus, 1963-64: The Fateful Years. Cyrep (Lefkosa). {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Missing pipe in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Richmond, Oliver (1998). Mediating in Cyprus. Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-4431-5.
• Richmond, Oliver and James Ker-Lindsay (eds.) (2001). The Work of the UN in Cyprus: Promoting Peace and Development. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-91271-3. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Tocci, Nathalie (2004). EU Accession Dynamics and Conflict Resolution: Catalysing Peace or Consolidating Partition in Cyprus?. Ashgate. ISBN 0-7546-4310-7.
• Anastasiou, Harry (2006). Broken Olive Branch: Nationalism Ethnic Conflict and the Quest for Peace in Cyprus. Author House. ISBN 1-4259-4360-8.

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Cyprus

Government

• Cyprus Trade Centres Worldwide
• Cyprus High Commission Trade Centre - London
• Cypriot Diaspora Project
• Republic of Cyprus
• Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus
• Press and Information Office
• Central Bank of Cyprus

General information

• Cyprus weather station and webcams - Cyprus
• CIA World Factbook - Cyprus
• US State Department - Cyprus includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• "The Cyprus Conflict" An extensive educational web site dedicated to the Cyprus Conflict
• Open Directory Project - Cyprus directory category
• News and information about both parts of Cyprus

Miscellaneous

• Cyprus Guide Everything about Cyprus
• Cyprus Business Guide Everything and Links about Cyprus
• Senses of Cyprus A Bicommunal Art Project

Official publications

• The British government's Foreign Affairs Committee report on Cyprus.
• Letter by the President of the Republic, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, to the U.N. Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, dated June 7, which circulated as an official document of the U.N. Security Council
• Legal Issues arising from certain population transfers and displacements on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus in the period since 20 July 1974
• Address to Cypriots by President Papadopoulos (FULL TEXT)
• The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office, Aspects of the Cyprus Problem
• Noitiki Antistasis, Non-affiliated news website focusing mainly on the effect of globalization and foreign interests on the Cyprus problem
• 1st Report of the European Commission of Human Rights; Turkey's intervention in Cyprus and aftermath (20 July 1974 - 18 May 1976)
• 2nd Report of the European Commission of Human Rights; Turkey's intervention in Cyprus and aftermath (19 May 1976 to 10 February 1983)
• European Court of Human Rights Case of Cyprus v. Turkey (Application no. 25781/94)
• Cyprus Tourism Brochures - Official Publications

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Geographic locale

v t e Countries and dependencies of Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependent territories Denmark Faroe Islands autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Sovereign Base Areas) Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory) Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey Alderney Guernsey Sark Bailiwick of Jersey Isle of Man Special areas of internal sovereignty Finland Åland (autonomous region subject to the Åland convention of 1921) Norway Svalbard (unincorporated area subject to the Svalbard Treaty) United Kingdom England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland (country of the United Kingdom subject to the British-Irish Agreement) Spans the conventional boundary between Europe and another continent. Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia. Oceanic islands within the vicinity of Europe are usually grouped with the continent even though they are not situated on its continental shelf. Governed by the Holy See which has sovereignty over Vatican City. Category Europe portal v t e Countries and dependencies of Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependent territories Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Greece Kastellorizo United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Sovereign Base Areas) British Indian Ocean Territory (British Overseas Territory) Special administrative regions of China Hong Kong Macau Spans the conventional boundary between Asia and another continent. Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in West Asia. Category Asia portal Template:Countries of Southwest Asia v t e Countries and territories of the Mediterranean Sea Sovereign states Albania Algeria Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Cyprus Egypt France Greece Israel Italy Lebanon Libya Malta Monaco Montenegro Morocco Slovenia Spain Syria Tunisia Turkey States with limited recognition Northern Cyprus Palestine Dependencies and other territories Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK) Gibraltar (UK) Ceuta and Melilla (Spain) Marginal seas Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Alboran Sea Balearic Sea Ionian Sea Levantine Sea Libyan Sea Ligurian Sea Sea of Crete Sea of Marmara Sea of Sardinia Thracian Sea Tyrrhenian Sea

International membership

v t e Member states of the European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden See also: Potential enlargement and Former members v t e Council of Europe Institutions Secretary General Committee of Ministers Parliamentary Assembly Congress Court of Human Rights Commissioner for Human Rights Commission for the Efficiency of Justice Commission against Racism and Intolerance Venice Commission Pompidou Group Members Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Observers Canada Holy See Israel Japan Mexico United States EU relations Former members Czechoslovakia (1991–1992) Russia (1996–2022) Saar (assoc. 1950–1956) Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) v t e World Trade Organization System Accession and membership Appellate Body Dispute Settlement Body International Trade Centre Chronology of key events Issues Criticism Doha Development Round Singapore issues Quota Elimination Peace Clause Agreements General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Agriculture Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Technical Barriers to Trade Trade-Related Investment Measures Trade in Services Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Government Procurement Information Technology Marrakesh Agreement Doha Declaration Bali Package Ministerial Conferences 1st (1996) 2nd (1998) 3rd (1999) 4th (2001) 5th (2003) 6th (2005) 7th (2009) 8th (2011) 9th (2013) 10th (2015) 11th (2017) 12th (2022) People Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Director-General) Roberto Azevêdo Pascal Lamy Supachai Panitchpakdi Alejandro Jara Rufus Yerxa Members Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Brunei Burkina Faso Myanmar Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Costa Rica Ivory Coast Cuba Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eswatini Fiji Gabon The Gambia Georgia Ghana Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Iceland India Indonesia Israel Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Qatar Russia Rwanda St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Suriname Switzerland Tajikistan Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, participating as "Hong Kong, China" and "Macao, China". Officially the Republic of China, participates as "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu", and "Chinese Taipei" in short. World portal v t e Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Sovereign states (members) Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Eswatini (Swaziland) Fiji Gabon Gambia Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Tanzania Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Zambia Associated states Cook Islands Niue Dependent territories Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island New Zealand Ross Dependency Tokelau United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands Source: Commonwealth Secretariat – Member Countries v t e Non-Aligned Movement Members and the NAM Cyprus ‡ Egypt Ghana India Malta ‡ Sri Lanka Tanzania Yugoslavia ‡ Structure Bureau Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement Organizations Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity NAM Youth NAM News Network (News Agencies Pool) "Josip Broz Tito" Art Gallery of the Nonaligned Countries Principles Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Summits Bandung Conference Brioni Meeting 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 16th 18th 19th Founders Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia) Sukarno (Indonesia) Jawaharlal Nehru (India) Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt) People Houari Boumediene Fidel Castro Nelson Mandela Mohamed Morsi Nicolás Maduro Sirimavo Bandaranaike ‡ denotes a former member state of the Non-Aligned Movement Template:Turkic-speaking

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• Articles lacking sources from May 2007
• Cyprus
• Middle Eastern countries
• Southwest Asian countries
• European Union member states
• Members of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Divided regions
• Bicontinental countries
• Phoenician colonies
• Hellenistic colonies
• Former British colonies
• Mediterranean islands
• Island countries