Cyprus country profile

27 August 2006
by eub2 -- last modified 04 January 2008

Cyprus is the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean, and is situated south of Turkey. Cyprus joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Cyprus is the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean, and is situated south of Turkey. The two main mountain ranges are the Pentadactylos in the north and the Troodos in central and south-western part of the island, with the fertile plain of Messaoria in between.

Cyprus has long been a crossing point between Europe, Asia and Africa and still has many traces of successive civilisations – Roman theatres and villas, Byzantine churches and monasteries, Crusader castles and pre-historic habitats.

The island’s main economic activities are tourism, clothing and craft exports and merchant shipping. Traditional crafts include embroidery, pottery and copper-work.
The local dishes are the traditional meze which is served as a whole meal, the halloumi cheese and the zivania schnapps.

Since Turkey occupied the north of the island in 1974, the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities have been separated by the so-called Green Line.

Cyprus is well known as the island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, who, according to legend, was born there.

Area: 9 251 km²
Population: 776 000
Capital city: Nicosia
Currency: 1 euro = 0.58 Cyprus pounds (CYP)
National day: 1 October
EU-membership: 1 May 2004

Head of State: President Tassos Papadopoulos
Head of Government: President Tassos Papadopoulos
Foreign Minister: Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis
Government: Coalition: Democratic Party DIKO (centre-right, 9 seats)
AKEL (communist, 20 seats)
EDEK (socialist, 4 seats)
Parliament: Unicameral: 80 seats (56 Greek-Cypriot deputies, 24 seats vacant for Turkish-Cypriot deputies)

GDP: € 14.5 billion (2006)
GDP per capita in PPS: € 21 700 (2006)
Economic growth in real terms: + 3.6% (2006)

Links:
Head of State: http://www.cyprus.gov.cy
Head of Government: http://www.cyprus.gov.cy
Foreign Minister: http://www.mfa.gov.cy
Parliament: http://www.parliament.cy



Source: European Commission, Slovenia EU Presidency