1990 Edition

Climate

temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters

Coastline

648 km

Comparative area

about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Disputes

1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas--a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (60% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (35% of the island) that are separated by a narrow UN buffer zone; in addition, there are two UK sovereign base areas (about 5% of the island's land area)

Environment

moderate earthquake activity; water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most potable resources concentrated in the Turkish-Cypriot area)

Land boundaries

none

Land use

40% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 10% meadows and pastures; 18% forest and woodland; 25% other; includes 10% irrigated (most irrigated lands are in the Turkish-Cypriot area of the island)

Natural resources

copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment

Terrain

central plain with mountains to north and south

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

9,250 km2; land area: 9,240 km2

Birth rate

19 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

78% Greek; 18% Turkish; 4% other

Infant mortality rate

10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

Greek area--251,406; 42% services, 33% industry, 22% agriculture; Turkish area--NA (1986)

Language

Greek, Turkish, English

Life expectancy at birth

73 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Literacy

99% (est.)

Nationality

noun--Cypriot(s); adjective--Cypriot

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

156,000 (1985 est.)

Population

707,776 (July 1990), growth rate 1.0% (1990)

Religion

78% Greek Orthodox; 18% Muslim; 4% Maronite, Armenian, Apostolic, and other

Total fertility rate

2.4 children born/woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos

Capital

Nicosia

Communists

about 12,000

Constitution

16 August 1960; negotiations to create the basis for a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently; in 1975 Turkish Cypriots created their own Constitution and governing bodies within the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus, which was renamed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983; a new Constitution for the Turkish area passed by referendum in May 1985

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Michael E. SHERIFIS; Chancery at 2211 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 462-5772; there is a Cypriot Consulate General in New York; US--(vacant); Embassy at the corner of Therissos Street and Dositheos Street, Nicosia (mailing address is FPO New York 09530); telephone [357] (2) 465151

Elections

President--last held 14 February and 21 February 1988 (next to be held February 1993); results--George Vassiliou 52%, Glafkos Clerides 48%; House of Representatives--last held 8 December 1985 (next to be held December 1990); results--Democratic Rally 33.56%, Democratic Party 27.65%, AKEL 27.43%, EDEK 11.07%; seats--(56 total) Democratic Rally 19, Democratic Party 16, AKEL (Communist) 15, EDEK 6;

Executive branch

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet); note--there is a president, prime minister, and Council of Ministers (cabinet) in the Turkish area

Flag

white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities

Independence

16 August 1960 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court; note--there is also a Supreme Court in the Turkish area

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government--President George VASSILIOU (since February 1988); note--Rauf R. DENKTAS was proclaimed President of the Turkish area on 13 February 1975

Legal system

based on common law, with civil law modifications

Legislative branch

unicameral House of Representatives (Vouli Antiprosopon); note--there is a unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Meclisi) in the Turkish area

Long-form name

Republic of Cyprus

Member of

CCC, Commonwealth, Council of Europe, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO; Turkish Federated State of Cyprus--OIC (observer)

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 October

Other political or pressure groups

United Democratic Youth Organization (EDON; Communist controlled); Union of Cyprus Farmers (EKA; Communist controlled); Cyprus Farmers Union (PEK; pro-West); Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation (PEO; Communist controlled); Confederation of Cypriot Workers (SEK; pro-West); Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions (Turk-Sen); Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions (Dev-Is)

Political parties and leaders

Greek Cypriot--Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL; Communist Party), Dimitrios Christotias, Democratic Rally (DESY), Glafkos Clerides; Democratic Party (DEKO), Spyros Kyprianou; United Democratic Union of the Center (EDEK), Vassos Lyssarides; Turkish area--National Unity Party (NUP), Dervis Eroglu; Communal Liberation Party (CLP), Ismail Bozkurt; Republican Turkish Party (RTP), Ozker Ozgur; New Birth Party (NBP), Aytac Besheshler; New Cyprus savey (NCP), Alpay Durduran

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Turkish Area

President--last held 9 June 1985 (next to be held June 1990); results--Rauf Denktash 70%;

Legislative Assembly--last held 23 June 1985 (next to be held June 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(50 total) National Unity Party (conservative) 24, Republican Turkish Party (Communist) 12, Communal Liberation Party (center-right) 10, New Birth Party 4

Type

republic; a disaggregation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the island began after the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified following the Turkish invasion of the island in July 1974, which gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktash declared independence and the formation of a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has been recognized only by Turkey; both sides publicly call for the resolution of intercommunal differences and creation of a new federal system of government

Agriculture

accounts for 8% of GDP and employs 22% of labor force; major crops--potatoes, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, and citrus fruits; vegetables and fruit provide 25% of export revenues

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $272 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $223 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $62 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $24 million

Budget

revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $178 million (1989 est.)

Currency

Cypriot pound (plural--pounds) and in Turkish area, Turkish lira (plural--liras); 1 Cypriot pound (LC) = 100 cents and 1 Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus

Electricity

620,000 kW capacity; 1,770 million kWh produced, 2,530 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Cypriot pounds (LC) per US$1--0.4854 (January 1990), 0.4933 (1989), 0.4663 (1988), 0.4807 (1987), 0.5167 (1986), 0.6095 (1985); in Turkish area, Turkish liras (TL) per US$1--2,314.7 (November 1989), 1,422.3 (1988), 857.2 (1987), 674.5 (1986), 522.0 (1985)

Exports

$767 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes; partners--Middle East and North Africa 37%, UK 27%, other EC 11%, US 2%

External debt

$2.8 billion (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$4.2 billion, per capita $6,100; real growth rate 6.9%

Imports

$1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--consumer goods 23%, petroleum and lubricants 12%, food and feed grains, machinery; partners--EC 60%, Middle East and North Africa 7%, US 4%

Industrial production

growth rate 6.5% (1988)

Industries

mining (iron pyrites, gypsum, asbestos); manufactured products--beverages, footwear, clothing, and cement--are principally for local consumption

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.9% (1989 est.)

Overview

These data are for the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus (information on the northern Turkish-Cypriot area is sparse). The economy is small, diversified, and prosperous. Industry contributes about 28% to GDP and employs 35% of the labor force, while the service sector contributes about 55% to GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Rapid growth in exports of agricultural and manufactured products and in tourism have played important roles in the average 6% rise in GDP in recent years. While this growth put considerable pressure on prices and the balance of payments, the inflation rate has remained low and the balance-of-payments deficit manageable.

Unemployment rate

2.8% (1988)

Airports

13 total, 13 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

8 major transport aircraft

Highways

10,780 km total; 5,170 km bituminous surface treated; 5,610 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth

Merchant marine

1,100 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,093,340 GRT/32,148,550 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 12 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 434 cargo, 61 refrigerated cargo, 18 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 40 container, 94 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 specialized cargo, 3 liquefied gas, 13 chemical tanker, 29 combination ore/oil, 341 bulk, 3 vehicle carrier, 48 combination bulk carrier; note--a flag of convenience registry; Cuba owns at least 20 of these ships and Yugoslavia owns 1

Ports

Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos

Telecommunications

excellent in the area controlled by the Cypriot Government (Greek area), moderately good in the Turkish-Cypriot administered area; 210,000 telephones; stations--13 AM, 7 (7 repeaters) FM, 2 (40 repeaters) TV; tropospheric scatter circuits to Greece and Turkey; 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations--INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, and EUTELSAT systems

Branches

Cyprus National Guard; Turkish area--Turkish Cypriot Security Force

Defense expenditures

2% of GDP, or $84 million (1990 est.)

Military manpower

males 15-49, 180,946; 125,044 fit for military service; 5,083 reach military age (18) annually