Country Facts - Cyprus

The People

Nationality

Cypriot(s)

Ethnic Composition

Greek	78%
Turkish Cypriots	18%
Other	4%

Religious Composition

Greek Orthodox	78%
Muslim	18%
Various Christian denominations	2%
Other and nonaffiliated	2%

Languages Spoken

Greek (official), Turkish (official), English

Education and Literacy

Education is compulsory for nine years. Adult literacy now stands at 97 percent.

Labor Force

Total: (Greek Cypriot area) 291,000 (2000)

By occupation:

Services	73%
Industry	22%
Agriculture	5%

Total: (Turkish Cypriot area) 86,300 (2000)

By occupation:

Services	56.4%
Industry	22.8%
Agriculture	20.8%

Geography

Land Mass Total

3,571 sq mi (9,250 sq km)
Turkish Cypriot area 1,295 sq mi (3,355 sq km)

Land

3,567 sq mi (9,240 sq km)

Water

3.8 sq mi (10 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km), island

Coastline

402 mi (648 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 656 ft (200 m) depth or to the depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters.

Terrain

Central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Mediterranean Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Mount Olympus 6,400 ft (1,951 m)

Natural Resources

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

Land use

Arable land	10%
Permanent crops	5%
Other	85%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Moderate earthquake activity, droughts

Environment - current issues

Water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to island's largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization.

Geography Note

The third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia).

Demographics

Population

767,314 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	22.4%	Male: 87,981	Female: 84,168
15-64 years:	66.6%	Male: 258,414	Female: 252,778
65 years and over:	11%	Male: 36,607	Female: 47,366

(2002)

Growth Rate

0.57% (2002)

Life Expectancy

77.08 years (2002)
female: 79.5 years
male: 74.77 years

GDP Per Capita

Greek Cypriot : purchasing power parity
US$15,000 (2001)
Turkish Cypriot : purchasing power parity
US$7,000 (2000)

Infant Mortality

7.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.77 male(s)/female
Total population:	1 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

0.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

The division of the country affects economic affairs. The Greek Cypriot economy is prosperous but highly susceptible to external shocks. Erratic growth rates in the 1990s reflect the economy's vulnerability to swings in tourist arrivals, caused by political instability in the region and fluctuations in economic conditions in Western Europe. Economic policy is focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the EU. As in the Turkish sector, water shortages are a perennial problem; a few desalination plants are now online. The Turkish Cypriot economy has less than one-half the per capita GDP of the south. Because only Turkey has recognized it, Turkish Cyprus has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. It remains heavily dependent on agriculture and government service, which together employ about half of the work force. To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides substantial direct and indirect aid to tourism, education, industry, etc. The E.U. is predicting a modest 2.2 percent GDP growth in 2002 with acceleration to 3.5 percent in 2003 and 4.1 percent for 2004. Inflation in 2002 was 3 percent, while for 2003 it will peak at 4.2 percent before dropping to 2.1 percent in 2004. Unemployment remains in an enviable 4- to 5-percent range. Much of Cyprus' economic future depends on the smoothness of the E.U. transition and the flowering of better Turkish-Greek relations.

Unemployment

Greek Cypriot area: 3% (2001)
Turkish Cypriot area: 5.6% (1999)

Inflation Rate

Greek Cypriot area: 1.9% (2001)
Turkish Cypriot area: 53.2% (2000)

Industries

Food, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metal products, tourism, wood products

Exports

Greek Cypriot Area: US$851 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Turkish Cypriot Area: US$50.7 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports

Greek Cypriot Area: US$3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Turkish Cypriot Area: US$424.9 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Total Trade

Greek Cypriot Area
Purchasing power parity
GDP US$9.1 billion (2001)
Turkish Cypriot Area
Purchasing power parity
GDP US$1.1 billion (2000)

Top Export Partners

Greek area: EU 36% (UK 17%, Greece 8%), Russia 8%, Syria 7%, Lebanon 5%, US 2% (2000)
Turkish area: Turkey 51%, UK 31%, other EU 16.5% (1999)

Top Import Partners

Greek area: EU 52% (UK 11%, Italy 9%, Greece 9%, Germany 7%), US 10% (2000)
Turkish area: Turkey 59%, UK 13%, other EU 13% (1999)

Top Exports

Greek Cypriot area: citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes; Turkish Cypriot area: citrus, potatoes, textiles

Top Imports

Greek Cypriot area: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, food and feed grains, machinery
Turkish Cypriot area: food, minerals, chemicals, machinery

Debt - external

Greek Cypriot area: N/A
Turkish Cypriot area: N/A

Economic aid

Greek Cypriot area - $17 million (1998)
Turkish Cypriot area - $700 million from Turkey in grants and loans (1990-97), which are usually forgiven

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year.

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 5:30p.m., with one-half hour for lunch. From May to September, the midday break lasts from 1p.m. to 4p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 7p.m.	Saturdays 8a.m. to 1p.m.
Banks	8:30a.m. to 12:30p.m. (also 3:15p.m. to 4:45p.m. on Mondays only).	Closed
Government	7:30a.m. to 2:30p.m. (also open from 3p.m. to 6p.m. on Thursdays only).	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Epiphany	January 6	January 6	January 6
Independence Day	March 25	March 25	March 25
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Anniversary of Cyprus Liberation Struggle	April 1	April 1	April 1
May Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	August 15	August 15	August 15
Greek National Day (Ochi Day)	October 28	October 28	October 28
Christmas Day²	December 25	December 25	December 25
Second Day of Christmas	December 26	December 26	December 26

Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press