General Background

Geographical Position: North-eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea (33° east of Greenwich and 35° north of the Equator).

Area: 9.251 sq. km (of which 1.733 sq. km are forested).

Population¹:  754,8 thousand (end of 1999).

Density (population per sq. km): 82.

Capital: Lefkosia (Nicosia), with a population of 197,8 thousand (end of 1999).

Other Towns: Lemesos, Larnaka, Pafos, Ammochostos and Keryneia. The last two are under Turkish military occupation.

Ethnic Composition: Greeks 85,1%, Turks 11,7%, Others 3,2% (end of 1999).

Religion: Orthodox 77%, Muslim 18% (1960).

Official Languages: Greek and Turkish.

Flag: White with a copper-coloured outline of the island with two green olive-branches beneath.

Currency: The Cyprus pound (C£), divided into 100 cents.

Time: GMT+2.

Weights and Measures: The metric system.

Climate: Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers from June to September and rainy, rather variable winters from November to March, separated by short autumn and spring seasons of rapid change.

Date of Independence: 16 August 1960.

Government and Administration: Under the 1960 Constitution, executive power is vested in a President elected for a five-year term of office by universal suffrage and exercised through a Council of Ministers appointed by him. The House of Representatives is the legislative organ of the Republic. The administration of justice is exercised by the Judiciary which is a separate and independent body.

International Membership: Member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A Customs Union Agreement with the European Union is in force since January 1988, while an application for full membership was submitted in July 1990. Accession negotiations commenced in April 1998.

Recent History: In July 1974 Turkey invaded the island, eventually occupying 40% of the total territory of the Republic of Cyprus. As a result, about 200.000 Greek Cypriots were displaced from their homes and were forced to flee to the southern part of the island. The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted resolutions calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Cyprus and the return of refugees to their homes, but without result.

1 Including Turkish Cypriots.