AskBiography Logo   Latest News  Follow Us on Twitter  Follow Us on Google Buzz  Became Fan - Facebook  Subscribe to RSSRSS   Bookmark and Share

Cyprus

Cyprus
General information
Common nameCyprus
Local name 
Kypriakí Dimokratía
 
Name 
Kypriakí Dimokratía
 
Anthem
 
Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν
Hymn to Liberty1
CapitalNicosia (Λευκωσία, Lefkoşa)
Largest citycapital
Official languagesGreek, Turkish
Ethnic groups77% Greek
18% Turkish
5% others (2001)
DemonymCypriot, Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot
Government
GovernmentPresidential republic
PresidentDimitris Christofias
IndependenceIndependence (from the United Kingdom)
Zürich and London Agreement19 February 1959
Proclaimed16 August 1960
EU accession1 May 2004
Geography
Total Area3,572 (Includes North) sq mi (7.8 km2) (167th)
Water %negligible
Demography
Population Est.803,147 (Does not include North)
1,088,503 (whole island)
Density (pop.)85.3/km2 (115th) (221/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$23.190 billion (2010)
GDP (PPP) per capita$28,256
GDP (nominal)$23.174 billion (2010)
GDP (nominal) per capita$28,237
Other information
Gini29 (2005) (low) (19th)
HDI(+) 0.810 (2010) (very high) (35th)
CurrencyEuro2 (EUR)
Time zoneEET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on theLeft
Internet TLD.cy3
Calling code357

     Home | Country | Cyprus





Cyprus c-enaudio=En-us-Cyprus.oggˈsaɪprəs ( , Kýpros, -elˈciprosIPA; , -trkɯbɾɯsIPA), officially the Republic of Cyprus ( , Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, -elcipriaˈci ðimokraˈtiaIPA; , -trkɯbɾɯs dʒumhuɾijetiIPA), is a Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to around the 10th millennium BCE. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the Tombs of the Kings. Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world, and is the site of the earliest known example of feline domestication. At a strategic location in the Middle East, Cyprus has been occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Hittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Rashidun and Umayyad Arab caliphates, Lusignans, Venetians, and Ottomans. Settled by Mycenean Greeks in the 2nd millennium BCE, the island also experienced long periods of Greek rule under the Ptolemaic Egyptians and the Byzantines. In 333 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the island from the Persians. The Ottoman Empire conquered the island in 1571 and it remained under Ottoman control for over three centuries. It was placed under British administration in 1878 until it was granted independence in 1960, becoming a member of the Commonwealth the following year.

In 1974, following 11 years of intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, an attempted coup d'état by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta with the aim of achieving enosis (union of the island with Greece) took place. Turkey used this as a pretext to invade the northern portion of the island. Turkish forces remained after a cease-fire, resulting in the partition of the island; an objective of Turkey since 1955. The intercommunal violence and subsequent Turkish invasion led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of ongoing dispute.

The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters, except for the British military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts; the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island's area, and the Turkish-controlled area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and recognised only by Turkey, covering about 36% of the island's area.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of its most popular tourist destinations. An advanced, high-income economy with a very high Human Development Index, the Republic of Cyprus was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.


Warning: simplexml_load_file(http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/videos/-/Cyprus?orderby=viewCount&max-results=10) [function.simplexml-load-file]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.0 410 Gone in /home/askbio/public_html/index_bio.php on line 257

Warning: simplexml_load_file() [function.simplexml-load-file]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/videos/-/Cyprus?orderby=viewCount&max-results=10" in /home/askbio/public_html/index_bio.php on line 257

Fatal error: Call to a member function children() on a non-object in /home/askbio/public_html/index_bio.php on line 260