out in the capital of Nicosia. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to seize control of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot-occupied area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"), but it is recognized only by Turkey. The election of a new Cypriot president in 2008 served as the impetus for the UN to encourage both the Turkish and Cypriot Governments to reopen unification negotiations. In September 2008, the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities started negotiations under UN auspices aimed at reuniting the divided island. The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under the internationally recognized government, and is suspended in the areas administered by Turkish Cypriots. However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of European Union states.
Geography ::Cyprus
Location:
Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
35 00 N, 33 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 9,251 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus) country comparison to the world: 170 land: 9,241 sq km
water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative:
about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
total: 150.4 km (approximately)
border sovereign base areas: Akrotiri 47.4 km, Dhekelia 103 km (approximately)
Coastline:
648 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
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 point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 1,951 m
Natural resources:
copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment
Land use:
arable land: 10.81%
permanent crops: 4.32%
other: 84.87% (2005)
Irrigated land:
400 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
0.4 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.21 cu km/yr (27%/1%/71%)
per capita: 250 cu m/yr (2000)
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia)
People ::Cyprus
Population:
1,102,677 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 157
Age structure:
0–14 years: 17% (male 94,655/female 89,337)
15–64 years: 73.1% (male 411,952/female 381,074)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male 46,610/female 61,120) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 34.5 years
male: 33.2 years
female: 36.3 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.663% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 74
Birth rate:
11.38 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 173
Death rate:
6.42 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 152
Net migration rate:
11.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 7
Urbanization:
urban population: 70% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.3% annual rate of change (2005–10 est.)
Sex
