Country Sheet : Cyprus

Information file

Last Update on 28th November 2024

CYPRUS

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In English - version of 28th November 2024

Geography

Area : 9,251 km² (of which 3,355 km² are in north Cyprus)

Coastline : 648 km

Capital : Nicosia

Official language : Greek

Flag

Population

Population : 1,362,551 (2024 est.)

Crude natural change rate : -3.9‰ (2023)

Population repartition: 16.1% under 15 years old, 16.6% above 65 years old (2023)

Foreign residents: EU nationals 11%, non-EU nationals 8% (2021)

Crude net migration rate: 9.9‰ (2023)

First time asylum applicants: 11,910 (2023)

Life expectancy: men 80.4 years, women 84.7 years (2023)

Religions: Orthodox christians 89.1%, Roman Catholics 2.9%, Protestants 2%, Muslims 1.8%, other 1.4%, none 0.6%, unspecified 1.1% (2011 est.)

Source : Eurostat, The CIA World Factbook

Economy

Currency: Euro

GDP: € 31,340 million (2023)

GDP per capita (PPS): € 29,080 (2023)

GDP growth : 2.6% (2023)

Inflation: 0.69% (September 2024)

Public debt: 70.5% of GDP (Q2 2024)

Unemployment: 5% (September 2024)

Stock of foreign direct investment from the entire world: 1,542% (2022)

Performance sectors: services, tourism

Budget balance: +3.8% of GDP (2023)

Source : Eurostat, Trading Economics, Données mondiales

Political system

Independent Republic, Presidential regime

Constitution of August 16th 1960; although some clauses are no longer applied since the crisis of 1963 led to a retreat of the Turkish Cypriot community from governmental activities.

Head of State: Níkos Christodoulídis, elected in 2023 for five years by direct universal suffrage. The duties of the Head of State and the Head of Government arecombined.

Monocameral legislative power: The House of Representatives comprises 80 seats (56 for the Greek Cypriotes and 24 for the Turkish Cypriotes which are vacant). The representatives are elected for five years according to a system of proportional representation. The last parliamentary elections on 22 May 2016, strengthened the coalition in office: the democrats and the communists won one and two seats more than during the last elections respectively.

Institutions and political situation: Applicable only to southern Cyprus. The Turkish part in the north, which is not recognized by the international community, has its own institutions.

Annan plan/Reunification: 11th November 2002 - Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, presented a peace plan to reunite the island into one confederal State comprising two independently administered communities. 24th April 2004 - the Greek Cypriots rejected the UN reunification plan (75.83% of the votes) while the Turkish Cypriots approved it (with 64.91% voting yes). The Greek Cypriots decided to keep the Turkish community in the north out of the European Union. Negotiations have resumed in September 2008 and are still ongoing. The UN would like peace to end in view of organising a new referendum over the reunification plan.