Cyprus

• 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

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

0-14 years:

23% (male 91,075; female 86,832)

15-64 years:

66% (male 252,252; female 247,464)

65 years and over:

11% (male 35,149; female 45,591) (2000 est.)

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 (2000 est.)

noun:

Cypriot(s)

adjective:

Cypriot

conventional long form:

Republic of Cyprus

conventional short form:

Cyprus

note: the Turkish Cypriot area refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC)

• 6 districts;
• Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos;
• note - Turkish Cypriot area's administrative divisions include Kyrenia, all but a small part of Famagusta, and small parts of Lefkosa (Nicosia) and Larnaca

• 16 August 1960;
• negotiations to create the basis for a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently;
• in 1975 Turkish Cypriots created their own constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus," which was renamed the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in 1983;
• a new constitution for the Turkish Cypriot area passed by referendum on 5 May 1985

unicameral - Greek Cypriot area:

• House of Representatives or Vouli Antiprosopon (80 seats; 56 assigned to the Greek Cypriots, 24 to Turkish Cypriots; note - only those assigned to Greek Cypriots are filled; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms);
• Turkish Cypriot area: Assembly of the Republic or Cumhuriyet Meclisi (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:

Greek Cypriot area: last held 26 May 1996 (next to be held May 2001); Turkish Cypriot area: last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held December 2003)

election results:

• Greek Cypriot area: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - DISY 34.5%, AKEL (Communist) 33.0%, DIKO 16.4%, EDEK 8.1%, KED 3.7%, others 4.3%;
• seats by party - DISY 20, AKEL (Communist) 19, DIKO 10, EDEK 5, KED 2;
• Turkish Cypriot area: Assembly of the Republic - percent of vote by party - UBP 40.3%, DP 22.6%, TKP 15.4%, CTP 13.4%, UDP 4.6%, YBH 2.5%, BP 1.2%;
• seats by party - UBP 24, DP 13, TKP 7, CTP 6

Greek Cypriot area:

• Democratic Party or DIKO [Spyros KYPRIANOU];
• Democratic Rally or DISY [Nikos ANASTASIADHIS];
• Ecologists [Yeoryios PERDHIKIS];
• New Horizons [Nikolaos KOUTSOU, secretary general];
• Restorative Party of the Working People or AKEL (Communist Party) [Dimitrios CHRISTOFIAS];
• United Democratic Union of Cyprus or EDEK [Vassos LYSSARIDIS];
• United Democrats Movement or EDI (formerly Free Democrats Movement or KED) [George VASSILIOU];
• Turkish Cypriot area: Communal Liberation Party or TKP [Mustafa AKINCI];
• Democratic Party or DP [Serdar DENKTASH];
• National Birth Party or UDP [Enver EMIN];
• National Unity Party or UBP [Dervis EROGLU];
• Our Party or BP [Okyay SADIKOGLU];
• Patriotic Unity Movement or YBH [Ozker OZGUR];
• Republican Turkish Party or CTP [Mehmet ALI TALAT]

• Confederation of Cypriot Workers or SEK (pro-West);
• Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions or Dev-Is;
• Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions or Turk-Sen;
• Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation or PEO (Communist controlled)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Erato KOZAKOU-MARCOULLIS

chancery:

2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-5772

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-6710

consulate(s) general:

New York

note: representative of the Turkish Cypriot area in the US is Ahmet ERDENGIZ; office at 1667 K Street NW, Washington, DC; telephone [1] (202) 887-6198

chief of mission:

Ambassador Donald K. BANDLER

embassy:

corner of Metochiou and Ploutarchou Streets, Engomi, Nicosia

mailing address:

P. O. Box 4536, FPO AE 09836

telephone:

[357] (2) 776400

FAX:

[357] (2) 780944

• white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag;
• the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities

note: the Turkish Cypriot flag has a horizontal red stripe at the top and bottom between which is a red crescent and red star on a white field

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

revenues:

Greek Cypriot area - $2.9 billion (1998); Turkish Cypriot area - $171 million (1997 est.)

expenditures:

• Greek Cypriot area - $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $345 million (1998);
• Turkish Cypriot area - $306 million, including capital expenditures of $56.8 million (1997 est.)

fossil fuel:

100%

hydro:

0%

nuclear:

0%

other:

0% (1998)

• Cypriot pounds per US$1 - 0.5688 (January 2000), 0.5423 (1999), 0.5170 (1998), 0.5135 (1997), 0.4663 (1996), 0.4522 (1995);
• Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 545,584 (January 2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995)

total:

Greek Cypriot area: 10,663 km (1998 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 2,350 km (1996 est.)

paved:

Greek Cypriot area: 6,249 km (1998 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 1,370 km (1996 est.)

unpaved:

Greek Cypriot area: 4,414 km (1998 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 980 km (1996 est.)

Greek Cypriot area:

• Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG; includes air and naval elements), Hellenic Forces Regiment on Cyprus (ELDYK), Greek Cypriot Police;
• Turkish Cypriot area: Turkish Cypriot Security Force (TCSF), Turkish mainland army units

• 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek Cypriot area controlled by the internationally recognized Cypriot Government (59% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island), that are separated by a UN buffer zone (4% of the island);
• there are two UK sovereign base areas mostly within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island

• minor transit point for heroin and hashish via air routes and container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey;
• some cocaine transits as well [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]