Cyprus

total:

0.21 cu km/yr (27%/1%/71%)

per capita:

250 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Cypriot(s)

adjective:

Cypriot

conventional long form:

Republic of Cyprus

conventional short form:

Cyprus

local long form:

Kypriaki Dimokratia/Kibris Cumhuriyeti

local short form:

Kypros/Kibris

note: the Turkish Cypriot community, which administers the northern part of the island, refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC")

name:

Nicosia (Lefkosia)

geographic coordinates:

35 10 N, 33 22 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 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 Nicosia (Lefkosia)

unicameral - area under government control:

• 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);
• area administered by Turkish Cypriots: Assembly of the Republic or Cumhuriyet Meclisi (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:

area under government control:

last held 21 May 2006 (next to be held in 2010); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: last held 19 April 2009 (next to be held in 2014)

election results:

area under government control:

• House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - AKEL 31.1%, DISY 30.3%, DIKO 17.9%, EDEK 8.9%, EURO.KO 5.8%, Greens 2.0%;
• seats by party - AKEL 18, DISY 18, DIKO 11, EDEK 4, EURO.KO 4, Greens 1;
• area administered by Turkish Cypriots: Assembly of the Republic - percent of vote by party - UBP 44.1%, CTP 29.3%, DP 10.6%, other 16%;
• seats by party - UBP 26, CTP 15, DP 5, other 4

area under government control:

• Democratic Party or DIKO [Marios KAROYIAN];
• Democratic Rally or DISY [Nikos ANASTASIADES];
• European Party or EURO.KO [Demetris SYLLOURIS];
• Fighting Democratic Movement or ADIK [Dinos MIKHAILIDES];
• Green Party of Cyprus [George PERDIKIS];
• Movement for Social Democrats or EDEK [Yiannakis OMIROU];
• Progressive Party of the Working People or AKEL (Communist Party) [Andros KYPRIANOU];
• United Democrats or EDI [Michalis PAPAPETROU]

area administered by Turkish Cypriots:

• Centrist Party or HP [Rasit PERTEV];
• Communal Democracy Party or TDP [Mehmet CAKICIL];
• Cyprus Socialist Party or KSP [Yusuf ALKIM];
• Democratic Party or DP [Serder DENKTASH];
• Freedom and Reform Party or ORP [Turgay AVCI];
• National Unity Party or UBP [Dervis EROGLU];
• Nationalist Justice Party or MAP [Ata TEPE];
• New Cyprus Party or YKP [Murat KANATLI];
• Politics for the People Party or HIS [Ahmet YONLUER];
• Republican Turkish Party or CTP [Ferdi Sabit SOYER];
• United Cyprus Party or BKP [Izzet IZCAN]

• 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 Andreas KAKOURIS

chancery:

2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-5772, 462-0873

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-6710

consulate(s) general:

New York

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Frank C. URBANCIC, Jr.

embassy:

corner of Metochiou and Ploutarchou Streets, 2407 Engomi, Nicosia

mailing address:

P. O. Box 24536, 1385 Nicosia

telephone:

[357] (22) 393939

FAX:

[357] (22) 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 Republic of Northern Cyprus" flag has a white field with narrow horizontal red stripes positioned a small distance from the top and bottom edges between which is centered a red crescent and a red five-pointed star

agriculture:

8.5%

industry:

20.5%

services:

71% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, vegetables;
• poultry, pork, lamb;
• dairy, cheese

general assessment:

excellent in both area under government control and area administered by Turkish Cypriots

domestic:

open-wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay

international:

• country code - 357 (area administered by Turkish Cypriots uses the country code of Turkey - 90);
• a number of submarine cables, including the SEA-ME-WE-3, combine to provide connectivity to Western Europe, the Middle East, and Asia;
• tropospheric scatter;
• satellite earth stations - 8 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat)

area under government control:

AM 5, FM 76, shortwave 0

area administered by Turkish Cypriots:

AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2004)

area under government control:

8

area administered by Turkish Cypriots:

2 (plus 4 relay) (2004)

total:

14,630 km (area under government control: 12,280 km; area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 2,350 km)

country comparison to the world: 123

paved:

area under government control:

7,979 km (includes 257 km of expressways); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 1,370 km

unpaved:

area under government control:

4,301 km; area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 980 km (2006)

Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG):

• 18-50 years of age for compulsory military service for all Greek Cypriot males;
• 17 years of age for voluntary service;
• women may volunteer for a 3-year term;
• length of normal service is 25 months (2009)

Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG):

males age 16-49:

199,767

females age 16-49:

190,665 (2008 est.)

Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG):

males age 16-49:

165,615

females age 16-49:

159,362 (2009 est.)

male:

6,241

female:

5,979 (2009 est.)

• hostilities in 1974 divided the island into two de facto autonomous entities, the internationally recognized Cypriot Government and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus);
• the 1,000-strong UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served in Cyprus since 1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north and south;
• on 1 May 2004, Cyprus entered the European Union still divided, with the EU's body of legislation and standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in the north;
• Turkey protests Cypriot Government creating hydrocarbon blocks and maritime boundary with Lebanon in March 2007

current situation:

• Cyprus is primarily a destination country for a large number of women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for the purpose of sexual exploitation;
• traffickers continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Cyprus is on the Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year for failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking during 2007;
• although Cyprus passed a new trafficking law and opened a government trafficking shelter, these efforts are outweighed by its failure to show tangible and critically needed progress in the areas of law enforcement, victim protection, and the prevention of trafficking (2008)

• 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;
• despite a strengthening of anti-money-laundering legislation, remains vulnerable to money laundering;
• reporting of suspicious transactions in offshore sector remains weak (2008)