Cyprus#Architecture

File:Geology of Cyprus-SkiriotissaMine.jpg

The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀓𐀠𐀪𐀍}}}}, ku-pi-ri-jo,{{cite book |last=Strange |first=John|title=Caphtor : Keftiu : a new investigation |year=1980 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-06256-6|page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c9QUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA154 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911013629/https://books.google.com/books?id=c9QUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA154 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}} meaning "Cypriot" (Greek: {{lang|grc|Κύπριος}}), written in Linear B syllabic script.[http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ Palaeolexicon] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203111627/http://palaeolexicon.com/ |date=3 February 2011}}, Word study tool of ancient languages

The classical Greek form of the name is {{lang|grc|Κύπρος}} (Kýpros).

The etymology of the name is unknown.

Suggestions include:

• the Greek word for the Mediterranean cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens), κυπάρισσος (kypárissos)
• the Greek name of the henna tree (Lawsonia alba), κύπρος (kýpros)
• an Eteocypriot word for copper. It has been suggested, for example, that it has roots in the Sumerian word for copper (zubar) or for bronze (kubar), from the large deposits of copper ore found on the island.

Through overseas trade, the island has given its name to the Classical Latin word for copper through the phrase aes Cyprium, "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum.R. S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 805 (s.v. "Κύπρος").Fisher, Fred H. Cyprus: Our New Colony And What We Know About It. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1878, pp. 13–14.

The standard demonym relating to Cyprus or its people or culture is Cypriot. The terms Cypriote and Cyprian (later a personal name) are also used, though less frequently.

The state's official name in Greek literally translates to "Cypriot Republic" in English, but this translation is not used officially; "Republic of Cyprus" is used instead.

{{Main|History of Cyprus|Timeline of Cypriot history}}

File:Choirokoitia.jpg with early remains of human habitation during the Aceramic Neolithic period (reconstruction)]]

{{Main|Prehistoric Cyprus|Ancient history of Cyprus}}

Hunter-gatherers first arrived on Cyprus around 13–12,000 years ago (11,000 to 10,000 BC), based on dating of sites like Aetokremnos on the south coast and the inland site of Vretsia Roudias.{{Cite journal |last1=Tsakalos |first1=Evangelos |last2=Efstratiou |first2=Nikos |last3=Bassiakos |first3=Yannis |last4=Kazantzaki |first4=Maria |last5=Filippaki |first5=Eleni |date=2021-08-01 |title=Early Cypriot Prehistory: On the Traces of the Last Hunters and Gatherers on the Island—Preliminary Results of Luminescence Dating |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716100 |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=412–425 |doi=10.1086/716100 |issn=0011-3204 |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421225321/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716100 |url-status=live }} The arrival of the first humans coincides with the extinction of the {{Convert|75|cm|ft|abbr=on}} high Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus and {{Convert|1|m}} tall Cyprus dwarf elephant, the only large mammals native to the island.{{cite book |url=http://www.asor.org/pubs/books-monographs/swiny.pdf |title=The Earliest Prehistory of Cyprus: From Colonization to Exploitation |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |year=2001 |editor=Stuart Swiny |location=Boston, MA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606210529/http://www.asor.org/pubs/books-monographs/swiny.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2016 |url-status=dead}} Neolithic farming communities emerged on the island by around 10,500 years ago (8500 BC).{{Cite journal |last1=Bar-Yosef Mayer |first1=Daniella E. |last2=Kahanov |first2=Yaacov |last3=Roskin |first3=Joel |last4=Gildor |first4=Hezi |date=2015-09-02 |title=Neolithic Voyages to Cyprus: Wind Patterns, Routes, and Mechanisms |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=412–435 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |issn=1556-4894 |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528133150/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |url-status=live }}

Remains of an eight-month-old cat were discovered buried with a human body at a separate Neolithic site in Cyprus.{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |title=Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/health/29iht-29cat.6404420.html |access-date=4 October 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=29 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509004708/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/health/29iht-29cat.6404420.html |archive-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=live}} The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old (7500 BC), predating ancient Egyptian civilisation and pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly.{{cite news |first=Marsha |last=Walton |title=Ancient burial looks like human and pet cat |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/08/cats.cyprus/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=9 April 2004 |access-date=23 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222092756/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/08/cats.cyprus/index.html |archive-date=22 December 2007 |url-status=live}} The remarkably well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dating to approximately 6800 BC.Simmons, A. H. Faunal extinction in an island society: pygmy hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus. New York: Springer 1999, p. 15. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hCwYwyEBXEAC&pg=PA15] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412181518/https://books.google.com/books?id=hCwYwyEBXEAC&pg=PA15|date=12 April 2016}}

During the Late Bronze Age, from around 1650 BC Cyprus (identified in whole or part as Alashiya in contemporary texts) became more connected to the wider Mediterranean world driven by the trade in copper extracted from the Troodos Mountains, which stimulated the development of urbanised settlements across the island, with records suggesting that Cyprus at this time was ruled by "kings" who corresponded with the leaders of other Mediterranean states (like the pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt, as documented in the Amarna letters).{{Cite journal |last1=Knapp |first1=A. Bernard |last2=Meyer |first2=Nathan |date=2023-07-01 |title=Merchants and Mercantile Society on Late Bronze Age Cyprus |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/724597 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |language=en |volume=127 |issue=3 |pages=309–338 |doi=10.1086/724597 |issn=0002-9114 |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118180509/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/724597 |url-status=live }} The first recorded name of a Cypriot king is Kushmeshusha, as appears on letters sent to Ugarit in the 13th century BC.{{cite book |author=Eric H. Cline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_M1bCgAAQBAJ |title=1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed |date=22 September 2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7449-1 |access-date=6 January 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517121631/https://books.google.com/books?id=_M1bCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}

At the end of the Bronze Age, the island experienced two waves of Greek settlement.Thomas, Carol G. and Conant, Craig: The Trojan War, pp. 121–122. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. {{ISBN|0-313-32526-X}}, 9780313325267. The first wave consisted of Mycenaean Greek traders, who started visiting Cyprus around 1400 BC.Andreas G. Orphanides, "Late Bronze Age Socio-Economic and Political Organization, and the Hellenization of Cyprus", Athens Journal of History, volume 3, number 1, 2017, pp. 7–20{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOwOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168 |title=Greek Pottery in the Bronze Age |author=A.D. Lacy |page=168 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915234014/https://books.google.com/books?id=YOwOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+cy0013%29 |title=Library of Congress Country Studies. Cyprus |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |access-date=1 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110091429/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+cy0013%29 |archive-date=10 January 2009 |url-status=live}} A major wave of Greek settlement is believed to have taken place following the Late Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece from 1100 to 1050 BC, with the island's predominantly Greek character dating from this period.Thomas, Carol G. The Trojan War. Santa Barbara, CA, US: Greenwood Publishing Group 2005. p. 64. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UzASgBf2W10C&pg=PA98] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203171026/https://books.google.com/books?id=UzASgBf2W10C&pg=PA98|date=3 December 2015}} Cyprus occupies an important role in Greek mythology, being the birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis, and home to King Cinyras, Teucer and Pygmalion.Stass Paraskos, The Mythology of Cyprus (London: Orage Press, 2016) p.1f Literary evidence suggests an early Phoenician presence at Kition, which was under Tyrian rule at the beginning of the 10th century BC.{{cite book |last=Hadjisavvas |first=Sophocles |title=The Phoenician Period Necropolis of Kition, Volume I |year=2013 |publisher=Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/wl/publications/2012/hadjisavvas.html |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111945/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/wl/publications/2012/hadjisavvas.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=9 September 2019 }} Some Phoenician merchants who were believed to come from Tyre colonised the area and expanded the political influence of Kition. After c. 850 BC, the Phoenicians rebuilt and reused the sanctuaries [at the Kathari site].File:Kition, Zeus Keraunios.jpg

Cyprus is at a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean.{{cite book |author=Getzel M Cohen |title=The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands and Asia Minor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnsPcZW4G7YC&pg=PA35 |year=1995 |publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-91408-7 |page=35 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911021830/https://books.google.com/books?id=BnsPcZW4G7YC&pg=PA35 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author=Charles Anthony Stewart |title=Domes of Heaven: The Domed Basilicas of Cyprus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6ux8tRBHq4C&pg=PA69 |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-549-75556-2 |page=69 |publisher=ProQuest LLC |access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915232126/https://books.google.com/books?id=R6ux8tRBHq4C&pg=PA69 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author1=Michael Spilling |author2=Jo-ann Spilling |title=Cyprus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldSQLD985i4C&pg=PA23 |year=2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-4855-6 |page=23 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412132426/https://books.google.com/books?id=ldSQLD985i4C&pg=PA23 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}} It was ruled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire for a century starting in 708 BC, before a brief spell under Egyptian rule and eventually Achaemenid rule in 545 BC. The Cypriots, led by Onesilus, king of Salamis, joined their fellow Greeks in the Ionian cities during the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt in 499 BC against the Achaemenids. The revolt was suppressed, but Cyprus managed to maintain a high degree of autonomy and remained inclined towards the Greek world.

During the whole period of the Persian rule, there is a continuity in the reign of the Cypriot kings and during their rebellions they were crushed by Persian rulers from Asia Minor, which is an indication that the Cypriots were ruling the island with directly regulated relations with the Great King and there was not a Persian satrap.{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/8861166 |title=Alexander the Great and the Kingdoms of Cyprus – a Reconsideration |access-date=7 August 2022 |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807195911/https://www.academia.edu/8861166 |url-status=live |last1=Parpas |first1=Andreas P. }} The Kingdoms of Cyprus enjoyed special privileges and a semi-autonomous status, but they were still considered vassal subjects of the Great King.

The island was conquered by Alexander the Great in 333 BC and Cypriot navy helped Alexander during the siege of Tyre (332 BC). The Cypriot fleet was also sent to help Amphoterus.{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0530%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D6%3Asection%3D3 |title=Arrian, Anabasis, 3.6.3 |access-date=7 August 2022 |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807201301/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0530:book%3D3:chapter%3D6:section%3D3 |url-status=live }} In addition, Alexander had two Cypriot generals Stasander and Stasanor both from the Soli and later both became satraps in Alexander's empire.

Following Alexander's death, the division of his empire, and the subsequent Wars of the Diadochi, Cyprus became part of the Hellenistic empire of Ptolemaic Egypt. It was during this period that the island was fully Hellenised. In 58 BC Cyprus was acquired by the Roman Republic and became Roman Cyprus in 22 BC.

{{Main|Cyprus in the Middle Ages|Kingdom of Cyprus}}

File:Nicosia by Giacomo Franco.jpg were built by the Venetians to defend the city in case of an Ottoman attack.]]

File:Kyrenia 01-2017 img11 Castle exterior.jpg was originally built by the Byzantines and enlarged by the Venetians.]]

When the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 286, Cyprus became part of the East Roman Empire (also called the Byzantine Empire); the island would remain part of the empire for some 900 years. Under Byzantine rule, the Greek orientation that had been prominent since antiquity developed the strong Hellenistic-Christian character that continues to be a hallmark of the Greek Cypriot community.{{Country study |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |country=Cyprus |abbr=cy |title=Cyprus: A Country Study |url= https://www.loc.gov/item/92036090/ |edition=Fourth |editor-last=Solsten |editor-first=Eric |year=1993 |isbn=0-8444-0752-6 |last1=Keefe |first1=Eugene K. |last2=Solsten |first2=Eric |chapter=Historical Setting |pages=10–12}}

Beginning in 649, Cyprus endured repeated attacks and raids launched by Umayyad Caliphate. Many were quick raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Cypriots were killed and great wealth carried off or destroyed. The city of Salamis was destroyed and never rebuilt. Byzantine control remained stronger in the northern coast, the Arabs exerted more influence in the south. In 688, Emperor Justinian II and Caliph Abd al-Malik signed a treaty whereby Cyprus would be paying an equal amount of tribute to the Caliphate and tax to the Empire, but would remain politically neutral to both while being retained as a province administered by the Empire. There are no Byzantine churches which survive from this period, and the island entered a period of impoverishment.{{cite book |first=David Michael |author-link=Michael Metcalf |last=Metcalf |title=Byzantine Cyprus, 491–1191 |publisher=Cyprus Research Centre |year=2009|pages=32–33; 427–421}} Full Byzantine rule was restored in 965, when Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas scored decisive victories on land and sea.

In 1156 Raynald of Châtillon and Thoros II of Armenia brutally sacked Cyprus over a period of three weeks, stealing so much plunder and capturing so many of the leading citizens and their families for ransom, that the island took generations to recover. Several Greek priests were mutilated and sent away to Constantinople.Norwich, J. J. (1995) Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. London: Viking, p. 121

In 1185 Isaac Komnenos, a member of the Byzantine imperial family, took over Cyprus and declared it independent of the Empire. In 1191, during the Third Crusade, Richard I of England captured the island from Isaac.Riddle, J.M. A History of the Middle Ages. Lanham, MD, US: Rowman & Littlefield 2008. p. 326. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rhWpPr93KjMC&pg=PA326] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915220219/https://books.google.com/books?id=rhWpPr93KjMC&pg=PA326|date=15 September 2015}} He used it as a major supply base that was relatively safe from the Saracens. A year later Richard sold the island to the Knights Templar, who, following a bloody revolt, in turn sold it to Guy of Lusignan. His brother and successor Aimery was recognised as King of Cyprus by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.

Following the death in 1473 of James II, the last Lusignan king, the Republic of Venice assumed control of the island, while the late king's Venetian widow, Queen Catherine Cornaro, reigned as figurehead. Venice formally annexed the Kingdom of Cyprus in 1489, following the abdication of Catherine. The Venetians fortified Nicosia by building the Walls of Nicosia, and used it as an important commercial hub. Throughout Venetian rule, the Ottoman Empire frequently raided Cyprus. In 1539 the Ottomans destroyed Limassol and so fearing the worst, the Venetians also fortified Famagusta and Kyrenia.

Although the Lusignan French aristocracy remained the dominant social class in Cyprus throughout the medieval period, the former assumption that Greeks were treated only as serfs on the island is no longer considered by academics to be accurate. It is now accepted that the medieval period saw increasing numbers of Greek Cypriots elevated to the upper classes, a growing Greek middle ranks,See James G. Schryver, 'Colonialism or Conviviencia in Frankish Cyprus?' in I.W. Zartman (ed.), Understanding Life in the Borderlands: Boundaries in Depth and in Motio (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010) pp. 133–159; see also Evangelia Skoufari "Cyprus during the 16th century: a Frankish kingdom, a Venetian colony, a multicultural society", in Joves pensant la Mediterrània – Mar de diàleg, no. 5 dir. Enric Olivé Serret, Tarragona, Publicacions de la Universitat Rovira y Virgili, Tarragona 2008, pp. 283–295. and the Lusignan royal household even marrying Greeks. This included King John II of Cyprus who married Helena Palaiologina.Benjamin Arbel, David Jacoby, Intercultural Contacts in the Medieval Mediterranean, (London: Taylor and Francis, 1996) p. 45

{{Main|Ottoman Cyprus}}

File:Atlas Ortelius KB PPN369376781-073av-073br.jpg

In 1570, a full-scale Ottoman assault with 60,000 troops brought the island under Ottoman control, despite stiff resistance by the inhabitants of Nicosia and Famagusta. Ottoman forces capturing Cyprus massacred many Greek and Armenian Christian inhabitants.{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/7.htm |editor=Eric Solsten |title=Cyprus: A Country Study |location=Washington |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |date=1991 |website=Countrystudies.us |access-date=16 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117041546/http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/7.htm |archive-date=17 January 2013 |url-status=live}} The previous Latin elite were destroyed and the first significant demographic change since antiquity took place with the formation of a Muslim community.{{cite book |last=Mallinson |first=William |title=Cyprus: A Modern History |publisher=I. B. Tauris |date=30 June 2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HEjkuhF2GsMC&pg=PA81 |isbn=978-1-85043-580-8 |page=1 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517121124/https://books.google.com/books?id=HEjkuhF2GsMC&pg=PA81 |url-status=live }} Soldiers who fought in the conquest settled on the island and Turkish peasants and craftsmen were brought to the island from Anatolia.{{citation |last=Orhonlu |first=Cengiz |year=2010 |chapter=The Ottoman Turks Settle in Cyprus |title=The First International Congress of Cypriot Studies: Presentations of the Turkish Delegation |editor1-last=Inalcık |editor1-first=Halil |page=99 |publisher=Institute for the Study of Turkish Culture}} This new community also included banished Anatolian tribes, "undesirable" persons and members of various "troublesome" Muslim sects, as well as a number of new converts on the island.{{citation |last=Jennings |first=Ronald |year=1993 |title=Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640 |page=232 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-0-8147-4181-8}}

File:Buyuk Han, Nicosia - panoramio.jpg, a caravanserai in Nicosia, is an example of the surviving Ottoman architecture in Cyprus.]]

The Ottomans abolished the feudal system previously in place and applied the millet system to Cyprus, under which non-Muslim peoples were governed by their own religious authorities. In a reversal from the days of Latin rule, the head of the Church of Cyprus was invested as leader of the Greek Cypriot population and acted as mediator between Christian Greek Cypriots and the Ottoman authorities. This status ensured that the Church of Cyprus was in a position to end the Catholic Church's constant expansion efforts on the island.{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/Embassies/Embassy_Madrid.nsf/all/6A33D29D666143A6C1257A36002ECA14/$file/ChipreUnaVisionHistorica.pdf?openelement |title=Cyprus a Historical Overview (Chipre Una Visión Historica) |work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus website |first=William |last=Mallinson |format=PDF |language=es |access-date=22 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017133438/http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/Embassies/Embassy_Madrid.nsf/all/6A33D29D666143A6C1257A36002ECA14/$file/ChipreUnaVisionHistorica.pdf?openelement |archive-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=live}} Ottoman rule of Cyprus was at times indifferent, at times oppressive, depending on the temperaments of the sultans and local officials.[http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/7.htm Cyprus – Ottoman Rule] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117041546/http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/7.htm |date=17 January 2013}}, U.S. Library of Congress

The ratio of Muslims to Christians fluctuated throughout the period of Ottoman domination. In 1777–78, 47,000 Muslims constituted a majority over the island's 37,000 Christians.{{citation |last=Hatay |first=Mete |year=2007 |title=Is the Turkish Cypriot population shrinking?|url=http://www.prio.org/Global/upload/Cyprus/Publications/Is%20the%20Turkish%20Cypriot%20Population%20Shrinking.pdf |page=19 |publisher=International Peace Research Institute |isbn=978-82-7288-244-9 |access-date=7 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702022552/https://www.prio.org/Global/upload/Cyprus/Publications/Is%20the%20Turkish%20Cypriot%20Population%20Shrinking.pdf |archive-date=2 July 2015 |url-status=live}} By 1872, the population of the island had risen to 144,000, comprising 44,000 Muslims and 100,000 Christians.Osmanli Nufusu 1830–1914 by Kemal Karpat, {{ISBN|975-333-169-X}} and Die Völker des Osmanischen by Ritter zur Helle von Samo. The Muslim population included numerous crypto-Christians,{{cite book |author=Ronald Jennings |title=Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571–1640 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dslYF9LopnMC&pg=PT596 |date=1 August 1992 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-4318-8 |pages=596– |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412181717/https://books.google.com/books?id=dslYF9LopnMC&pg=PT596 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}} including the Linobambaki, a crypto-Catholic community that arose due to religious persecution of the Catholic community by the Ottoman authorities;{{cite book |author=Captain A. R. Savile|title=Cyprus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nxj9a-Stax4C&pg=PA130|year=1878 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |page=130 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911024127/https://books.google.com/books?id=nxj9a-Stax4C&pg=PA130 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}} this community would assimilate into the Turkish Cypriot community during British rule.{{cite book |author=Chrysostomos Pericleous |title=Cyprus Referendum: A Divided Island and the Challenge of the Annan Plan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PHQAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 |year=2009 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-0-85771-193-9 |page=131 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911014545/https://books.google.com/books?id=PHQAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}}

As soon as the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, several Greek Cypriots left for Greece to join the Greek forces. In response, the Ottoman governor of Cyprus arrested and executed 486 prominent Greek Cypriots, including the Archbishop of Cyprus, Kyprianos, and four other bishops.{{cite book |last1=Mirbagheri |first1=Farid |title=Historical dictionary of Cyprus |date=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |location=Lanham, Md. [u.a.] |isbn=978-0-8108-6298-2 |pages=xxvii, 124 |edition=[Online-Ausg.]. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f82Jn_H4VukC}} In 1828, modern Greece's first president Ioannis Kapodistrias called for union of Cyprus with Greece, and numerous minor uprisings took place.{{cite book |author1=William Mallinson |author2=Bill Mallinson |title=Cyprus: a modern history |url=https://archive.org/details/cyprusmodernhist00mall |url-access=limited |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year= 2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cyprusmodernhist00mall/page/n30 10]|isbn=978-1-85043-580-8}} Reaction to Ottoman misrule led to uprisings by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, although none were successful. After centuries of neglect by the Ottoman Empire, the poverty of most of the people and the ever-present tax collectors fueled Greek nationalism, and by the 20th century the idea of union with newly independent Greece was firmly rooted among Greek Cypriots.

Under Ottoman rule, numeracy, school enrolment and literacy rates were all low. They persisted some time after Ottoman rule ended, and then increased rapidly during the twentieth century.{{cite book |author=Baten, Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=51 |isbn=978-1-107-50718-0}}

{{Main|British Cyprus|Modern history of Cyprus|Cyprus Emergency}}

File:Hosting the British flag at Nicosia.jpg

In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and the Congress of Berlin, Cyprus was leased to the British Empire which de facto took over its administration in 1878 (though, in terms of sovereignty, Cyprus remained a de jure Ottoman territory until 5 November 1914, together with Egypt and Sudan) in exchange for guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base to protect the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression.

File:Cypriot demonstration 1930.jpg demonstrations for Enosis (union with Greece) in 1930]]

The island would serve Britain as a key military base for its colonial routes. By 1906, when the Famagusta harbour was completed, Cyprus was a strategic naval outpost overlooking the Suez Canal, the crucial main route to India which was then Britain's most important overseas possession. Following the outbreak of the First World War and the decision of the Ottoman Empire to join the war on the side of the Central Powers, on 5 November 1914 the British Empire formally annexed Cyprus and declared the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt and Sudan a Sultanate and British protectorate.

In October 1915, Britain offered Cyprus to Greece, ruled by King Constantine I of Greece, on the condition that Greece join the war on the side of the British and went to Serbia’s assistance, in order to fulfill her Treaty obligations under the Serbo-Greek pact of May 1913.Stavridis, Stavros Terry (31 July 1993),

Greek-Cypriot Enosis of October 1915: “A Lost Opportunity?”. La Trobe University. p. 289. Retrieved 5 August 2024. It gave Greece a golden

“opportunity” in achieving enosis with Cyprus. Alternatively it was a

“lost opportunity” when the Zaimis administration declined the British proposal.

In 1923, under the Treaty of Lausanne, the nascent Turkish republic relinquished any claim to Cyprus,{{cite journal |last=Xypolia |first=Ilia |title='Cypriot Muslims among Ottomans, Turks and British |journal=Bogazici Journal |year=2011 |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=109–120 |doi=10.21773/boun.25.2.6 |doi-access=free| issn = 1300-9583}} and in 1925 it was declared a British crown colony. During the Second World War, many Greek and Turkish Cypriots enlisted in the Cyprus Regiment.

The Greek Cypriot population, meanwhile, had become hopeful that the British administration would lead to enosis. The idea of enosis was historically part of the Megali Idea, a greater political ambition of a Greek state encompassing the territories with large Greek populations in the former Ottoman Empire, including Cyprus and Asia Minor with a capital in Constantinople, and was actively pursued by the Cypriot Orthodox Church, which had its members educated in Greece. These religious officials, together with Greek military officers and professionals, some of whom still pursued the Megali Idea, would later found the guerrilla organisation EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston or National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters).{{cite book |last1=Ker-Lindsay |first1=James |title=The Cyprus Problem: What Everyone Needs to Know |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975716-9 |pages=14–5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTL382g5sWwC |quote=They hoped that the transfer of administration would pave the way for the island to be united with Greece—an aspiration known as 'enosis.' At the time, these calls for enosis were not just limited to Cyprus. Instead, Cyprus was part of a wider political movement ... This overarching political ambition was known as the Megali Idea (Great Idea).}}{{cite book |last1=Lange |first1=Matthew |title=Educations in Ethnic Violence: Identity, Educational Bubbles, and Resource Mobilization |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-50544-4 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ac2NRpHoY3EC}} The Greek Cypriots viewed the island as historically Greek and believed that union with Greece was a natural right. In the 1950s, the pursuit of enosis became a part of the Greek national policy.{{cite book |last1=Huth |first1=Paul |title=Standing Your Ground: Territorial Disputes and International Conflict |date=2009 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-02204-5 |page=206 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NIAc-R5fgQoC |quote=From early 1950s onward Greece has favored union with Cyprus through a policy of enosis}}

File:Street riot in Nicosia 1956.jpg

Initially, the Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of the British rule.{{cite book |last1=Papadakis |first1=Yiannis |last2=Peristianis |first2=Nicos |last3=Welz |first3=Gisela |title=Divided Cyprus: Modernity, History, and an Island in Conflict |date=18 July 2006 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-11191-3 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzPG7b_m4swC&pg=PA2}} However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for enosis, as they saw the union of Crete with Greece, which led to the exodus of Cretan Turks, as a precedent to be avoided,{{cite book |last1=Isachenko |first1=Daria |title=The Making of Informal States: Statebuilding in Northern Cyprus and Transdniestria |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-39207-6 |page=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQeVnXmjBzYC&pg=PA37}}{{cite book |last1=Pericleous |first1=Chrysostomos |title=Cyprus Referendum: A Divided Island and the Challenge of the Annan Plan |date=2009 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-85771-193-9 |pages=135–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PHQAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135}} and they took a pro-partition stance in response to the militant activity of EOKA.{{cite book |last1=Mirbagheri |first1=Farid |title=Historical Dictionary of Cyprus |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6298-2 |page=xiv|quote=Greek Cypriots engaged in a military campaign for enosis, union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots, in response, expressed their desire for taksim, partition of the island.}} The Turkish Cypriots also viewed themselves as a distinct ethnic group of the island and believed in their having a separate right to self-determination from Greek Cypriots.{{cite book |last1=Diez |first1=Thomas |title=The European Union and the Cyprus Conflict: Modern Conflict, Postmodern Union |date=2002 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-6079-3 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4QTUWBEC2kC&pg=PA83}} Meanwhile, in the 1950s, Turkish leader Menderes considered Cyprus an "extension of Anatolia", rejected the partition of Cyprus along ethnic lines and favoured the annexation of the whole island to Turkey. Nationalistic slogans centred on the idea that "Cyprus is Turkish" and the ruling party declared Cyprus to be a part of the Turkish homeland that was vital to its security. Upon realising that the fact that the Turkish Cypriot population was only 20% of the islanders made annexation unfeasible, the national policy was changed to favour partition. The slogan "Partition or Death" was frequently used in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish protests starting in the late 1950s and continuing throughout the 1960s. Although after the Zürich and London conferences Turkey seemed to accept the existence of the Cypriot state and to distance itself from its policy of favouring the partition of the island, the goal of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders remained that of creating an independent Turkish state in the northern part of the island.{{cite book |author=Behlul (Behlul) Ozkan (Ozkan) |title=From the Abode of Islam to the Turkish Vatan: The Making of a National Homeland in Turkey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kCArlsRcHUMC&pg=PA199 |date=26 June 2012 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-18351-1 |page=199 |quote=In line with the nationalist rhetoric that "Cyprus is Turkish", Menderes predicated his declaration upon the geographic proximity between Cyprus and Anatolia, thereby defining "Cyprus as an extension of Anatolia". It was striking that Menderes rejected partitioning the island into two ethnic states, a position that would define Turkey's foreign policy regarding Cyprus after 1957|access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915212612/https://books.google.com/books?id=kCArlsRcHUMC&pg=PA199 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author1=G. Bellingeri |author2=T. Kappler |title=Cipro oggi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pUcSji-f1zYC&pg=PA27 |year=2005 |publisher=Casa editrice il Ponte |isbn=978-88-89465-07-3 |pages=27–29 |quote=The educational and political mobilisation between 1948–1958, aiming at raising Turkish national consciousness, resulted in the involving Turkey as motherland in the Cyprus Question. From then on, Turkey, would work hand in hand with the Turkish Cypriot leadership and the British government to oppose the Greek Cypriot demand for Enosis and realise the partition of Cyprus, which meanwhile became the national policy. |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911010743/https://books.google.com/books?id=pUcSji-f1zYC&pg=PA27 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}}

In January 1950, the Church of Cyprus organised a referendum under the supervision of clerics and with no Turkish Cypriot participation,{{cite book |last1=Grob-Fitzgibbon |first1=Benjamin |title=Imperial Endgame: Britain's Dirty Wars and the End of Empire |date=2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-30038-5 |page=285}} where 96% of the participating Greek Cypriots voted in favour of enosis.{{cite book|author=Dale C. Tatum |title=Who Influenced Whom?: Lessons from the Cold War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70NxlYekQIgC&pg=PA43 |access-date=21 August 2013 |date=1 January 2002 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-7618-2444-2 |page=43 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012220734/http://books.google.com/books?id=70NxlYekQIgC&pg=PA43 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author=Kourvetaris, George A. |title=Studies on modern Greek society and politics |publisher=East European Monographs |year=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bE5oAAAAMAAJ&q=90%25 |page=347 |isbn=978-0-88033-432-7 |access-date=10 November 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517125913/https://books.google.com/books?id=bE5oAAAAMAAJ&q=90%25 |url-status=live }}{{rp|9}} The Greeks were 80.2% of the total island's population at the time (census 1946). Restricted autonomy under a constitution was proposed by the British administration but eventually rejected. In 1955 the EOKA organisation was founded, seeking union with Greece through armed struggle. At the same time the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT), calling for Taksim, or partition, was established by the Turkish Cypriots as a counterweight.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/mavratsas.html |title=Politics, Social Memory, and Identity in Greek Cyprus since 1974 |author=Caesar V. Mavratsas |publisher=cyprus-conflict.net |access-date=13 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605233259/http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/mavratsas.html |archive-date=5 June 2008}} British officials also tolerated the creation of the Turkish underground organisation TMT The Secretary of State for the Colonies in a letter dated 15 July 1958 had advised the Governor of Cyprus not to act against TMT despite its illegal actions so as not to harm British relations with the Turkish government.

{{Main|Cyprus crisis of 1963–64}}

{{multiple image

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During British rule, the future of the island became a matter of disagreement between the two prominent ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots, who made up 77% of the population in 1960, and Turkish Cypriots, who made up 18% of the population. From the 19th century onwards, the Greek Cypriot population pursued enosis, union with Greece, which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s.{{cite book |last1=Faustmann |first1=Hubert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzIXtVdDDwgC&pg=PA48 |title=The Government and Politics of Cyprus |last2=Ker-Lindsay |first2=James |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2008 |isbn=978-3-03911-096-4 |page=48 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517121228/https://books.google.com/books?id=AzIXtVdDDwgC&pg=PA48#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Mirbagheri |first1=Farid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f82Jn_H4VukC&pg=PA25 |title=Historical Dictionary of Cyprus |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810862982 |page=25 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517123640/https://books.google.com/books?id=f82Jn_H4VukC&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} The Turkish Cypriot population initially advocated the continuation of the British rule, then demanded the annexation of the island to Turkey, and in the 1950s, together with Turkey, established a policy of taksim, the partition of Cyprus and the creation of a Turkish polity in the north.{{cite book |last1=Trimikliniotis |first1=Nicos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zS_HAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |title=Beyond a Divided Cyprus: A State and Society in Transformation |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-10080-1 |page=104 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517121219/https://books.google.com/books?id=zS_HAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA104#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}File:Ethnographic distribution in Cyprus 1960.jpg

Cyprus was granted independence in 1960, following an armed campaign spearheaded by EOKA.[http://www.parliament.cy/parliamenteng/index.htm Cyprus date of independence] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613002758/http://www.parliament.cy/parliamenteng/index.htm|date=13 June 2006}} (click on Historical review) As per the Zürich and London Agreement, Cyprus officially attained independence on 16 August 1960, and at the time had a total population of 573,566; of whom 442,138 (77.1%) were Greeks, 104,320 (18.2%) Turks, and 27,108 (4.7%) others.[http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/21.htm Eric Solsten, ed. Cyprus: A Country Study] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511100228/http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/21.htm |date=11 May 2011}}, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 1991. The UK retained the two Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, while government posts and public offices were allocated by ethnic quotas, giving the minority Turkish Cypriots a permanent veto, 30% in parliament and administration, and granting the three mother-states guarantor rights.

However, the division of power as foreseen by the constitution soon resulted in legal impasses and discontent on both sides, and nationalist militants started training again, with the military support of Greece and Turkey respectively. The Greek Cypriot leadership believed that the rights given to Turkish Cypriots under the 1960 constitution were too extensive and designed the Akritas plan, which was aimed at reforming the constitution in favour of Greek Cypriots, persuading the international community about the correctness of the changes and violently subjugating Turkish Cypriots in a few days should they not accept the plan.[http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/12.htm Eric Solsten, ed. Cyprus: A Country Study] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012050603/http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/12.htm |date=12 October 2011}}, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 1991. Tensions were heightened when Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios III called for constitutional changes, which were rejected by Turkey{{cite book |author=Hoffmeister, Frank |title=Legal aspects of the Cyprus problem: Annan Plan and EU accession |publisher=EMartinus Nijhoff Publishers |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZXbg3ZwvGoC |isbn=978-90-04-15223-6 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517123627/https://books.google.com/books?id=LZXbg3ZwvGoC |url-status=live }}{{rp|17–20}} and opposed by Turkish Cypriots.

Intercommunal violence erupted on 21 December 1963, when two Turkish Cypriots were killed at an incident involving the Greek Cypriot police. The violence resulted in the death of 364 Turkish and 174 Greek Cypriots,Oberling, Pierre. The road to Bellapais (1982), Social Science Monographs, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XIK6AAAAIAAJ&q=According+to+official+records%2C+364+Turkish+Cypriots+and+174+Greek+Cypriots+were+killed+during+the+1963-1964+crisis. p. 120] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428082807/https://books.google.com/books?id=XIK6AAAAIAAJ&q=According+to+official+records,+364+Turkish+Cypriots+and+174+Greek+Cypriots+were+killed+during+the+1963-1964+crisis. |date=28 April 2023 }}: "According to official records, 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the 1963–1964 crisis." destruction of 109 Turkish Cypriot or mixed villages and displacement of 25,000–30,000 Turkish Cypriots. The crisis resulted in the end of the Turkish Cypriot involvement in the administration and their claiming that it had lost its legitimacy;{{rp|56–59}} the nature of this event is still controversial. In some areas, Greek Cypriots prevented Turkish Cypriots from travelling and entering government buildings, while some Turkish Cypriots willingly withdrew due to the calls of the Turkish Cypriot administration.{{cite book |last1=Ker-Lindsay |first1=James |title=The Cyprus Problem: What Everyone Needs to Know |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975716-9 |pages=35–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xTL382g5sWwC |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517123104/https://books.google.com/books?id=xTL382g5sWwC |url-status=live }} Turkish Cypriots started living in enclaves. The republic's structure was changed, unilaterally, by Makarios, and Nicosia was divided by the Green Line, with the deployment of UNFICYP troops.{{rp|56–59}}

In 1964, Turkey threatened to invade Cyprus{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/10/newsid_3037000/3037898.stm |work=BBC News |date=24 April 2004 |access-date=25 October 2009 |title=1964: Guns fall silent in Cyprus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217190225/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/10/newsid_3037000/3037898.stm |archive-date=17 December 2008 |url-status=live}} in response to the continuing Cypriot intercommunal violence, but this was stopped by a strongly worded telegram from the US President Lyndon B. Johnson on 5 June, warning that the US would not stand beside Turkey in case of a consequential Soviet invasion of Turkish territory.{{cite book |title=Johnson's 1964 letter to Inonu and Greek lobbying of the White House |author=Jacob M. Landau|publisher=Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations |year=1979}} Meanwhile, by 1964, enosis was a Greek policy and would not be abandoned; Makarios and the Greek prime minister Georgios Papandreou agreed that enosis should be the ultimate aim and King Constantine wished Cyprus "a speedy union with the mother country". Greece dispatched 10,000 troops to Cyprus to counter a possible Turkish invasion.{{cite book |last1=Mirbagheri |first1=Farid |title=Cyprus and International Peacemaking 1964–1986 |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-67752-6 |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Znp9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517125857/https://books.google.com/books?id=Znp9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}

The crisis of 1963–64 had brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves{{rp|56–59}}{{cite web |date=21 December 1963 |title=U.S. Library of Congress – Country Studies – Cyprus – Intercommunal Violence |url=http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/13.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623135118/http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/13.htm |archive-date=23 June 2011 |access-date=25 October 2009 |publisher=Countrystudies.us}} and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic.

{{Main|1974 Cypriot coup d'état|Turkish invasion of Cyprus}}

File:Famagusta-Varosha 2007.JPG, a suburb of Famagusta, was abandoned when its inhabitants fled in 1974 and remains under Turkish military control.]]

On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta under Dimitrios Ioannides carried out a coup d'état in Cyprus, to unite the island with Greece.{{cite journal |last1=Papadakis |first1=Yiannis |title=Nation, narrative and commemoration: political ritual in divided Cyprus |journal=History and Anthropology |date=2003 |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=253–270 |doi=10.1080/0275720032000136642 |s2cid=143231403 |quote=culminating in the 1974 coup aimed at the annexation of Cyprus to Greece}}{{cite book |last1=Atkin |first1=Nicholas |last2=Biddiss |first2=Michael |last3=Tallett |first3=Frank |title=The Wiley-Blackwell Dictionary of Modern European History Since 1789 |isbn=978-1-4443-9072-8 |page=184 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QyXCTW_MCQC |date=23 May 2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517125914/https://books.google.com/books?id=1QyXCTW_MCQC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |title=Journal of international law and practice, Volume 5 |date=1996 |publisher=Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University |page=204}} The coup ousted president Makarios III and replaced him with pro-enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson.{{Cite magazine |title=Cyprus: Big Troubles over a Small Island |date=29 July 1974 |magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911440,00.html |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221060408/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911440,00.html |archive-date=21 December 2011 |url-status=dead}} In response to the coup,{{efn|See:{{cite book |last1=Ronen |first1=Yaël |title=Transition from Illegal Regimes under International Law |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-49617-9 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4OEHtL5xoroC |quote=Tensions escalated again in July 1974, following a coup d'état by Greek Cypriots favouring a union of Cyprus with Greece. In response to the coup, Turkey invaded Cyprus. |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517125752/https://books.google.com/books?id=4OEHtL5xoroC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Bryant |first1=Rebecca |last2=Papadakis |first2=Yiannis |title=Cyprus and the Politics of Memory: History, Community and Conflict |date=2012 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-1-78076-107-7 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4WUhDjksUUC |quote=In response to the coup, Turkey launched a military offensive in Cyprus that divided the island along the Green Line, which now splits the entire island. |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517125819/https://books.google.com/books?id=y4WUhDjksUUC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Diez |first1=Thomas |title=The European Union and the Cyprus Conflict: Modern Conflict, Postmodern Union |date=2002 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-6079-3 |page=105 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4QTUWBEC2kC |quote=Turkey did, however, act unilaterally in 1974, in response to a military coup in Cyprus instigated by the military junta ruling then in Greece with the apparent objective of annexing the island. |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517125754/https://books.google.com/books?id=A4QTUWBEC2kC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Ker-Lindsay |first1=James |last2=Faustmann |first2=Hubert |last3=Mullen |first3=Fiona |title=An Island in Europe: The EU and the Transformation of Cyprus |date=2011 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1QEn3G4L7MC |quote=Divided since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded in response to a Greek led coup, many observers felt that taking in the island would either be far too risky or far too problematic. |isbn=9781848856783 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517124237/https://books.google.com/books?id=R1QEn3G4L7MC |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Mirbagheri |first1=Faruk |title=Historical Dictionary of Cyprus |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6298-2 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f82Jn_H4VukC |quote=On 20 July 1974, in response to the coup and justifying its action under the Treaty of Guarantee, Turkey landed forces in Kyrenia.}}}} five days later, on 20 July 1974, the Turkish army invaded the island, citing a right to intervene to restore the constitutional order from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. This justification has been rejected by the United Nations and the international community.{{cite book |last1=Gray |first1=Christine |title=International Law and the Use of Force |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-102162-6 |page=94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnFCAgAAQBAJ |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517124202/https://books.google.com/books?id=qnFCAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}

The Turkish air force began bombing Greek positions in Cyprus, and hundreds of paratroopers were dropped in the area between Nicosia and Kyrenia, where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been long-established; while off the Kyrenia coast, Turkish troop ships landed 6,000 men as well as tanks, trucks and armoured vehicles.{{cite book |author=Taki Theodoracopulos |title=The Greek Upheaval: Kings, Demagogues, and Bayonets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPscAAAAYAAJ |date=1 January 1978 |publisher=Caratzas Bros. |isbn=978-0-89241-080-4 |page=66 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911011201/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPscAAAAYAAJ |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author1=Eric Solsten |author2=Library of Congress. Federal Research Division |title=Cyprus, a country study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5UuFAAAAIAAJ |year=1993 |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |isbn=978-0-8444-0752-4 |page=219 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905234346/https://books.google.com/books?id=5UuFAAAAIAAJ |archive-date=5 September 2015 |url-status=live}}

Three days later, when a ceasefire had been agreed,{{cite book |author1=Brendan O'Malley |author2=Ian Craig |title=The Cyprus Conspiracy: America, Espionage and the Turkish Invasion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Jz3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |date=25 June 2001 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-85773-016-9 |pages=195–197 |access-date=11 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412182115/https://books.google.com/books?id=4Jz3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}} Turkey had landed 30,000 troops on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridor linking Kyrenia to Nicosia, and the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Nicosia itself. The junta in Athens, and then the Sampson regime in Cyprus fell from power. In Nicosia, Glafkos Clerides temporarily assumed the presidency. But after the peace negotiations in Geneva, the Turkish government reinforced their Kyrenia bridgehead and started a second invasion on 14 August.{{cite book |author=Sumantra Bose |title=Contested Lands: Israel-Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus, and Sri Lanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KKZcgOJPjVkC&pg=PA86 |date=30 June 2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-02856-2 |page=86 |access-date=11 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412133548/https://books.google.com/books?id=KKZcgOJPjVkC&pg=PA86 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}} The invasion resulted in Morphou, Karpass, Famagusta and the Mesaoria coming under Turkish control.

International pressure led to a ceasefire, and by then 36% of the island had been taken over by the Turks and 180,000 Greek Cypriots had been evicted from their homes in the north.U.S. Congressional Record, V. 147, Pt. 3, 8 March 2001 to 26 March 2001 [https://books.google.com/books?id=fJ9DhiRRtIoC&pg=PA4095] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910224624/https://books.google.com/books?id=fJ9DhiRRtIoC&pg=PA4095|date=10 September 2015}} At the same time, around 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced to the north and settled in the properties of the displaced Greek Cypriots. Among a variety of sanctions against Turkey, in mid-1975 the US Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for using US-supplied equipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.{{cite book |title=Turkey and the United States: The Arms Embargo Period |publisher=Praeger Publishers (5 August 1986) |isbn=978-0275921415 |year=1986}} There were 1,534 Greek Cypriots{{cite news |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=34064&cat_id=1 |title=Over 100 missing identified so far |newspaper=Cyprus Mail |access-date=13 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202937/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=34064&cat_id=1 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} and 502 Turkish Cypriots{{cite news |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=30795&cat_id=1 |title=Missing cause to get cash injection |newspaper=Cyprus Mail |access-date=13 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014514/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=30795&cat_id=1 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} missing as a result of the fighting from 1963 to 1974.

The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island, including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, with the exception of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which remain under the UK's control according to the London and Zürich Agreements. However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts: the area under the effective control of the Republic, in the south and west and comprising about 59% of the island's area, and the north,{{cite web |title=According to the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 550 and 541 |url=https://www.un.org/documents/sc/res/1984/scres84.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319123420/http://www.un.org/documents/sc/res/1984/scres84.htm |archive-date=19 March 2009 |access-date=27 March 2009 |publisher=United Nations}} administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 36% of the island's area. Another nearly 4% of the island's area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the northern part of the island to be territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces.{{efn|See:{{cite book |author=European Consortium for Church-State Research. Conference |title=Churches and Other Religious Organisations as Legal Persons: Proceedings of the 17th Meeting of the European Consortium for Church and State Research, Höör (Sweden), 17–20 November 2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hogL92shGUIC&pg=PA50 |year=2007 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-429-1858-0 |page=50 |quote=There is little data concerning recognition of the 'legal status' of religions in the occupied territories, since any acts of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' are not recognized by either the Republic of Cyprus or the international community.|access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412144859/https://books.google.com/books?id=hogL92shGUIC&pg=PA50 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author=Quigley |title=The Statehood of Palestine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTR3BQ0aJ6UC&pg=PA164 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-49124-2 |page=164 |quote=The international community found this declaration invalid, on the ground that Turkey had occupied territory belonging to Cyprus and that the putative state was therefore an infringement on Cypriot sovereignty. |date=6 September 2010 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906001102/https://books.google.com/books?id=iTR3BQ0aJ6UC&pg=PA164 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author=Nathalie Tocci |author-link=Nathalie Tocci |title=EU Accession Dynamics and Conflict Resolution: Catalysing Peace Or Consolidating Partition in Cyprus?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6Z0Io3kQZ4C&pg=PA56 |date=January 2004 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-4310-4 |page=56 |quote=The occupied territory included 70 percent of the island's economic potential with over 50 percent of the industrial ... In addition, since partition Turkey encouraged mainland immigration to northern Cyprus. ... The international community, excluding Turkey, condemned the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) as a. |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915202840/https://books.google.com/books?id=T6Z0Io3kQZ4C&pg=PA56 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author1=Dr Anders Wivel |author2=Robert Steinmetz |title=Small States in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUeWqEjS6-IC&pg=PA165 |date=28 March 2013 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-1-4094-9958-9 |page=165 |quote=To this day, it remains unrecognised by the international community, except by Turkey |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922110421/https://books.google.com/books?id=iUeWqEjS6-IC&pg=PA165 |archive-date=22 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book|author=Peter Neville |title=Historical Dictionary of British Foreign Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVosJPY04xAC&pg=PA293 |date=22 March 2013 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7371-1 |page=293 |quote=Ecevit ordered the army to occupy the Turkish area on 20 July 1974. It became the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but Britain, like the rest of the international community, except Turkey, refused to extend diplomatic recognition to the enclave. British efforts to secure Turkey's removal from its surrogate territory after 1974 failed. |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918212811/https://books.google.com/books?id=dVosJPY04xAC&pg=PA293 |archive-date=18 September 2015 |url-status=live}}}} The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law and amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union.{{cite book |author1=James Ker-Lindsay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1QEn3G4L7MC&pg=PA15 |title=An Island in Europe: The EU and the Transformation of Cyprus |author2=Hubert Faustmann |author3=Fiona Mullen |date=15 May 2011 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-1-84885-678-3 |page=15 |quote=Classified as illegal under international law, and now due to Cyprus' accession into the European Union is also an illegal occupation of EU territory. |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918194718/https://books.google.com/books?id=R1QEn3G4L7MC&pg=PA15 |archive-date=18 September 2015 |url-status=live}}

File:Cy-map.png

After the restoration of constitutional order and the return of Archbishop Makarios III to Cyprus in December 1974, Turkish troops remained, occupying the northeastern portion of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot parliament, led by the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş, proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognised only by Turkey.

The events of the summer of 1974 dominate the politics on the island, as well as Greco-Turkish relations. Turkish settlers have been settled in the north with the encouragement of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot states. The Republic of Cyprus considers their presence a violation of the Geneva Convention,{{rp|56–59}} whilst many Turkish settlers have since severed their ties to Turkey and their second generation considers Cyprus to be their homeland.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 5 |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195334029 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofhu0005unse_j7e0/page/460 460] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofhu0005unse_j7e0 |url-access=registration}}

File:EU Foreign Ministers Gymnich Meeting in Cyprus. 7.-8. September 2012 (7954502290).jpg

The Turkish invasion, the ensuing occupation and the declaration of independence by the TRNC have been condemned by United Nations resolutions, which are reaffirmed by the Security Council every year.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprusun.org/?cat=52 |title=Full list UN Resolutions on Cyprus |publisher=Un.int |access-date=29 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930051656/http://www.cyprusun.org/?cat=52 |archive-date=30 September 2012 |url-status=live}}

File:Close to the buffer zone - panoramio.jpg

Attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute have continued. In 2004, the Annan Plan, drafted by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, was put to a referendum in both Cypriot administrations. 65% of Turkish Cypriots voted in support of the plan and 74% Greek Cypriots voted against the plan, saying that it disproportionately favoured Turkish Cypriots and gave unreasonable influence over the nation to Turkey.{{cite book |last=Palley |first=Claire |title=An International Relations Debacle: The UN Secretary-general's Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus 1999–2004 |publisher=Hart Publishing |date=18 May 2005 |page=224 |isbn=978-1-84113-578-6}} In total, 66.7% of the voters rejected the Annan Plan.

On 1 May 2004 Cyprus joined the European Union, together with nine other countries.Stephanos Constantinides & Joseph Joseph, 'Cyprus and the European Union: Beyond Accession', Études helléniques/Hellenic Studies 11 (2), Autumn 2003 Cyprus was accepted into the EU as a whole, although the EU legislation is suspended in Northern Cyprus until a final settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Efforts have been made to enhance freedom of movement between the two sides. In April 2003, Northern Cyprus unilaterally eased checkpoint restrictions, permitting Cypriots to cross between the two sides for the first time in 30 years.{{cite news |url-status=live |title=Emotion as Cyprus border opens |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2969089.stm |access-date=3 May 2016 |work=BBC News |date=23 April 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065858/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2969089.stm |archive-date=4 March 2016}} In March 2008, a wall that had stood for decades at the boundary between the Republic of Cyprus and the UN buffer zone was demolished.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433045.stm |title=Greek Cypriots dismantle barrier |work=BBC News |access-date=7 March 2008 |date=9 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307041606/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433045.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |url-status=live}} The wall had cut across Ledra Street in the heart of Nicosia and was seen as a strong symbol of the island's 32-year division. On 3 April 2008, Ledra Street was reopened in the presence of Greek and Turkish Cypriot officials.[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/03/europe/EU-GEN-Cyprus-Ledra-Street.php Ledra Street crossing opens in Cyprus] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615132540/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/03/europe/EU-GEN-Cyprus-Ledra-Street.php |date=15 June 2008}}. Associated Press article published on International Herald Tribune Website, 3 April 2008 The two sides relaunched reunification talks in 2015,{{cite news |last=Hadjicostis |first=Menelaos |date=11 May 2015 |title=UN envoy says Cyprus reunification talks to resume May 15 |url=https://apnews.com/b80d6a4b9c50403589f4582f7ebcf0d6 |work=Associated Press News |access-date=24 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524115638/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2015/UN-envoy-says-divided-Cyprus-rival-leaders-to-restart-stalled-reunification-talks-May-15/id-b80d6a4b9c50403589f4582f7ebcf0d6 |archive-date=24 May 2015 | url-status=live }} but these collapsed in 2017.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Helena |title=Cyprus reunification talks collapse amid angry scenes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/cyprus-reunification-talks-collapse-amid-angry-scenes |website=The Guardian |access-date=1 March 2021 |date=7 July 2017 |archive-date=7 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707144641/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/07/cyprus-reunification-talks-collapse-amid-angry-scenes |url-status=live }}

The European Union warned in February 2019 that Cyprus was selling EU passports to Russian oligarchs, and thus would allow organised crime syndicates to infiltrate the EU.{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/cyprus-golden-passports-bring-russians-eu-190202172320680.html |title=Cyprus 'golden passports' bring Russians into the EU |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204165732/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/cyprus-golden-passports-bring-russians-eu-190202172320680.html |archive-date=4 February 2019 |url-status=live}} In 2020, leaked documents revealed a wider range of former and current officials from Afghanistan, China, Dubai, Lebanon, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Vietnam who bought a Cypriot citizenship prior to a change of the law in July 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/exclusive-cyprus-sold-passports-politically-exposed-persons-200823204320183.html |title=Exclusive: Cyprus sold passports to 'politically exposed persons' |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=24 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824100832/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/exclusive-cyprus-sold-passports-politically-exposed-persons-200823204320183.html |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Rakopoulos |first1=Theodoros |last2=Fischer |first2=Leandros |title=In Cyprus, the Golden Passports Scheme Shows Us How Capitalism and Corruption Go Hand in Hand |journal=Jacobin |date=10 November 2020 |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2020/11/cyprus-golden-passports-citizenship-corruption |access-date=13 November 2020 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112225241/https://jacobinmag.com/2020/11/cyprus-golden-passports-citizenship-corruption |url-status=live }} Since 2020 Cyprus and Turkey have been engaged in a dispute over the extent of their exclusive economic zones, ostensibly sparked by oil and gas exploration in the area.{{cite news |title=Cyprus: EU 'appeasement' of Turkey in exploration row will go nowhere |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-turkey-eu-cyprus-idUSKCN25D1FZ |work=Reuters |date=17 August 2020 |access-date=13 September 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817150821/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-turkey-eu-cyprus-idUSKCN25D1FZ |url-status=live }}

In November 2023, the Cyprus Confidential data leak published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists showed the country's financial network entertaining strong links with Russian oligarchs and high-up figures in the Kremlin, supporting the regime of Vladimir Putin.{{cite web |title=Cyprus Confidential – ICIJ |url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/ |website=icij.org |access-date=14 November 2023 |date=14 November 2023 |archive-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224150800/https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/ |url-status=live }}

In July 2024, on the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus, Turkish President Erdoğan rejected a United Nations-endorsed plan for a federal government and supported the idea of having two separate states within Cyprus. Greek Cypriots immediately rejected Erdoğan's two-state proposal, calling it a "non-starter".{{cite web |title= Erdoğan dashes hopes for resumption of Cyprus talks on invasion's 50th anniversary |url= https://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-president-erdogan-dashes-hopes-resumption-cyprus-talks-invasion-50th-anniversary/ |work=Politico |access-date=21 July 2024 |date=20 July 2024 }}

{{Main|Geography of Cyprus}}

File:Cyprus sentinel2.jpg image of Cyprus taken in 2022]]

File:Sea caves Cape Greco 9.jpg]]

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, both in terms of area and population. It is also the world's 80th largest by area and world's 51st largest by population. It measures {{convert|240|km|mi|0}} long from end to end and {{convert|100|km|mi|0}} wide at its widest point, with Turkey {{convert|75|km|mi|0}} to the north. It lies between latitudes 34° and 36° N, and longitudes 32° and 35° E.

Other neighbouring territories include Syria and Lebanon to the east and southeast ({{convert|105|and|108|km|mi|0}}, respectively), Israel {{convert|200|km|mi|0}} to the southeast, The Gaza Strip 427 kilometres (265 mi) to the southeast, Egypt {{convert|380|km|mi|0}} to the south, and Greece to the northwest: {{convert|280|km|mi|0}} to the small Dodecanesian island of Kastellorizo (Megisti), {{convert|400|km|mi|0}} to Rhodes and {{convert|800|km|mi|0}} to the Greek mainland. Cyprus is at the crossroads of three continents, with some sources placing Cyprus in Europe,{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destination/cyprus |title=Travel – National Geographic |website=travel.nationalgeographic.com |access-date=19 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817175131/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/cyprus-facts/ |archive-date=17 August 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1016541.stm |title=BBC News – Cyprus country profile |date=23 December 2011 |access-date=1 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728172734/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1016541.stm |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Europe map / Map of Europe – Facts, Geography, History of Europe – Worldatlas.com |url=http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/eu.htm |access-date=20 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516064446/http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/eu.htm |archive-date=16 May 2015 |url-status=live}} and some sources placing Cyprus in Western Asia and the Middle East.{{cite web |title=United Nations Statistics Division- Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49) |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#asia |website=United |publisher=UNSD |access-date=20 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417070721/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#asia |archive-date=17 April 2010 |url-status=live}}{{fv|date=April 2025}}

The physical relief of the island is dominated by two mountain ranges, the Troodos Mountains and the smaller Kyrenia Range, and the central plain they encompass, the Mesaoria. The Mesaoria plain is drained by the Pedieos River, the longest on the island. The Troodos Mountains cover most of the southern and western portions of the island and account for roughly half its area. The highest point on Cyprus is Mount Olympus at {{convert|1952|m|abbr=on}}, in the centre of the Troodos range. The narrow Kyrenia Range, extending along the northern coastline, occupies substantially less area, and elevations are lower, reaching a maximum of {{convert|1024|m|abbr=on}}. The island lies within the Anatolian Plate.{{cite book|last1=Erdik |first1=Mustafa |title=Strong Ground Motion Seismology |year=2013 |page=469|author-link=Mustafa Erdik}}

Cyprus contains the Cyprus Mediterranean forests ecoregion.{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287}} It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.06/10, ranking it 59th globally out of 172 countries.{{cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M. |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |year=2020 |page=5978 |issn=2041-1723 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |pmid=33293507 |pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}

Geopolitically, the island is subdivided into four main segments. The Republic of Cyprus occupies the southern two-thirds of the island (59.74%). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third (34.85%), and the United Nations-controlled Green Line provides a buffer zone that separates the two and covers 2.67% of the island. Lastly, there are two bases under British sovereignty on the island: Akrotiri and Dhekelia, covering the remaining 2.74%.

File:Former UN tower, North Nicosia, Cyprus.jpg

{{Main|Climate of Cyprus}}

File:Chionistra winter 1.JPG experience heavy snowfall in winter.]]

Cyprus has a subtropical climate – Mediterranean and semi-arid type (in the north-eastern part of the island) – Köppen climate classifications Csa and BSh,{{cite journal |author1=Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |name-list-style=amp | year=2007 |title=Updated world map of the Köppen – Geiger climate classification |journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P |issn=1027-5606 |doi-access=free}} (direct: [http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf Final Revised Paper] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203170339/http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |date=3 February 2012}})[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malta/ CIA Factbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402195116/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malta/ |date=2 April 2021 }} – Geographic location with very mild winters (on the coast) and warm to hot summers. Snow is possible only in the Troodos Mountains in the central part of island. Rain occurs mainly in winter, with summer being generally dry.

Cyprus has one of the warmest climates in the Mediterranean part of the European Union.{{Cite web |title=Cyprus holiday weather |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/travel/holiday-weather/europe/cyprus/cyprus-weather |access-date=1 May 2023 |website=Met Office |language=en |archive-date=1 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501205120/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/travel/holiday-weather/europe/cyprus/cyprus-weather |url-status=live }} The average annual temperature on the coast is around {{convert|24|°C|°F|abbr=on}} during the day and {{convert|14|°C|°F|abbr=on}} at night. Generally, summers last about eight months, beginning in April with average temperatures of {{convert|21|-|23|C|F}} during the day and {{convert|11|-|13|C|F}} at night, and ending in November with average temperatures of {{convert|22|-|23|C|F}} during the day and {{convert|12|–|14|C|F}} at night, although in the remaining four months temperatures sometimes exceed {{convert|20|°C|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/MS/MS.nsf/DMLclimet_reports_en/DMLclimet_reports_en?OpenDocument&Start=1&Count=1000&Expand=1 |title=Meteorological Service – Climatological and Meteorological Reports |access-date=25 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621054634/http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/ms/ms.nsf/DMLclimet_reports_en/DMLclimet_reports_en?OpenDocument&Start=1&Count=1000&Expand=1 |archive-date=21 June 2010 |url-status=live}}

Sunshine hours on the coast are around 3,200 per year, from an average of 5–6 hours of sunshine per day in December to an average of 12–13 hours in July.{{cite web |url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/cyprus/ |title=Cyprus Climate Guide |access-date=5 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201044557/http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/cyprus/ |archive-date=1 December 2009 |url-status=live}} This is about double that of cities in the northern half of Europe; for comparison, London receives about 1,540 per year.{{cite web |url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcpv7fnqu |title=Met Office: Climate averages 1981–2010 |publisher=Met Office |access-date=28 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405045424/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcpv7fnqu |archive-date=5 April 2016 |url-status=live }} In December, London receives about 50 hours of sunshine while coastal locations in Cyprus about 180 hours (almost as much as in May in London).

File:Kouris Dam - overflow day 8 April 2012.jpg overflow in April 2012]]

Cyprus suffers from a chronic shortage of water. The country relies heavily on rain to provide household water, but in the past 30 years average yearly precipitation has decreased.{{cite web |author1=Department of Meteorology |title=The Climate of Cyprus |url=http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/MS/MS.nsf/DMLcyclimate_en/DMLcyclimate_en?OpenDocument |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614000827/http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/ms/ms.nsf/DMLcyclimate_en/DMLcyclimate_en?opendocument |archive-date=14 June 2015 |quote=Statistical analysis of rainfall in Cyprus reveals a decreasing trend of rainfall amounts in the last 30-year[s].}} Between 2001 and 2004, exceptionally heavy annual rainfall pushed water reserves up, with supply exceeding demand, allowing total storage in the island's reservoirs to rise to an all-time high by the start of 2005.

However, since then demand has increased annually – a result of local population growth, foreigners moving to Cyprus and the number of visiting tourists – while supply has fallen as a result of more frequent droughts (2006 European heat wave, 2018 European heat wave, 2019 European heat waves, 2022 European heat waves).

Dams remain the principal source of water both for domestic and agricultural use; Cyprus has a total of 108 dams and reservoirs, with a total water storage capacity of about {{convert|330000000|m3|-9|abbr=on}}.[http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/wdd/Wdd.nsf/All/F1C37F7EC2249715C2256CC50039DDD5?OpenDocument&highlight=108%20dams Dams of Cyprus] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014105005/http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/wdd/Wdd.nsf/All/F1C37F7EC2249715C2256CC50039DDD5?OpenDocument&highlight=108%20dams |date=14 October 2017}} Water Development Department, Republic of Cyprus. Water desalination plants are gradually being constructed to deal with recent years of prolonged drought.

The Government has invested heavily in the creation of water desalination plants which have supplied almost 50 per cent of domestic water since 2001. Efforts have also been made to raise public awareness of the situation and to encourage domestic water users to take more responsibility for the conservation of this increasingly scarce commodity.{{Cite web |url=https://moa.gov.cy/sectors/water-resources/water-development-department/?lang=en |title=Water Development Department |date=12 February 2024 |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220091822/https://moa.gov.cy/sectors/water-resources/water-development-department/?lang=en |url-status=live }}

Turkey has built a water pipeline under the Mediterranean Sea from Anamur on its southern coast to the northern coast of Cyprus, to supply Northern Cyprus with potable and irrigation water (see Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project).

{{main|Cyprus Mediterranean forests}}

{{See also|List of endemic plants of Cyprus}}

Cyprus is home to a number of endemic species, including the Cypriot mouse, the golden oak and the Cyprus cedar.

{{Main|Politics of Cyprus}}

File:Christodoulides2019a.jpg, President of Cyprus since February 2023]]

Cyprus is a presidential republic. The head of state and of the government is elected by a process of universal suffrage for a five-year term. Executive power is exercised by the government with legislative power vested in the House of Representatives whilst the Judiciary is independent of both the executive and the legislature.

The 1960 Constitution provided for a presidential system of government with independent executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as a complex system of checks and balances including a weighted power-sharing ratio designed to protect the interests of the Turkish Cypriots. The executive was led by a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president elected by their respective communities for five-year terms and each possessing a right of veto over certain types of legislation and executive decisions. Legislative power rested on the House of Representatives who were also elected on the basis of separate voters' rolls.

File:Parlanet cyprus.jpg]]

Since 1965, following clashes between the two communities, the Turkish Cypriot seats in the House have remained vacant. In 1974 Cyprus was divided de facto when the Turkish army occupied the northern third of the island. The Turkish Cypriots subsequently declared independence in 1983 as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus but were recognised only by Turkey. In 1985 the TRNC adopted a constitution and held its first elections. The United Nations recognises the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the entire island of Cyprus.

As of 2007, the House of Representatives had 56 members elected for a five-year term by proportional representation, and three observer members representing the Armenian, Latin and Maronite minorities. Twenty-four seats were allocated to the Turkish community but have remained vacant since 1964. The political environment was dominated by the communist AKEL, the liberal conservative Democratic Rally, the centrist{{cite web |author=DotNetNuke |url=http://www.diko.org.cy/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611174508/http://www.diko.org.cy/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=24 |archive-date=11 June 2007 |title=Ιδεολογική Διακήρυξη του Δημοκρατικού Κόμματος |publisher=Diko.org.cy |language=el |access-date=6 January 2009 |url-status=dead}} Democratic Party, and the social-democratic EDEK.

In 2008, Dimitris Christofias became the country's first Communist head of state. Due to his involvement in the 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis, Christofias did not run for re-election in 2013. The Presidential election in 2013 resulted in Democratic Rally candidate Nicos Anastasiades winning 57.48% of the vote. As a result, Anastasiades was sworn in on 28 February 2013. Anastasiades was re-elected with 56% of the vote in the 2018 presidential election.{{cite web |url=http://www.tribune.gr/world/news/article/434054/nikitis-ton-eklogon-stin-kypro-56-o-nikos-anastasiadis.html |title=Νικητής των εκλογών στην Κύπρο με 56% ο Νίκος Αναστασιάδης |first=Αίθουσα |last=Σύνταξης |date=4 February 2018 |access-date=5 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205003251/http://www.tribune.gr/world/news/article/434054/nikitis-ton-eklogon-stin-kypro-56-o-nikos-anastasiadis.html |archive-date=5 February 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17217956 |title=Cyprus country profile |publisher=BBC News |date=19 October 2020 |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=8 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208054957/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17217956 |url-status=live }} On 28 February 2023, Nikos Christodoulides, the winner of the 2023 presidential election run-off, was sworn in as the eighth president of the Republic of Cyprus.{{cite news |title=New Cyprus president sworn in |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230228-new-cyprus-president-sworn-in |publisher=France 24 |date=28 February 2023 |language=en |access-date=16 March 2023 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228220614/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230228-new-cyprus-president-sworn-in |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Districts of Cyprus|List of cities, towns and villages in Cyprus}}

The Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts: Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.{{cite web |url=http://europa.eu/abc/maps/members/cyprus_en.htm |title=EUROPA – The EU at a glance – Maps – Cyprus |publisher=Europa (web portal) |access-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418223806/http://europa.eu/abc/maps/members/cyprus_en.htm |archive-date=18 April 2009}}

{{centre|

{{image label begin |image=Cyprus districts not named.svg |width=550}}

{{Image label|x=0.34|y=0.34|scale=600 |text=Nicosia}}

{{Image label|x=0.26|y=0.48|scale=600 |text=Limassol}}

{{Image label|x=0.47|y=0.44|scale=600 |text=Larnaca}}

{{Image label|x=0.08|y=0.42|scale=600 |text=Paphos}}

{{Image label|x=0.585|y=0.27|scale=600 |text=Famagusta}}

{{Image label|x=0.37|y=0.215|scale=600 |text=Kyrenia}}

{{image label end}}

}}

File:Dhekelia Power Station.jpg]]

Cyprus has four exclaves, all in territory that belongs to the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia. The first two are the villages of Ormidhia and Xylotymvou. The third is the Dhekelia Power Station, which is divided by a British road into two parts. The northern part is the EAC refugee settlement. The southern part, even though located by the sea, is also an exclave because it has no territorial waters of its own, those being UK waters.{{cite web |url=http://geosite.jankrogh.com/dhekelia.htm |title=Dhekelia |website=Geosite.jankrogh.com |date=30 January 2012 |access-date=28 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424181230/http://geosite.jankrogh.com/dhekelia.htm |archive-date=24 April 2013 |url-status=live}}

The UN buffer zone runs up against Dhekelia and picks up again from its east side off Ayios Nikolaos and is connected to the rest of Dhekelia by a thin land corridor. In that sense the buffer zone turns the Paralimni area on the southeast corner of the island into a de facto, though not de jure, exclave.

{{Main|Foreign relations of Cyprus}}

The Republic of Cyprus is a member of the following international groups: Australia Group, CN, CE, CFSP, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ITUC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO.{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/archives/enlargement_process/past_enlargements/eu10/cyprus_en.htm |title=European Commission – Enlargement: Archives Country Profiles |publisher=Europa (web portal) |access-date=6 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204003532/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/archives/enlargement_process/past_enlargements/eu10/cyprus_en.htm |archive-date=4 February 2009}}

Cyprus is the 88th most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index.{{Cite web|url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf|title=2024 Global Peace Index}}

{{Main|Cypriot National Guard}}

File:Dmitry Medvedev in Cyprus 7 October 2010-2.jpeg Dmitry Medvedev by the soldiers of the Cypriot National Guard]]

The Cypriot National Guard is the main military institution of the Republic of Cyprus. It is a combined arms force, with land, air and naval elements. Historically all male citizens were required to spend 24 months serving in the National Guard after their 17th birthday, but in 2016 this period of compulsory service was reduced to 14 months.{{cite web |url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/07/15/cyprus-drastically-reduces-mandatory-army-service-to-14-months/ |title=Cyprus Drastically Reduces Mandatory Army Service to 14 Months |first=Kerry |last=Kolasa-Sikiaridi |date=15 July 2016

|website=GreekReporter.com |access-date=21 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713184252/http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/07/15/cyprus-drastically-reduces-mandatory-army-service-to-14-months/ |archive-date=13 July 2017 |url-status=live}}

Annually, approximately 10,000 persons are trained in recruit centres. Depending on their awarded speciality the conscript recruits are then transferred to speciality training camps or to operational units.

While until 2016 the armed forces were mainly conscript based, since then a large professional enlisted institution has been adopted (ΣΥΟΠ), which combined with the reduction of conscript service produces an approximate 3:1 ratio between conscript and professional enlisted.

{{Main|Cyprus Police|Human rights in Cyprus}}

File:Supreme Court of Justice old square Nicosia Republic of Cyprus Cyprus 2.jpg

The Cyprus Police (Greek: {{lang|el|Αστυνομία Κύπρου}}, {{langx|tr|Kıbrıs Polisi}}) is the only National Police Service of the Republic of Cyprus and is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993.{{cite web |title= Defence – Security – Police

|url= http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/0/E58D7CBF76D5A989C225701400505902?OpenDocument |publisher=Cyprus Government Web Portal

|access-date=11 October 2012}}{{Dead link |date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}

In "Freedom in the World 2011", Freedom House rated Cyprus as "free".[http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/cyprus Freedom in the World 2011 Report > Cyprus] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307040239/http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/cyprus |date=7 March 2013}}). Retrieved 28 June 2013. Also, p. 29. In January 2011, the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of Human Rights in Cyprus noted that the ongoing division of Cyprus continues to affect human rights throughout the island "including freedom of movement, human rights pertaining to the question of missing persons, discrimination, the right to life, freedom of religion, and economic, social and cultural rights".{{cite web |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/16session/A-HRC-16-21.pdf |title=Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of human rights in Cyprus: 16th Session, Human Rights Council, United Nations |date=7 January 2011 |publisher=Ohchr.org |access-date=14 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731132114/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/16session/A-HRC-16-21.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live}} The constant focus on the division of the island can sometimes mask other human rights issues.{{cite news|url=http://www.asylumlaw.org/docs/cyprus/usdos99_cyprus.htm |title=US Department of State Report on Human Rights in Cyprus |newspaper=Xpats.io |date=11 January 2010 |publisher=Asylumlaw.org |access-date=2010-11-17}} Prostitution is rife, and the island has been criticized for its role in the sex trade as one of the main routes of human trafficking from Eastern Europe.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26259&cat_id=1 |title=US report raps Cyprus over battle on flesh trade |author=Jean Christou |publisher=cyprus-mail.com |access-date=2007-10-13 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014803/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26259&cat_id=1 |archive-date = 30 September 2007}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=24784&cat_id=9 |title=A shame on our society |author=Jacqueline Theodoulou |publisher=cyprus-mail.com |access-date=2007-10-13 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202918/http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=24784&cat_id=9 |archive-date = 27 September 2007}}

In 2014, Turkey was ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to pay well over $100m in compensation to Cyprus for the invasion;{{Cite news |last=Borger |first=Julian |date=12 May 2014 |title = European court orders Turkey to pay damages for Cyprus invasion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/may/12/european-court-human-rights-turkey-compensation-cyprus-invasion |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 April 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150414060240/http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/may/12/european-court-human-rights-turkey-compensation-cyprus-invasion |archive-date=14 April 2015 |url-status=live }} Ankara announced that it would ignore the judgment.{{Cite news |last1=Karadeniz |first1=Tulay |last2=Tokasabay |first2=Ece |date=13 May 2014 |title=Turkey to ignore court order to pay compensation to Cyprus |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-cyprus-davutoglu-idUSBREA4C0AX20140513 | work=Reuters |access-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924200741/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/13/us-turkey-cyprus-davutoglu-idUSBREA4C0AX20140513 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live }} In 2014, a group of Cypriot refugees and a European parliamentarian, later joined by the Cypriot government, filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice, accusing Turkey of violating the Geneva Conventions by directly or indirectly transferring its civilian population into occupied territory.{{citation needed |date=September 2018}} Other violations of the Geneva and the Hague Conventions—both ratified by Turkey—amount to what archaeologist Sophocles Hadjisavvas called "the organised destruction of Greek and Christian heritage in the north". These violations include looting of cultural treasures, deliberate destruction of churches, neglect of works of art, and altering the names of important historical sites, which was condemned by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Hadjisavvas has asserted that these actions are motivated by a Turkish policy of erasing the Greek presence in Northern Cyprus within a framework of ethnic cleansing. But some perpetrators are just motivated by greed and are seeking profit.{{cite journal |last=Hadjisavvas |first=S. |year=2015 |title=Perishing Heritage: The Case of the Occupied Part of Cyprus |jstor=10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.3.2.0128 |journal=Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies |volume=3 |number=2 |pages=128–140 |doi=10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.3.2.0128}} Quote on p. 129: "the deliberate destruction of [Greek] heritage as an instrument toward the obliteration of an identity of a people in the framework of ethnic cleansing." Art law expert Alessandro Chechi has classified the connection of cultural heritage destruction to ethnic cleansing as the "Greek Cypriot viewpoint", which he reports as having been dismissed by two PACE reports. Chechi asserts joint Greek and Turkish Cypriot responsibility for the destruction of cultural heritage in Cyprus, noting the destruction of Turkish Cypriot heritage in the hands of Greek Cypriot extremists.{{cite book |last1=Chechi |first1=Alessandro |editor1-last=Benzo |editor1-first=Andrea |editor2-last=Ferrari |editor2-first=Silvio |title=Between Cultural Diversity and Common Heritage: Legal and Religious Perspectives on the Sacred Places of the Mediterranean |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |pages=314–316 |chapter=Sacred heritage in Cyprus: bolstering protection through the implementation of international law standards and the adoption of an object-oriented approach}}

{{Main|Economy of Cyprus}}

File:Cyprus central bank Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.jpg]]

In the early 21st century, Cyprus boasted a prosperous service-based economy that made it the wealthiest of the ten countries that joined the European Union in 2004. However, the Cypriot economy was later damaged by the 2008 financial crisis and the Eurozone crisis. In June 2012, the Cypriot government announced it would need €{{Nowrap|1.8 billion}} in foreign aid to support the Cyprus Popular Bank, and this was followed by Fitch downgrading Cyprus's credit rating to junk status.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18577983 |title=Cyprus's credit rating cut to junk status by Fitch |date=25 June 2012 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC News Online |access-date=25 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628131610/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18577983 |archive-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=live}} Fitch stated Cyprus would need an additional €{{Nowrap|4 billion}} to support its banks and the downgrade was mainly due to the exposure of Bank of Cyprus, Cyprus Popular Bank, and Hellenic Bank, Cyprus's three largest banks, to the Greek government-debt crisis.

File:BlueEurozone.svg (dark blue) and of the EU single market.]]

The 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis led to an agreement with the Eurogroup in March 2013 to split Cyprus Popular Bank, into a "bad" bank which would be wound down over time and a "good" bank which would be absorbed by the Bank of Cyprus. In return for a €10 billion bailout from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, often referred to as the "troika", the Cypriot government was required to impose a significant haircut on uninsured deposits, a large proportion of which were held by wealthy Russians who used Cyprus as a tax haven. Insured deposits of €100,000 or less were not affected.{{cite web |title=Eurogroup Statement on Cyprus|url=http://eurozone.europa.eu/newsroom/news/2013/03/eg-statement-cyprus-25-03-13/ |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171011040449/http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/splash/?requested=%2fcouncil-eu%2feurogroup%2f |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2017 |publisher=Eurogroup|access-date=30 March 2013 |date=25 March 2013}}{{cite news |author=Jan Strupczewski |author2=Annika Breidthardt |title=Last-minute Cyprus deal to close bank, force losses |work=Reuters |date=25 March 2013 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyprus-parliament-idUSBRE92G03I20130325 |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325042059/https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/us-cyprus-parliament-idUSBRE92G03I20130325 |archive-date=25 March 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Eurogroup signs off on bailout agreement reached by Cyprus and troika |newspaper=Ekathimerini |location=Greece |date=25 March 2013 |url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_25/03/2013_489702 |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326124216/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_25/03/2013_489702 |archive-date=26 March 2013 |url-status=live}}

File:Limassol New General Hospital 03.JPG

Cyprus made a staggering{{Clarify|date=May 2024}} economic recovery in the 2010s,{{Cite web |title=Cyprus country update October 2019 {{!}} Atradius |url=https://group.atradius.com/publications/economic-research/cyprus-update-october-2019.html |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=group.atradius.com |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101012641/https://group.atradius.com/publications/economic-research/cyprus-update-october-2019.html |url-status=live }} and according to the 2023 International Monetary Fund estimates, Cyprus' per capita GDP at $54,611 is the highest in Southern Europe, though slightly below the European Union average.{{Cite web |title=GDP per capita, current prices |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPPC@WEO/EUQ/CYP/EU |access-date=3 October 2023 |website=imf.org |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021104923/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPPC@WEO/EUQ/CYP/EU |url-status=live }} Tourism, financial services and shipping are significant parts of the economy, and Cyprus has been sought as a base for several offshore businesses due its low tax rates and ease of doing business. Robust growth was achieved in the 1980s and 1990s, due to the focus placed by Cypriot governments on meeting the criteria for admission to the European Union.{{Cite web |last=European Commission |date=8 November 2000 |title=2000 regular report from the commission on Cyprus' progress towards accession |url=https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2016-12/cy_en_1.pdf |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=Europa.eu |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024154652/https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2016-12/cy_en_1.pdf |url-status=live }} The Cypriot government adopted the euro as the national currency on 1 January 2008, replacing the Cypriot pound.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/All/2E23E22A811DE449C2256EBD004F3BEB?OpenDocument |title=Cyprus Economy |access-date=4 May 2007 |work=Republic of Cyprus |publisher=cyprus.gov.cy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623090342/http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/All/2E23E22A811DE449C2256EBD004F3BEB?OpenDocument |archive-date=23 June 2012}}

Cyprus is the last EU member fully isolated from energy interconnections and it is expected that it will be connected to European network via the EuroAsia Interconnector, a 2000 MW high-voltage direct current undersea power cable.{{cite web |url=http://www.euroasia-interconnector.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EuroAsia_Interconnector_Project_Overall_leaflet_English.pdf |title=The EuroAsia Interconnector |access-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216204549/http://www.euroasia-interconnector.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EuroAsia_Interconnector_Project_Overall_leaflet_English.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2018 |url-status=live}} EuroAsia Interconnector will connect Greek, Cypriot, and Israeli power grids. It is a leading Project of Common Interest of the European Union and also priority Electricity Highway Interconnector Project.{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/cef-energy/projects-by-country/multi-country/3.10.1-0004-cyel-s-m-16 |title=EU Projects by country |access-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117013332/https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/connecting-europe-facility/cef-energy/projects-by-country/multi-country/3.10.1-0004-cyel-s-m-16 |archive-date=17 January 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/infrastructure/projects-common-interest/funding-projects-common-interest |title=Funding for Projects of Common Interest – Energy – European Commission |website=Energy |date=5 April 2017 |access-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083951/https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/infrastructure/projects-common-interest/funding-projects-common-interest |archive-date=27 January 2018 |url-status=live}}

In recent years significant quantities of offshore natural gas have been discovered in the area known as Aphrodite (at the exploratory drilling block 12) in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ),{{cite news |last=Gilson |first=George |title=Something sizzling in Cyprus: gas shakes regional chessboard |url=http://www.athensnews.gr/issue/13427/36582 |newspaper=Athens News |date=23 January 2011 |access-date=7 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128165535/http://www.athensnews.gr/issue/13427/36582 |archive-date=28 January 2012}} about {{convert|175|km|0|abbr=off}} south of Limassol at 33°5'40″N and 32°59'0″E.{{cite news |last=Ali |first=Jaber |title=Lebanese Cabinet discusses offshore energy policies |url=http://www.middle-east-confidential.com/1470-lebanese-cabinet-discusses-offshore-energy-policies.html |newspaper=Middle East Confidential |date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118191351/http://www.middle-east-confidential.com/1470-lebanese-cabinet-discusses-offshore-energy-policies.html |archive-date=18 January 2012 |access-date=7 September 2011}} However, Turkey's offshore drilling companies have accessed both natural gas and oil resources since 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-may-drill-for-oil-and-gas-in-cyprus-minister.aspx?PageID=238&NID=55114&NewsCatID=348 |title=Turkey may drill for oil and gas in Cyprus: Minister – ENERGY |date=25 September 2013 |access-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202172134/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-may-drill-for-oil-and-gas-in-cyprus-minister.aspx?PageID=238&NID=55114&NewsCatID=348 |archive-date=2 February 2014 |url-status=live}} Cyprus demarcated its maritime border with Egypt in 2003, with Lebanon in 2007,{{cite web |title=Cyprus – Exclusive Economic Zone – Turkey's provocative behaviour |url=http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/0/FE475A6A54F2F7B2C225757100257AD4?opendocument |publisher=Republic of Cyprus |date=10 August 2011 |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111063117/http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/0/FE475A6A54F2F7B2C225757100257AD4?opendocument |archive-date=11 January 2012 |url-status=live}} and with Israel in 2010.{{cite news |title='Don't attempt to test Turkey's past' |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=8216don8217t-attempt-to-test-turkey8217s-past8217-2011-09-06 |newspaper=Hürriyet Daily News |date=6 September 2011 |location=Istanbul |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908052540/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=8216don8217t-attempt-to-test-turkey8217s-past8217-2011-09-06 |archive-date=8 September 2011 |url-status=live}} In August 2011, the US-based firm Noble Energy entered into a production-sharing agreement with the Cypriot government regarding the block's commercial development.{{cite news |last=Ament |first=Carol|title=Full speed ahead for Cyprus drilling|url=http://famagusta-gazette.com/full-speed-ahead-for-cyprus-drilling-p12736-69.htm|access-date=7 September 2011|newspaper=Famagusta Gazette|date=19 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326132611/http://famagusta-gazette.com/full-speed-ahead-for-cyprus-drilling-p12736-69.htm|archive-date=26 March 2012|url-status=dead}}

Turkey, which does not recognise the border agreements of Cyprus with its neighbours,{{cite news |title=Noble Energy: Good chance of large gas find off Cyprus |url=http://www.neurope.eu/article/noble-energy-good-chance-large-gas-find-cyprus |newspaper=New Europe |date=20 February 2011 |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330094744/http://www.neurope.eu/article/noble-energy-good-chance-large-gas-find-cyprus |archive-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead}} threatened to mobilise its naval forces if Cyprus proceeded with plans to begin drilling at Block 12.{{cite news |title=Ankara threatens naval action over Cyprus' Block 12 drill |url=http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/77401/Ankara_threatens_naval_action_over_Cyprus_Block_12_drill |newspaper=PanARMENIAN.Net |date=6 September 2011 |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406202940/http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/77401/Ankara_threatens_naval_action_over_Cyprus_Block_12_drill |archive-date=6 April 2012 |url-status=live}} Cyprus's drilling efforts have the support of the US, EU, and UN, and on 19 September 2011 drilling in Block 12 began without any incidents being reported.{{cite news |title=Turkey's Miscalculation Over Cypriot Drilling |url=https://www.stratfor.com/sample/geopolitical-diary/turkeys-miscalculation-over-cypriot-drilling |work=Stratfor News |date=20 September 2011 |access-date=12 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614012637/https://www.stratfor.com/sample/geopolitical-diary/turkeys-miscalculation-over-cypriot-drilling |archive-date=14 June 2015}}

{{Main|Transport in Cyprus|Communications in Cyprus}}

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Cyprus is one of only three EU nations in which vehicles drive on the left-hand side of the road, a remnant of British rule. A series of motorways runs along the coast from Paphos to Ayia Napa, with two motorways running inland to Nicosia, one from Limassol and one from Larnaca.

Per capita private car ownership is the 29th-highest in the world.{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.VEH.NVEH.P3 |title=World Bank Data: Motor vehicles (per 1,000 people) |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=27 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209114811/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.VEH.NVEH.P3 |archive-date=9 February 2014}} There were approximately 344,000 privately owned vehicles, and a total of 517,000 registered motor vehicles in the Republic of Cyprus in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/PWD/PWD.nsf/All/1099BBC9002543B4C225713B00147808?Opendocument |title=Public Works Department official statistics |publisher=Mcw.gov.cy |date=24 March 2006 |access-date=25 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326001533/http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/PWD/PWD.nsf/All/1099BBC9002543B4C225713B00147808?Opendocument |archive-date=26 March 2012}} In 2006, plans were announced to improve and expand bus services and other public transport throughout Cyprus, with the financial backing of the European Union Development Bank. In 2010 the new bus network was implemented.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprusbybus.com/ |title=Cyprus By Bus |access-date=16 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218190605/http://www.cyprusbybus.com/ |archive-date=18 February 2011 |url-status=live}}

Cyprus has two international airports in the government-controlled areas, the busier one being in Larnaca and the other in Paphos.{{cite book |title=The Stateman's Yearbook |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |page=386 |chapter=Cyprus}} The Ercan International Airport is the only active one in the non-government-controlled areas, but all international flights there must have a stopover in Turkey.{{cite web |title='Direct' flights to the north will go via Turkey |url=https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/09/23/direct-flights-to-the-north-will-go-via-turkey/ |publisher=Cyprus Mail |access-date=23 January 2023 |date=23 September 2022 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123001834/https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/09/23/direct-flights-to-the-north-will-go-via-turkey/ |url-status=live }}

The main harbours of the island are Limassol and Larnaca, which serve cargo, passenger and cruise ships.

Cyta, the state-owned telecommunications company, manages most telecommunications and Internet connections on the island. However, following deregulation of the sector, a few private telecommunications companies emerged, including epic, Cablenet, OTEnet Telecom, Omega Telecom and PrimeTel. In the non-government-controlled areas of Cyprus, two different companies administer the mobile phone network: Turkcell and KKTC Telsim.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

{{Main|Demographics of Cyprus|List of cities, towns and villages in Cyprus}}

File:Cyprus-demography.png

File:Cypruspop-2010.svg

According to the Republic of Cyprus' website, the population in the government controlled areas was 918,100 at the 2021 Census, with the most populous district being Nicosia (38%), followed by Limassol (28%).{{Cite web |last=CYSTAT |title=2021 Census Results |url=https://www.census2021.cystat.gov.cy/Announements/18%20May%202022%20CENSUS%20OF%20POPULATION%20-%20PRELIMINARY%20RESULTS.pdf |access-date=15 December 2023 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119132756/https://www.census2021.cystat.gov.cy/Announements/18%20May%202022%20CENSUS%20OF%20POPULATION%20-%20PRELIMINARY%20RESULTS.pdf |url-status=live }} The Nicosia Metropolitan area, consisting of seven municipalities, is the largest urban area on the island with a population of 255,309.{{Cite web |last=Government Website (Aftodoiikisi) |title=2021 population statistics |url=https://www.aftodioikisi.com.cy/%ce%bf-%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%ba%cf%81%cf%8c%cf%84%ce%b5%cf%81%ce%bf%cf%82-%ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%b9-%ce%bc%ce%b5%ce%b3%ce%b1%ce%bb%cf%8d%cf%84%ce%b5%cf%81%ce%bf%cf%82-%ce%b4%ce%ae%ce%bc%ce%bf%cf%82-%ce%ba%ce%bf/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021110912/https://www.aftodioikisi.com.cy/%CE%BF-%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%81%CF%8C%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%B3%CE%B1%CE%BB%CF%8D%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%B4%CE%AE%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%BF/ |url-status=live }}

As per the first population census after independence, carried out in December 1960 and covering the entire island, Cyprus had a total population of 573,566, of whom 442,138 (77.1%) were Greeks, 104,320 (18.2%) Turks, and 27,108 (4.7%) others.Hatay, Mete "Is the Turkish Cypriot Population Shrinking?", International Peace Research Institute, 2007. Pages 22–23. The CIA World Factbook calculated that in 2001, Greek Cypriots comprised 77%, Turkish Cypriots 18%, and others 5% of the total Cypriot population.{{cite web |title=The World Factbook – Ethnic Groups |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html#cy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625160623/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html#cy |archive-date=25 June 2014 |access-date=22 June 2013 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}{{cite book |last=Hadjipavlou |first=Maria |title=Peace Education: The Concept, Principles, and Practices Around the World |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8058-4193-0 |editor1-last=Salomon |editor1-first=Gavriel |page=195 |chapter=Cyprus: A Partnership Between Conflict Resolution and Peace Education |editor2-last=Nevo |editor2-first=Baruch}}

Due to the inter-communal ethnic tensions between 1963 and 1974, an island-wide census was regarded as impossible. Nevertheless, the Cypriot government conducted one in 1973, without the Turkish Cypriot populace.{{cite book |last=St John-Jones |first=L.W. |year=1983 |title=The Population of Cyprus: Demographic Trends and Socio-Economic Influences |place=London |publisher=Maurice Temple Smith Ltd |page=17 |isbn=978-0-85117-232-3}} According to this census, the Greek Cypriot population was 482,000. One year later, in 1974, the Cypriot government's Department of Statistics and Research estimated the total population of Cyprus at 641,000; of whom 506,000 (78.9%) were Greeks, and 118,000 (18.4%) Turkish.{{cite web |author=Cyprus Ministry of Interior |year=1992 |title=The Demographic Structure of Cyprus |url=http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/20C7614D06858E9FC2256DC200380113/$file/cuco%20report.pdf?OpenElement |publisher=Parliamentary Assembly |page=6 |access-date=22 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107111845/http://www.moi.gov.cy/MOI/pio/pio.nsf/All/20C7614D06858E9FC2256DC200380113/$file/cuco%20report.pdf?OpenElement |archive-date=7 January 2011 |url-status=live}} After the military occupation of part of the island in 1974, the government of Cyprus conducted six more censuses: in 1976, 1982, 1992, 2001, 2011 and 2021; these excluded the Turkish population which was resident in non-government-controlled areas of the island.

In addition to this, the Republic of Cyprus is home to 110,200 foreign permanent residents{{citation |author=Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service|year=2006 |title= Demographic Report 2005 |location=Nicosia |publisher=Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service|page=12}} and an estimated 10,000–30,000 undocumented illegal immigrants.{{cite web |last1=Nicos |first1=Trimikliniotis |last2=Demetriou |first2=Corina |year=2007 |title=Active Civic Participation of Immigrants in Cyprus |url=http://www.politis-europe.uni-oldenburg.de/download/Cyprus.pdf |publisher=POLITIS |page=8 |access-date=22 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511082254/http://www.politis-europe.uni-oldenburg.de/download/Cyprus.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live}} As of 2011, there were 10,520 people of Russian origin living in Cyprus.{{cite book |last1=Boyle |first1=Kevin |url=https://archive.org/details/freedomofreligio00kevi |title=Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report |last2=Sheen |first2=Juliet |publisher=Routledge |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-415-15978-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/freedomofreligio00kevi/page/288 288] |url-access=registration}}{{cite book |last=Salih |first=Halil Ibrahim |title=Cyprus: Ethnic Political Counterpoints |publisher=University Press of America |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-415-15978-4 |page=121}}

According to the 2006 census carried out by Northern Cyprus, there were 256,644 (de jure) people living in Northern Cyprus. 178,031 were citizens of Northern Cyprus, of whom 147,405 were born in Cyprus (112,534 from the north; 32,538 from the south; 371 did not indicate what region of Cyprus they were from); 27,333 born in Turkey; 2,482 born in the UK and 913 born in Bulgaria. Of the 147,405 citizens born in Cyprus, 120,031 say both parents were born in Cyprus; 16,824 say both parents born in Turkey; 10,361 have one parent born in Turkey and one parent born in Cyprus.{{cite web |url=http://nufussayimi.devplan.org/Census%202006.pdf |title=Census.XLS |access-date=25 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116120824/http://nufussayimi.devplan.org/Census%202006.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013}}

In 2010, the International Crisis Group estimated that the total population of the island was 1.1 million,{{cite web |author=International Crisis Group |year=2010 |title=Cyprus: Bridging the Property Divide |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/turkey-cyprus/cyprus/210%20Cyprus%20-%20Bridging%20the%20Property%20Divide.ashx |publisher=International Crisis Group |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103083632/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/turkey-cyprus/cyprus/210%20Cyprus%20-%20Bridging%20the%20Property%20Divide.ashx |archive-date=3 November 2011}} of which there were an estimated 300,000 residents in the north, perhaps half of whom were either born in Turkey or are children of such settlers.{{cite web |author=International Crisis Group |year=2010 |title=Cyprus: Bridging the Property Divide |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/turkey-cyprus/cyprus/210%20Cyprus%20-%20Bridging%20the%20Property%20Divide.ashx |publisher=International Crisis Group |page=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103083632/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/turkey-cyprus/cyprus/210%20Cyprus%20-%20Bridging%20the%20Property%20Divide.ashx |archive-date=3 November 2011}}

The villages of Rizokarpaso (in Northern Cyprus), Potamia (in Nicosia district) and Pyla (in Larnaca District) are the only settlements remaining with a mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot population.{{cite web |url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cyprus-population/ |website=WorldPopulationReview.com |access-date=25 January 2019 |title=Cyprus Population 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223171935/http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cyprus-population/ |archive-date=23 February 2019 |url-status=live}}

Y-Dna haplogroups are found at the following frequencies in Cyprus: J (43.07% including 6.20% J1), E1b1b (20.00%), R1 (12.30% including 9.2% R1b), F (9.20%), I (7.70%), K (4.60%), A (3.10%).(n=65), {{Cite journal

|last1= Capelli |first1= C.

|last2= Redhead |first2= N.

|last3= Romano |first3= V.

|last4= Cali |first4= F.

|last5= Lefranc |first5= G.

|last6= Delague |first6= V.

|last7= Megarbane |first7= A.

|last8= Felice |first8= A. E.

|last9= Pascali |first9= V. L.

|last10= Neophytou |first10= P. I.

|last11= Poulli |first11= Z.

|last12= Novelletto |first12= A.

|last13= Malaspina |first13= P.

|last14= Terrenato |first14= L.

|last15= Berebbi |first15= A.

|last16= Fellous |first16= M.

|last17= Thomas |first17= M. G.

|last18= Goldstein |first18= D. B.

|title = Population Structure in the Mediterranean Basin: A Y Chromosome Perspective

|doi = 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2005.00224.x

|journal= Annals of Human Genetics

|volume= 70

|issue= 2

|pages= 207–225

|year= 2006

|pmid= 16626331

| hdl = 2108/37090

| s2cid = 25536759

| hdl-access = free

}} J, K, F and E1b1b haplogroups consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Outside Cyprus there are significant and thriving diasporas – both a Greek Cypriot diaspora and a Turkish Cypriot diaspora – in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the United States, Greece and Turkey.

According to Council of Europe, approximately 1,250 Romani people live in Cyprus.{{Cite web|url=https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/roma-eu/roma-equality-inclusion-and-participation-eu-country/cyprus_en#:~:text=Contacts-,Facts+and+figures,0.16%25+of+the+population).|title=Cyprus - European Commission|website=commission.europa.eu}}

{{Largest cities of Cyprus}}

{{Main|Religion in Cyprus}}

{{bar box

|title=Religion in Cyprus (Pew Research){{cite web |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/cyprus/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |title=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Cyprus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717053131/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/cyprus/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |archive-date=17 July 2014 |publisher=Pew Research Center |date=2010}}{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Cyprus|access-date=9 February 2010}}

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Religion

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent|Eastern Orthodoxy|purple|78}}

{{bar percent|Islam|green|20}}

{{bar percent|Other|grey|1}}

{{bar percent|None|black|1}}

}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = Kloster Kykkos BW 2023-09-20 10-56-59.jpg

| width1 = 180

| alt1 =

| caption1 =

| image2 = Larnaca 01-2017 img30 Salt Lake.jpg

| width2 = 180

| alt2 =

| caption2 =

| footer = Kykkos Monastery in Pedoulas (left) and Hala Sultan Tekke near Larnaca Salt Lake (right)

}}

The majority of Greek Cypriots identify as Christians, specifically Greek Orthodox,{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/All/817E9279C04E4480C2257023002B858C?OpenDocument |title=About Cyprus – Towns and Population |work=Government Web Portal – Areas of Interest |publisher=Government of Cyprus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225142919/http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/All/817E9279C04E4480C2257023002B858C?OpenDocument |archive-date=25 February 2012 |access-date=9 February 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cytoc.html |title=A Country Study: Cyprus |last=Solsten |first=Eric |date=January 1991 |work=Federal Research Division |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=9 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905040619/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cytoc.html |archive-date=5 September 2011 |url-status=live}} whereas most Turkish Cypriots are adherents of Sunni Islam. The first President of Cyprus, Makarios III, was an archbishop.

Hala Sultan Tekke, situated near the Larnaca Salt Lake is an object of pilgrimage for Muslims.

According to the 2001 census carried out in the government-controlled areas,{{cite web |url=http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/populationcondition_en/populationcondition_en?OpenDocument&sub=2&e= |publisher=Statistical Service of Cyprus: Population and Social Statistics |title=Main Results of the 2001 Census |access-date=28 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821110627/http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/populationcondition_en/populationcondition_en?OpenDocument&sub=2&e= |archive-date=21 August 2010}} 94.8% of the population was Eastern Orthodox, 0.9% Armenian and Maronite, 1.5% Roman Catholic, 1.0% Church of England, and 0.6% Muslim. There is also a Jewish community on Cyprus. The remaining 1.3% adhered to other religious denominations or did not state their religion. The Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic Church, and both the Maronite and Latin Catholics are constitutionally recognised denominations and exempt from taxes.{{cite web |url=https://acninternational.org/religiousfreedomreport/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Cyprus.pdf |title=Religious Freedom in the World Report 2021: Cyprus |publisher=ACN International |access-date=8 February 2023 |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222201819/https://acninternational.org/religiousfreedomreport/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Cyprus.pdf |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Languages of Cyprus}}

File:Armenian Alphabet.jpg. Armenian is recognised as a minority language in Cyprus.]]

Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish.{{Cite book |url=http://www.presidency.gov.cy/presidency/presidency.nsf/all/1003AEDD83EED9C7C225756F0023C6AD/$file/CY_Constitution.pdf |title=The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus |publisher=President of the Republic of Cyprus |section=Article 3 |page=2 |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001544/http://www.presidency.gov.cy/presidency/presidency.nsf/all/1003AEDD83EED9C7C225756F0023C6AD/$file/CY_Constitution.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=dead}} Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic are recognised as minority languages.{{cite web |url=http://languagecharter.eokik.hu/sites/StatesParties/Cyprus.htm |title=Implementation of the Charter in Cyprus |work=Database for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages |publisher=Public Foundation for European Comparative Minority Research |access-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207055025/http://languagecharter.eokik.hu/sites/StatesParties/Cyprus.htm |archive-date=7 February 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/languages/langmin/euromosaic/cy1_en.html |title=EUROPA – Education and Training – Regional and minority languages – Euromosaïc study |work=Europa (web portal) |date=27 October 2006 |access-date=3 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704194723/http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/languages/langmin/euromosaic/cy1_en.html |archive-date=4 July 2010}} Although without official status, English is widely spoken and features widely on road signs and in public notices and advertisements.{{cite book |editor1-last=Ammon |editor1-first=Ulrich |editor2-last=Dittmar |editor2-first=Norbert |editor3-last=Mattheier |editor3-first=Klaus J. |editor4-last=Trudgill |editor4-first=Peter |chapter=Greece and Cyprus |pages=1881–1889 |title=Sociolinguistics: an international handbook of the science of language and society / Soziolinguistik: ein internationales Handbuch zur Wissenschaft von Sprache und Gesellschaft |year=2006 |edition=2nd |series=Handbooks of linguistics and communication science / Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft |volume=3 |location=Berlin |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783110184181 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517130217/https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C |url-status=live }} English was the sole official language during British colonial rule and the lingua franca until 1960, and continued to be used (de facto) in courts of law until 1989 and in legislation until 1996.{{cite book |editor1-last=European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture |title=Euromosaic III: Presence of regional and minority language groups in the new member states |date=2006 |publisher=Office for official publications of the European communities |location=Brussels |isbn=978-92-79-01291-4 |pages=19–23 |url=http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/euromosaic-iii-pbNC7406031/ |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517130232/https://op.europa.eu/en/web/general-publications/publications |url-status=live }} In 2010, 80.4% of Cypriots were proficient in English as a second language.{{cite web |last1=Mejer |first1=Lene |last2=Boateng |first2=Sadi q Kwesi |last3=Turchetti |first3=Paolo |title=Population and social conditions |series=Statistics in Focus |issue=49/2010 |year=2010 |publisher=eurostat |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3433488/5565660/KS-SF-10-049-EN.PDF |access-date=13 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217061503/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3433488/5565660/KS-SF-10-049-EN.PDF |archive-date=17 February 2016 |url-status=live}} Russian is widely spoken among the country's minorities, residents and citizens of post-Soviet countries, and Pontic Greeks. Russian, after English and Greek, is the third language used on many signs of shops and restaurants, particularly in Limassol and Paphos. In addition, in 2006, 12% of the population spoke French and 5% spoke German.[http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf Europeans and their Languages] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414102658/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf |date=14 April 2016}}, Eurobarometer, European Commission, 2006.

The everyday spoken language of Greek Cypriots is Cypriot Greek, and that of Turkish Cypriots is Cypriot Turkish. These vernaculars both differ from their standard registers significantly.

{{Main|Education in Cyprus}}

File:Izgled-Faneromeni shool and the Mausoleum of the Martyrs of 9 July 1821, Nicosia-2.jpg is the oldest all-girl primary school in Cyprus.]]

Cyprus has a highly developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education. The high quality of instruction can be attributed in part to the fact that nearly 7% of the GDP is spent on education which makes Cyprus one of the top three spenders of education in the EU along with Denmark and Sweden.[http://www.childinfo.org/files/IND_Cyprus.pdf UNICEF, Division of Policy and Practice, Statistics and Monitoring Section] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510004016/http://www.childinfo.org/files/IND_Cyprus.pdf |date=10 May 2011}} childinfo.org, May 2008. Cyprus was ranked 27th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.{{Cite book |author=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}

State schools are generally seen as equivalent in quality of education to private-sector institutions. However, the value of a state high-school diploma is limited by the fact that the grades obtained account for only around 25% of the final grade for each topic, with the remaining 75% assigned by the teacher during the semester, in a minimally transparent way. Cypriot universities (like universities in Greece) ignore high school grades almost entirely for admissions purposes. While a high-school diploma is mandatory for university attendance, admissions are decided almost exclusively on the basis of scores at centrally administered university entrance examinations that all university candidates are required to take.

The majority of Cypriots receive their higher education at Greek, British, Turkish, other European and North American universities. Cyprus currently{{when|date=May 2019}} has the highest percentage of citizens of working age who have higher-level education in the EU at 30% which is ahead of Finland's 29.5%. In addition, 47% of its population aged 25–34 have tertiary education, which is the highest in the EU. The body of Cypriot students is highly mobile, with 78.7% studying in a university outside Cyprus.

File:Pagkiprio High school entrance Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.jpg]]

Greek and Turkish Cypriots share many cultural traits, while also possessing some differences. Several traditional food (such as souvla and halloumi) and beverages are similar,{{Cite journal |last=Hatay |first=Mete |date=2006 |title=The Levantine Legacy of Cypriot Culinary Culture |url=https://cyprusreview.org/index.php/cr/article/view/296/258 |journal=Cyprus Review |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=129–142 |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416101814/https://cyprusreview.org/index.php/cr/article/view/296/258 |url-status=live }} as well as expressions and ways of life. Hospitality and buying or offering food and drinks for guests or others are common among both. In both communities, music, dance and art are integral parts of social life and many artistic, verbal and nonverbal expressions, traditional dances such as tsifteteli, similarities in dance costumes and importance placed on social activities are shared between the communities.{{cite book |last1=Fong |first1=Mary |last2=Chuang |first2=Rueyling |title=Communicating Ethnic and Cultural Identity |date=2004 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-1739-4 |page=286 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ue4CCUhRYa4C&pg=PA286 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517130338/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ue4CCUhRYa4C&pg=PA286#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} However, the two communities have distinct religions and religious cultures, with the Greek Cypriots traditionally being Greek Orthodox and Turkish Cypriots traditionally being Sunni Muslims, which has partly hindered cultural exchange.{{cite book |title=Cyprus in Europe: Seizing the Momentum of Nice |author=Patrick R. Hugg |publisher=Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law |date=November 2001 |ssrn=2257945}} Greek Cypriots have influences from Greece and Christianity, while Turkish Cypriots have influences from Turkey and Islam.

The Limassol Carnival Festival is an annual carnival which is held at Limassol, in Cyprus. The event which is very popular in Cyprus was introduced in the 20th century.{{Sfn|Merin|Burdick1979|p=82}}

{{See also|List of Cypriot artists}}

File:Classic aristocratic houses in Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.jpg, Cyprus]]

The art history of Cyprus can be said to stretch back up to 10,000 years, following the discovery of a series of Chalcolithic period carved figures in the villages of Khoirokoitia and Lempa.{{cite web |url=http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/arch/lemba/homepage.html |title=Lemba Archaeological Research Centre |publisher=Arcl.ed.ac.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117041553/http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/arch/lemba/homepage.html |archive-date=17 January 2013 |access-date=25 October 2009}} The island is the home to numerous examples of high quality religious icon painting from the Middle Ages as well as many painted churches. Cypriot architecture was heavily influenced by French Gothic and Italian renaissance introduced in the island during the era of Latin domination (1191–1571).

A well known traditional art that dates at least from the 14th century is the Lefkara lace, which originates from the village of Lefkara. Lefkara lace is recognised as an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) by UNESCO, and it is characterised by distinct design patterns, and its intricate, time-consuming production process. Another local form of art that originated from Lefkara is the production of Cypriot Filigree (locally known as Trifourenio), a type of jewellery that is made with twisted threads of silver.

In modern times Cypriot art history begins with the painter Vassilis Vryonides (1883–1958) who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.Chrysanthos Christou, A short History of Modern and Contemporary Cypriot Art, Nicosia 1983. Arguably the two founding fathers of modern Cypriot art were Adamantios Diamantis (1900–1994) who studied at London's Royal College of Art and

Christophoros Savva (1924–1968) who also studied in London, at Saint Martin's School of Art.{{cite web |url=https://www.hatjecantz.de/christoforos-savva-7519-1.html#:~:text=Christoforos%20Savva%20(1924%E2%80%931968),newly%20established%20Republic%20of%20Cyprus. |title=Christoforos Savva |publisher=www.hatjecantz.de |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=19 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919011443/https://www.hatjecantz.de/christoforos-savva-7519-1.html#:~:text=Christoforos%20Savva%20(1924%E2%80%931968),newly%20established%20Republic%20of%20Cyprus. |url-status=live }} In 1960, Savva founded, together with Welsh artist Glyn Hughes, Apophasis [Decision], the first independent cultural centre of the newly established Republic of Cyprus. In 1968, Savva was among the artists representing Cyprus in its inaugural Pavilion at the 34th Venice Biennale. English Cypriot Artist [http://glynhughesart.com/ Glyn HUGHES] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619052247/http://glynhughesart.com/ |date=19 June 2021 }} 1931–2014.Ministry of Education and Culture, State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art (Nicosia: MOEC,1998) In many ways these two artists set the template for subsequent Cypriot art and both their artistic styles and the patterns of their education remain influential to this day. In particular the majority of Cypriot artists still train in EnglandMichael Paraskos, "The Art of Modern Cyprus", in Sunjet, Spring 2002, 62f while others train at art schools in Greece and local art institutions such as the Cyprus College of Art, University of Nicosia and the Frederick Institute of Technology.

One of the features of Cypriot art is a tendency towards figurative painting although conceptual art is being rigorously promoted by a number of art "institutions" and most notably the Nicosia Municipal Art Centre. Municipal art galleries exist in all the main towns and there is a large and lively commercial art scene.

Other notable Greek Cypriot artists include Panayiotis Kalorkoti, Nicos Nicolaides, Stass Paraskos, Telemachos Kanthos, and Chris Achilleos; and Turkish Cypriot artists include İsmet Güney, Ruzen Atakan and Mutlu Çerkez.

{{Main|Music of Cyprus}}

File:Laghouto.jpg, dominant instrument of the Cypriot traditional music]]

The traditional folk music of Cyprus has several common elements with Greek, Turkish, and Arabic Music, all of which have descended from Byzantine music, including Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot dances such as the tillirkotissa, as well as the Middle Eastern-inspired tsifteteli and arapies. There is also a form of musical poetry known as chattista which is often performed at traditional feasts and celebrations. The instruments commonly associated with Cyprus folk music are the violin ("fkiolin"), lute ("laouto"), Cyprus flute (pithkiavlin), oud ("outi"), kanonaki and percussions (including the "tamboutsia"). Composers associated with traditional Cypriot music include Solon Michaelides, Marios Tokas, Evagoras Karageorgis and Savvas Salides. Among musicians is also the acclaimed pianist Cyprien Katsaris, composer Andreas G. Orphanides, and composer and artistic director of the European Capital of Culture initiative Marios Joannou Elia.

Popular music in Cyprus is generally influenced by the Greek Laïka scene; artists who play in this genre include international platinum star Anna Vissi,{{cite book |title=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |date=8 May 1999 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |page=8 |quote=Sony Music executives congratulate Greek artist Anna Vissi before her recent sold-out performance at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York the first stop in her North-American tour to promote her album Antidoto |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911001516/https://books.google.com/books?id=eQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |archive-date=11 September 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author1=Hellander, Paul |author2=Kate Armstrong |author3=Michael Clark |author4=Christopher Deliso|title=Lonely Planet Greek Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4PDWSOx4lUwC&pg=PA49 |year=2008|publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74104-314-3 |page=49 |quote=The country's big pop and laïka stars include Anna Vissi, Notis Sfakiana- kis, Despina Vandi, Yiannis Ploutarhos, Antonis Remos, Mihalis Hatziyian- nis, heartthrob Sakis Rouvas and Greek-Swedish singer Elena Paparizou, who won Greece |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922103814/https://books.google.com/books?id=4PDWSOx4lUwC&pg=PA49 |archive-date=22 September 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite book |title=Billboard|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MhQEAAAAMBAJ |date=14 July 2001 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MhQEAAAAMBAJ/page/n70 71] |quote=The hits of platinum stars Anna Vissi, Despina Vandi and Keti Garbi are played in clubs together with the Anna Vissi international dance hits of Deep- swing, Planetfunk |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=20 June 2015}}{{cite book |title=Rhythm: Global Sounds and Ideas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JbA4AQAAIAAJ |year=2000 |publisher=World Marketing Incorporated |volume=9 |issue=6–11 |page=70 |quote=We have a Euro Music category with clips by the Gipsy Kings and Anna Vissi, a huge star for Sony Greece 'We also have ... |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910221009/https://books.google.com/books?id=JbA4AQAAIAAJ |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}} Evridiki, and Sarbel. Hip hop and R&B have been supported by the emergence of Cypriot rap and the urban music scene at Ayia Napa, while in the last years the reggae scene is growing, especially through the participation of many Cypriot artists at the annual Reggae Sunjam festival. Is also noted Cypriot rock music and Éntekhno rock is often associated with artists such as Michalis Hatzigiannis and Alkinoos Ioannidis. Metal also has a small following in Cyprus represented by bands such as Armageddon (rev.16:16), Blynd, Winter's Verge, Methysos and Quadraphonic.

{{Main|Cypriot literature}}

File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico (Napoli, 1969) - BEIC 6353768.jpg, founder of the Stoic school of philosophy]]

Literary production of the antiquity includes the Cypria, an epic poem, probably composed in the late 7th century BC and attributed to Stasinus. The Cypria is one of the first specimens of Greek and European poetry."An indication that at least the main contents of the Cypria were known around 650 BC is provided by the representation of the Judgment of Paris on the Chigi vase" (Burkert 1992:103). On the proto-Corinthian ewer of c. 640 BC known as the [http://www.wisc.edu/arth/ah300/13-myth/33.image.html Chigi "vase"] {{dead link |date=March 2017 |bot=Dr.K. |fix-attempted=yes}}, Paris is identified as Alexandros, as he was apparently called in Cypria. {{dead link |date=August 2016 |bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The Cypriot Zeno of Citium was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.

Epic poetry, notably the "acritic songs", flourished during the Middle Ages. Two chronicles, one written by Leontios Machairas and the other by Georgios Boustronios, cover the entire Middle Ages until the end of Frankish rule (4th century–1489). Poèmes d'amour written in medieval Greek Cypriot date back from the 16th century. Some of them are actual translations of poems written by Petrarch, Bembo, Ariosto and G. Sannazzaro.Th. Siapkaras- Pitsillidés, Le Pétrarchisme en Cypre. Poèmes d' amour en dialecte Chypriote d' après un manuscript du XVIe siècle, Athènes 1975 (2ème édition) Many Cypriot scholars fled Cyprus at troubled times, such as Ioannis Kigalas (c. 1622–1687) who migrated from Cyprus to Italy in the 17th century, several of his works have survived in books of other scholars.{{cite book |author=Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Institut für Griechisch-Römische Altertumskunde, Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Zentralinstitut für Alte Geschichte und Archäologie |title=Berliner byzantinistische Arbeiten, Volume 40 |publisher=Akademie-Verlag |year=1956 |pages=209–210 |quote=John Cigala (born at Nicosia 1622). He studied at the College of Saint Athanasios, Rome (1635–1642), which he graduated as doctor of philosophy and theology and at which he taught Greek successfully for eight years (1642–1650) ... What has survived of his work as a number of epigrams published in books of other scholars.}}

File:Ioannis Kigalas (1622-1687) Cyprus.jpg ({{Circa|1622}}–1687) was a Nicosia born Greek Cypriot scholar and professor of philosophy who was largely active in the 17th century.{{cite book |author1=Serena, Sebastiano |author2=Barbarigo, Gregorio |title=S. Gregorio Barbarigo e la vita spirituale e cultuale nel suo Seminario di Padova; lettre e saggi editi dagli amici in memoria |publisher=Editrice Antenore |year=1963 |page=495 |oclc=6706000 |quote=Giovanni Cicala, greco di Cipro, prof. di Filosofia nella Università ... Al qual fine permetteva tutta la confidenza con il Cigala e con il Papadopoli, ambedue greci nativi e Lettori pubblici nell'Universita di Padova, coi quail si tratteneva, in frequenti discorsi sopra questa material, le mezze giornate intiere ...}}]]

Hasan Hilmi Efendi, a Turkish Cypriot poet, was rewarded by the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II and said to be the "sultan of the poems".Gazioğlu, Ahmet C. (1990). The Turks in Cyprus: a province of the Ottoman Empire (1571–1878), 293–295, K. Rüstem.

Modern Greek Cypriot literary figures include the poet and writer Costas Montis, poet Kyriakos Charalambides, poet Michalis Pasiardis, writer Nicos Nicolaides, Stylianos Atteshlis, Altheides, Loukis Akritas{{cite web |url=http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=256 |title=Cyprus Stamp Issue: Loukis Akritas |access-date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511195913/http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=256 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}} and Demetris Th. Gotsis. Dimitris Lipertis, Vasilis Michaelides and Pavlos Liasides are folk poets who wrote poems mainly in the Cypriot-Greek dialect.{{cite web |url=http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=91 |title=Cyprus Stamp Issue: Cyprus Poets |access-date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511195859/http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=91 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=252 |title=Cyprus Stamp Issue: Centenary Birthday Anniversary of Poet Pavlos Liasides |access-date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511195938/http://www.philatelism.com/details.php?issueid=252 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}} Among leading Turkish Cypriot writers are Osman Türkay, twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature,[http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/printnews.aspx?DocID=-31947 Kozmik şiirin yazarı] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017204605/http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/printnews.aspx?DocID=-31947 |date=17 October 2015}} (Hürriyet). Retrieved 31 December 2014. Özker Yaşın, Neriman Cahit, Urkiye Mine Balman, Mehmet Yaşın and Neşe Yaşın.

There is an increasingly strong presence of both temporary and permanent emigre Cypriot writers in world literature, as well as writings by second and third-generation Cypriot writers born or raised abroad, often writing in English. This includes writers such as Michael Paraskos and Stephanos Stephanides.Alexander Davidian, 'A literary resilience' in The Cyprus Weekly (Cyprus newspaper), 10 January 2016

Examples of Cyprus in foreign literature include the works of Shakespeare, with most of the play Othello by William Shakespeare set on the island of Cyprus. British writer Lawrence Durrell lived in Cyprus from 1952 until 1956, during his time working for the British colonial government on the island, and wrote the book Bitter Lemons about his time in Cyprus which won the second Duff Cooper Prize in 1957.

{{Main|Media of Cyprus|Television in Cyprus|Radio in Cyprus|Cinema of Cyprus}}

In the 2015 Freedom of the Press report of Freedom House, the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus were ranked "free". The Republic of Cyprus scored 25/100 in press freedom, 5/30 in Legal Environment, 11/40 in Political Environment, and 9/30 in Economic Environment (the lower scores the better).[https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/cyprus Freedom House] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216211325/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/cyprus |date=16 February 2016}}, 2015 report Cyprus Reporters Without Borders rank the Republic of Cyprus 24th out of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index, with a score of 15.62.[https://index.rsf.org/#!/index-details/CYP RSF] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419161741/http://index.rsf.org/ |date=19 April 2016}}, Cyprus

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204274 "Cyprus"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328020122/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204274 |date=28 March 2020 }}, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.

Local television companies in Cyprus include the state owned Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation which runs two television channels. In addition on the Greek side of the island there are the private channels ANT1 Cyprus, Plus TV, Mega Channel, Sigma TV, Nimonia TV (NTV) and New Extra. In Northern Cyprus, the local channels are BRT, the Turkish Cypriot equivalent to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, and a number of private channels. The majority of local arts and cultural programming is produced by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and BRT, with local arts documentaries, review programmes and filmed drama series.

{{Main|Cinema of Cyprus}}

The most worldwide known Cypriot director, to have worked abroad, is Michael Cacoyannis.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, George Filis produced and directed Gregoris Afxentiou, Etsi Prodothike i Kypros, and The Mega Document. In 1994, Cypriot film production received a boost with the establishment of the Cinema Advisory Committee. In 2000, the annual amount set aside for filmmaking in the national budget was CYP£500,000 (about €850,000). In addition to government grants, Cypriot co-productions are eligible for funding from the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund, which finances European film co-productions. To date, four feature films on which a Cypriot was an executive producer have received funding from Eurimages. The first was I Sphagi tou Kokora (1996), followed by Hellados (unreleased), To Tama (1999), and O Dromos gia tin Ithaki (2000)."[http://www.filmbirth.com/cyprus.html Film Birth – History of Cinema – Cyprus] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924012748/http://www.filmbirth.com/cyprus.html |date=24 September 2015}}".

{{Main|Cypriot cuisine}}

File:Vin et gastronomie chypriotes.jpg]]

During the medieval period, under the French Lusignan monarchs of Cyprus an elaborate form of courtly cuisine developed, fusing French, Byzantine and Middle Eastern forms. The Lusignan kings were known for importing Syrian cooks to Cyprus, and it has been suggested that one of the key routes for the importation of Middle Eastern recipes into France and other Western European countries, such as blancmange, was via the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus. These recipes became known in the West as vyands de Chypre, or foods of Cyprus, and the food historian William Woys Weaver has identified over one hundred of them in English, French, Italian and German recipe books of the Middle Ages. One that became particularly popular across Europe in the medieval and early modern periods was a stew made with chicken or fish called malmonia, which in English became mawmeny.William Woys Weaver, 'Poland in the Middle Ages' in Maria Dembinska (ed.) Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past (Philadelphia: University of University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999) pp. 41–46

Another example of a Cypriot food ingredient entering the Western European canon is the cauliflower, still popular and used in a variety of ways on the island today, which was associated with Cyprus from the early Middle Ages. Writing in the 12th and 13th centuries the Arab botanists Ibn al-'Awwam and Ibn al-Baitar claimed the vegetable had its origins in Cyprus,{{cite web |title=Cabbage Flowers for Food|url=http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/broccoli.html |website=Aggie Horticulture |publisher=Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M System |access-date=12 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812232947/http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu//archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/broccoli.html |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last=Fenwick |first=G. Roger |author2=Heaney, Robert K. |author3=Mullin, W. John |author4=VanEtten, Cecil H. |title=Glucosinolates and their breakdown products in food and food plants |journal=CRC Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |date=1982 |volume=18| issue=2 |pages=123–201 |doi=10.1080/10408398209527361 |pmid=6337782}} and this association with the island was echoed in Western Europe, where cauliflowers were originally known as Cyprus cabbage or Cyprus colewart. There was also a long and extensive trade in cauliflower seeds from Cyprus, until well into the sixteenth century.Jon Gregerson, Good Earth (Portland: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, 1990) p.41

File:Halloumislice zoom.jpg]]

File:Cafes in a stoa small path in Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.JPG]]

Although much of the Lusignan food culture was lost after the fall of Cyprus to the Ottomans in 1571, a number of dishes that would have been familiar to the Lusignans survive today, including various forms of tahini and houmous, zalatina, skordalia and pickled wild song birds called ambelopoulia. Ambelopoulia, which is today highly controversial, and illegal, was exported in vast quantities from Cyprus during the Lusignan and Venetian periods, particularly to Italy and France. In 1533 the English traveller to Cyprus, John Locke, claimed to have seen the pickled wild birds packed into large jars, of which 1200 jars were exported from Cyprus annually.David Bannerman and Mary Bannerman Birds of Cyprus (London: Oliver and Boyd, 1958) p. 384

Also familiar to the Lusignans would have been Halloumi cheese, which some food writers today claim originated in Cyprus during the Byzantine period{{cite book |author1=Goldstein, Darra |author2=Merkle, Kathrin |author3=Parasecoli, Fabio |author4=Mennell, Stephen |author5=Council of Europe |title=Culinary cultures of Europe: identity, diversity and dialogue |publisher=Council of Europe |year=2005 |page=121 |isbn=978-92-871-5744-7 |quote=Most culinary innovations in the Cypriot cuisine occurred during the Byzantine era ... Experimentation with dairy products resulted in the now-famous halloumi and feta cheese.}}{{cite book |author1=Robinson, R. K. |author2=Tamime, A. Y. |title=Feta and Related Cheeses |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |year=1991 |page=144 |isbn=978-1-85573-278-0 |quote=Halloumi is a semi-hard to hard, unripened cheese that traditionally is made from either sheep's or goat's milk or a mixture. Although the cheese has its origins in Cyprus, it is widely popular throughout the Middle East, and hence many countries have now become involved with its manufacture.}}{{cite book |author=Murdoch Books Pty Limited |title=Essential Mediterranean |publisher=Murdoch Books |year=2005 |page=21 |isbn=978-1-74045-539-8 |quote=HALOUMl Originating in Cyprus, this salty, semi-hard sheep's milk cheese is a popular table cheese}} although the name of the cheese itself is thought by academics to be of Arabic origin.P. Papademas, "Halloumi Cheese" in A.Y. Tamime (ed.), Brined Cheeses (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006) p.117 There is no surviving written documentary evidence of the cheese being associated with Cyprus before the year 1554, when the Italian historian Florio Bustron wrote of a sheep-milk cheese from Cyprus he called calumi. Halloumi (Hellim) is commonly served sliced, grilled, fried and sometimes fresh, as an appetiser or meze dish.

Seafood and fish dishes include squid, octopus, red mullet, and sea bass. Cucumber and tomato are used widely in salads. Common vegetable preparations include potatoes in olive oil and parsley, pickled cauliflower and beets, asparagus and taro. Other traditional delicacies are meat marinated in dried coriander seeds and wine, and eventually dried and smoked, such as lountza (smoked pork loin), charcoal-grilled lamb, souvlaki (pork and chicken cooked over charcoal), and sheftalia (minced meat wrapped in mesentery). Pourgouri (bulgur, cracked wheat) is the traditional source of carbohydrate other than bread, and is used to make the delicacy koubes.

Fresh vegetables and fruits are common ingredients. Frequently used vegetables include courgettes, green peppers, okra, green beans, artichokes, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and grape leaves, and pulses such as beans, broad beans, peas, black-eyed beans, chick-peas and lentils. The most common fruits and nuts are pears, apples, grapes, oranges, mandarines, nectarines, medlar, blackberries, cherry, strawberries, figs, watermelon, melon, avocado, lemon, pistachio, almond, chestnut, walnut, and hazelnut.

Cyprus is also well known for its desserts, including lokum (also known as Turkish delight) and Soutzoukos."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3753928.stm Cyprus villagers make giant sweet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517130802/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3753928.stm |date=17 May 2024 }}", BBC News, 18 October 2004 This island has protected geographical indication (PGI) for its lokum produced in the village of Geroskipou.{{cite news |title=Turks riled as Cyprus set to win EU trademark on Turkish Delight | date=13 December 2007 |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/13/europe/EU-GEN-Cyprus-Turkish-Delight.php |work=International Herald Tribune |access-date =14 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202125809/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/13/europe/EU-GEN-Cyprus-Turkish-Delight.php |archive-date=2 December 2008}}{{Cite news |url=http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/07/04/agros-rose-preserve-included-protected-geographical-indication-list/ |title=Agros rose preserve included in protected geographical indication list |last=Andreou |first=Evie |date=4 July 2016 |work=Cyprus Mail |access-date=19 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120070241/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/07/04/agros-rose-preserve-included-protected-geographical-indication-list/ |archive-date=20 January 2018 |url-status=live}}

File:Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center 11.JPG in Limassol]]

Sport governing bodies include the Cyprus Football Association, Cyprus Basketball Federation, Cyprus Volleyball Federation, Cyprus Automobile Association, Cyprus Badminton Federation,{{cite web |url=http://www.cyprusbadminton.com |title=Cyprus Badminton Federation |publisher=Cyprusbadminton.com |access-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403054924/http://www.cyprusbadminton.com/ |archive-date=3 April 2009}} Cyprus Cricket Association, Cyprus Rugby Federation and the Cyprus Pool Association.

Notable sports teams in the Cyprus leagues include APOEL FC, Anorthosis Famagusta FC, AC Omonia, AEL Limassol FC, Apollon Limassol FC, Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, Olympiakos Nicosia, AEK Larnaca FC, Aris Limassol FC, AEL Limassol B.C., Keravnos B.C. and Apollon Limassol B.C. Stadiums or sports venues include the GSP Stadium (the largest in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas), Tsirion Stadium (second largest), Neo GSZ Stadium, Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Ammochostos Stadium. Makario Stadium and Alphamega Stadium.

In the 2008–09 season, Anorthosis Famagusta FC was the first Cypriot team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Group stage. Next season, APOEL FC qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, and reached the last 8 of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League after finishing top of its group and beating French Olympique Lyonnais in the Round of 16.

The Cyprus national rugby union team known as The Moufflons currently holds the record for most consecutive international wins, which is especially notable as the Cyprus Rugby Federation was only formed in 2006.

Footballer Sotiris Kaiafas won the European Golden Shoe in the 1975–76 season; Cyprus is the smallest country by population to have one of its players win the award. Tennis player Marcos Baghdatis was ranked 8th in the world, was a finalist at the Australian Open, and reached the Wimbledon semi-final, all in 2006. High jumper Kyriakos Ioannou achieved a jump of 2.35m at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan, in 2007, winning the bronze medal. He has been ranked third in the world. In motorsports, Tio Ellinas is a successful race car driver, currently racing in the GP3 Series for Marussia Manor Motorsport. There is also mixed martial artist Costas Philippou, who competed in UFC's middleweight division from 2011 until 2015. Costas holds a 6–4 record in UFC bouts.

Also notable for a Mediterranean island, the siblings Christopher and Sophia Papamichalopoulou qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were the only athletes who managed to qualify and thus represented Cyprus at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The country's first ever Olympic medal, a silver medal, was won by the sailor Pavlos Kontides, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's Laser class.

• Ancient regions of Anatolia
• Index of Cyprus-related articles
• Outline of Cyprus
• List of notable Cypriots

Informational notes

{{notelist}}

Citations

{{reflist}}

Further reading

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite book |author=Brewin, Christopher |title=European Union and Cyprus |publisher=Eothen Press |year=2000 |isbn= 978-0-906719-24-4}}
• {{cite book |author=Charalambous, Giorgos |title=Party-Society Relations in the Republic of Cyprus |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2015 |isbn= 978-1-317386-56-8}}
• Clark, Tommy. A Brief History of Cyprus (2020) [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-History-Cyprus-Tommy-Clark/dp/1527268527/ excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326034636/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-History-Cyprus-Tommy-Clark/dp/1527268527/ |date=26 March 2023 }}
• {{cite book |editor=Dods, Clement|title=Cyprus: The Need for New Perspectives |publisher=The Eothen Press |year=1999 |isbn= 978-0-906719-23-7}}
• {{cite book |author=Durrell, Lawrence |title=Bitter Lemons |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=1957 |isbn=978-0-571-20155-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bitterlemonsofcy0000durr }}
• {{cite book |author1=Faustmann, Hubert |author2=Nicos Peristianis |title=Britain and Cyprus: Colonialism and Post-Colonialism, 1878–2006 |publisher=Bibliopolis |year=2006 |isbn= 978-3-933925-36-7}}
• {{cite book |author=Gibbons, Harry Scott |title=The Genocide Files |publisher=Charles Bravos Publishers |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-9514464-2-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/genocidefiles00gibb }}
• {{cite book |author=Hannay, David |title=Cyprus: The Search for a Solution |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2005 |isbn= 978-1-85043-665-2}}
• {{cite book |author=Hitchens, Christopher |title=Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger |publisher=Verso |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-85984-189-1}}
• {{cite book |author=Ker-Lindsay, James |title=EU Accession and UN Peacemaking in Cyprus |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4039-9690-9}}
• {{cite book |author1=Ker-Lindsay, James |author2=Hubert Faustmann |title=The Government and Politics of Cyprus |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2009 |isbn= 978-3-03911-096-4}}
• {{cite book |author=Mallinson, William |title=Cyprus a Modern History |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2005 |isbn= 978-1-85043-580-8}}
• {{cite book |last1=Merin |first1=Jennifer |last2=Burdick |first2=Elizabeth B. |title=International directory of theatre, dance, and folklore festivals: a project of the International Theatre Institute of the United States, inc |url=https://archive.org/details/internationaldir00meri |url-access=registration |date=1 November 1979 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-20993-2 }}
• {{cite book |author=Mirbagheri, Farid |title=Cyprus and International Peacemaking |publisher=Hurst |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-85065-354-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/cyprusinternatio0000mirb }}
• {{cite book |author=Nicolet, Claude|title=United States Policy Towards Cyprus, 1954–1974 |publisher=Bibliopolis |year=2001 |isbn= 978-3-933925-20-6}}
• {{cite book |author=Oberling, Pierre|title=The Road to Bellapais |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1982 |isbn= 978-0-88033-000-8}}
• {{cite book |author1=O'Malley, Brendan |author2=Ian Craig|title=The Cyprus Conspiracy |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=1999 |isbn= 978-1-86064-737-6}}
• {{cite book |author=Palley, Claire |title=An International Relations Debacle: The UN Secretary-General's Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus, 1999–2004 |publisher=Hart Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-84113-578-6}}
• {{cite book |author=Papadakis, Yiannis|title=Echoes from the Dead Zone: Across the Cyprus Divide |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-85043-428-3}}
• {{cite book |author=Richmond, Oliver|title=Mediating in Cyprus |publisher=Frank Cass |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7146-4431-8}}
• {{cite book |editor=Richmond, Oliver |editor2=James Ker-Lindsay |title=The Work of the UN in Cyprus: Promoting Peace and Development |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-333-91271-3}}
• {{cite book |author=Richter, Heinz |title=A Concise History of Modern Cyprus 1878–2009 |publisher=Rutzen |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-447-06212-1}}
• Sacopoulo, Marina (1966). Chypre d'aujourd'hui. Paris: G.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose. 406 p., ill. with b&w photos. and fold. maps.
• {{cite book |author=Tocci, Nathalie |title=EU Accession Dynamics and Conflict Resolution: Catalysing Peace or Consolidating Partition in Cyprus? |publisher=Ashgate |year=2004 |isbn= 978-0-7546-4310-4}}
• {{cite book |author1=Yiorghos, Leventis |author2=Murata Sawayanagi Nanako |author3=Hazama Yasushi |title=Crossing Over Cyprus |publisher=Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA) Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) |year=2008 |isbn=978-4-86337-003-6}}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links|Cyprus|voy=Cyprus}}

General Information

• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cyprus/ Cyprus]. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1021835.stm Timeline of Cyprus by BBC]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080727022814/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/cyprus.htm Cyprus] from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• [https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/eur/ci/cy/ Cyprus] information from the United States Department of State includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17217956 Cyprus profile] from the BBC News
• [http://www.unficyp.org/ The UN in Cyprus]

Government

• [http://www.cyprustrade.co.uk/ Cyprus High Commission Trade Centre – London]
• [http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/citizen_en?OpenForm&access=0&SectionId=citizen&CategoryId=none&SelectionId=home&print=0&lang=en Republic of Cyprus – English Language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702085503/http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/citizen_en?OpenForm&access=0&SectionId=citizen&CategoryId=none&SelectionId=home&print=0&lang=en |date=2 July 2022 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061003102510/http://www.kypros.org/Constitution/English/index.htm Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus]
• [https://www.pio.gov.cy/en/ Press and Information Office – Ministry of Interior]
• [https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/ Cyprus Statistical Service]

Tourism

• [http://www.visitcyprus.com/ Read about Cyprus on visitcyprus.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628111323/http://www.visitcyprus.com/ |date=28 June 2010 }} – the official travel portal for Cyprus
• [http://www.cyprus.com/ Cyprus informational portal and open platform for contribution of Cyprus-related content] – www.Cyprus.com
• {{osmrelation-inline|307787}}

Cuisine

• [https://publications.gov.cy/assets/user/publications/2022/2022_040/HTML/ Gastronomical map of Cyprus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423165804/https://publications.gov.cy/assets/user/publications/2022/2022_040/HTML/ |date=23 April 2023 }}

Archaeology

• [http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/PRT212?sid=336967&x=32613387&x=32613388 Cypriot Pottery, Bryn Mawr College Art and Artifact Collections]
• [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/162840 The Cesnola collection of Cypriot art : stone sculpture], a fully digitised text from The Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries
• [http://cypernochkreta.dinstudio.se The Mosaics of Khirbat al-Ma]

Official publications

• [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmfaff/113/11302.htm The British government's Foreign Affairs Committee report on Cyprus].
• [http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/BD477C55623013C5C2256D740027CF98?OpenDocument Legal Issues arising from certain population transfers and displacements on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus in the period since 20 July 1974] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928053046/http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/BD477C55623013C5C2256D740027CF98?OpenDocument |date=28 September 2008 }}
• [http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/cna/2004/04-04-08.cna.html#01 Address to Cypriots by President Papadopoulos (FULL TEXT)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821165847/http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/cna/2004/04-04-08.cna.html#01 |date=21 August 2008 }}
• [http://www.hri.org/docs/annan/ Annan Plan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423224443/http://www.hri.org/docs/annan/ |date=23 April 2022 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20041217052134/http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/content/en/Article.aspx?office=1&folder=44&article=86 Embassy of Greece, USA – Cyprus: Geographical and Historical Background]

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