Cyprus

Population and Geography

As of 1 January 2016, the population of Cyprus was estimated to be 1 172 071 people. This is an increase of 1.09 % (12 592 people) compared to population of 1 159 479 the year before. In 2015 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 5 438. Due to external migration, the population increased by 7 154. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.044 (1 044 males per 1 000 females) which is higher than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1 016 males to 1 000 females as of 2015. [1]

The third-largest island in the Mediterranean (one and one-half times the size of Delaware), Cyprus lies off the southern coast of Turkey and the western shore of Syria. The highest peak is Mount Olympus at 6,406 ft (1,953 m).[2]
Cyprus became an independent nation on Aug. 16, 1960, after Greek and Turkish Cypriots agreed on a constitution, which excluded both the possibility of partition as well as of union with Greece. Makarios became the country's first president. Fighting between Greek and Turkish Cypriots flared up in the early 1960s, and a UN peacekeeping force was sent to the island in 1965. On July 15, 1974, Archbishop Makarios was overthrown in a military coup led by the Cypriot National Guard. On July 20, Turkey invaded Cyprus, asserting its right to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority. Turkey gained control of 30% of northern Cyprus and displaced some 180,000 Greek Cypriots. A UN-sponsored cease-fire was established on July 22, and Turkish troops were permitted to remain in the north. In Dec. 1974, Makarios again assumed the presidency. The following year, the island was partitioned into Greek and Turkish territories separated by a UN-occupied buffer zone.[3]

[1]http://countrymeters.info/en/Cyprus
[2] World Global Atlas
[3] Infloplease country profile Cyprus

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History and Culture

Cyprus was under British influence from a decision of 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders and Turkey come back to the 1950s. Turkish leaders wanted annexation of Cyprus for a long time as they considered it as an "extension of Anatolia". On the other hand since the 19th century,[4] the majority Greek Cypriot population and its Orthodox church had been pursuing union with Greece, which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s.[5] Following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960.[6] On 15 July 1974, a coup d'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists[7] and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt to incorporate Cyprus into Greece. This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus the following month, after a ceasefire collapsed, and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots.[8] A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983.
The country has two official languages, Greek spoken by 81% of the population, and Turkish by less than 0,2%. Other languages are spoken as well on the island: English by 4,1% of the population, Romanian by 3%, Russian by 2,5%, Bulgarian by 2,2%, Arabic and Filipino by 1% respectively. The majority of the Cypriots are Orthodox Christian by 90%. The island presents nonetheless a large variety of religious faiths as the presence of Roman Catholics (3%), Protestant and Anglicans (2%), Muslims (2%) or even Buddhist (1%). [9]

Economy

Cyprus' economy grew during its first four years of membership at 3,7% with an unemployment rate oscillating around 4% between 2004 and 2008. After the recession in 2009, the economy faced major turmoil with the financial crisis. The overexposure of its economy to Greece’s debt was mainly due to two of its banks being amongst the largest holders of Greek bonds in the European Union. Cyprus faced major downgrades in its credit rating and lost access in May 2011 to international capital markets. The country requested an economic bailout program from the Troika (i.e. European Commission, European Central Bank and the IMF) in July 2012.

[4] Faustmann, Hubert; Ker-Lindsay, James (2008). The Government and Politics of Cyprus. Peter Lang. p. 48
[5] Trimikliniotis, Nicos (2012). Beyond a Divided Cyprus: A State and Society in Transformation
[6] Hoffmeister, Frank (2006). Legal aspects of the Cyprus problem: Annan Plan and EU accession.
[7]Mallinson, William (2005). Cyprus: A Modern History.
[8] Borowiec, Andrew. Cyprus: A Troubled Island (2000), Greenwood Publishing Group,
[9] CIA World Factbook

World Economic Forum's Indicators for Cyprus in 2015