Cyprus

A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to seize control of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot-occupied area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"), but it is recognized only by Turkey. The election of a new Cypriot president in 2008 served as the impetus for the UN to encourage both the Turkish and Cypriot Governments to reopen unification negotiations. In September 2008, the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities started negotiations under UN auspices aimed at reuniting the divided island. The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot Government, and is suspended in the areas administered by Turkish Cypriots. However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of European Union states.

Economical characteristics

• Currency: Euro (ISO code: EUR)
• Central bank discount rate: 3% (31 December 2008)
• Commercial banks lending rate: 7.19% (31 December 2008)
• is part of the Eurozone

Statistics

Statistic / Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)	9 780	9 317	9 678	10 558	13 324	15 823	16 996	18 424	21 447	24 910
Govt. debt (% of GDP)		91.450	94.158	99.801	104.800	105.603	180.636	171.129	161.974
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)	25.686	27.760	28.953	29.246	32.029	30.039	54.606	56.740	64.183
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)	31.639	31.223	32.703	34.321	38.478	34.607	60.475	59.950	60.341
Debt to revenue (years)		3.294	3.252	3.412	3.272	3.516	3.308	3.016	2.524

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

Links

• Cyprus on Wikipedia
• Central bank of Cyprus
• Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
• BBC country profile