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-held area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), but it is recognized only by Turkey. The latest two-year round of UN-brokered talks - between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to reach an agreement to reunite the divided island - ended when the Greek Cypriots rejected the UN settlement plan in an April 2004 referendum.

The entire island entered the EU on May 1, 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under direct government control, 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.

Nicosia continues to oppose EU efforts to establish direct trade and economic links to north Cyprus as a way of encouraging the Turkish Cypriot community to continue to support reunification.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 788,457 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 19.9% (male 80,273/female 76,826) 15-64 years: 68.3% (male 272,924/female 265,738) 65 years and over: 11.8% (male 40,458/female 52,238) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 35.1 years male: 34.1 years female: 36.2 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 0.527% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 12.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 7.72 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.045 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.027 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.774 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 6.89 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.98 years male: 75.6 years female: 80.49 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 1,000 (1999 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Cypriot(s) adjective: Cypriot

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Ethnic groups: Greek 77%, Turkish 18%, other 5% (2001)

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Religions: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, other (includes Maronite and Armenian Apostolic) 4%

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Languages: Greek, Turkish, English

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.6% male: 98.9% female: 96.3% (2003 est.)

The area of the Republic of Cyprus under government control has a market economy dominated by the service sector, which accounts for 76% of GDP. Tourism and financial services are the most important sectors; erratic growth rates over the past decade reflect the economy's reliance on tourism, which often fluctuates with political instability in the region and economic conditions in Western Europe. Nevertheless, the economy in the area under government control grew a healthy 3.7% to 3.8% per year in 2004, 2005, and 2006, well above the EU average. Cyprus joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2) in May 2005. The government has initiated an aggressive austerity program, which has cut the budget deficit to well below 3%, and the EU is expected to invite Cyprus to adopt the euro as its national currency on 1 January 2008. As in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, water shortages are a perennial problem; a few desalination plants are now on line. After 10 years of drought, the country received substantial rainfall from 2001-04 alleviating immediate concerns. Rainfall in 2005 and 2006, however, was well below average making water rationing likely in 2007. The Turkish Cypriot economy has roughly 45% of the per capita GDP of the south, and economic growth tends to be volatile, given the north's relative isolation, bloated public sector, reliance on the Turkish lira, and small market size. The Turkish Cypriot economy grew around 10.6% in 2006, fueled by growth in the construction and education sectors, as well as increased employment of Turkish Cypriots in the area under government control. The Turkish Cypriots are heavily dependent on transfers from the Turkish Government. Ankara directly finances around one-third of the "TRNC's" budget. Aid from Turkey has reached over $400 million annually in recent years. Agriculture and services, together, employ more than half of the work force.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): area under government control: $18.04 billion area administered by Turkish Cypriots: $4.54 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): area under government control: $16.37 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: area under government control: 3.8% area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 10.6% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): area under government control: $23,000 area administered by Turkish Cypriots: $7,135 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: area under government control: agriculture 3.7%; industry 19.6%; services 76.8% (2005 est.) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: agriculture 10.6%; industry 20.5%; services 68.9% (2003 est.)

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Labor force: area under government control: 380,000 area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 95,025 (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: area under government control: agriculture 7.4%, industry 38.2%, services 54.4% (2004 est.) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: agriculture 14.5%, industry 29%, services 56.5% (2004 est.)

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Unemployment rate: area under government control: 5.5% (2005 est.) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 5.6% (2004 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): area under government control: 2.8% (2005 est.) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 9.1% (2004 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): area under government control: 21.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: area under government control: revenues: $7.395 billion; expenditures: $7.695 billion (2005 est.) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: revenues: $685.7 million; expenditures: $432.8 million (2003 est.)

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Public debt: area under government control: 64.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, vegetables; poultry, pork, lamb; dairy, cheese

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Industries: tourism, food and beverage processing, cement and gypsum production, ship repair and refurbishment, textiles, light chemicals, metal products, wood, paper, stone, and clay products

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Industrial production growth rate: area under government control: 2.4% (2005 est.) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: -0.3% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: area under government control: 3.926 billion kWh area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 998.9 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: area under government control: 3.651 billion kWh (2004) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: 797.9 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: area under government control: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: area under government control: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: area under government control: 300 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption: area under government control: 53,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Current account balance: area under government control: -$1.051 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: area under government control: $1.34 billion f.o.b. area administered by Turkish Cypriots: $68.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: area under government control: citrus, potatoes, pharmaceuticals, cement, clothing and cigarettes area administered by Turkish Cypriots: citrus, dairy, potatoes, textiles

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Exports - partners: UK 15.1%, Greece 14.2%, France 7.7%, Germany 4.9%, UAE 4.2% (2006)

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Imports: area under government control: $5.8 billion f.o.b. area administered by Turkish Cypriots: $1.2 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: area under government control: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, intermediate goods, machinery, transport equipment area administered by Turkish Cypriots: vehicles, fuel, cigarettes, food, minerals, chemicals, machinery

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Imports - partners: Greece 17.6%, Italy 11.4%, Germany 9%, UK 8.9%, Israel 6.3%, France 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3%, China 4.2% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: area under government control: $4.613 billion area administered by Turkish Cypriots: $NA (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: area under government control: $12.63 billion area administered by Turkish Cypriots: $NA (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: area under government control: $NA area administered by Turkish Cypriots: under a July 2006 agreement, Turkey plans to provide the area administered by Turkish Cypriots 1.875 billion YTL ($1.3 billion) over three years (600 million YTL in 2006, 625 million YTL in 2007 and 650 million YTL in 2008); Turkey has forgiven most past aid

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Currency (code): area under government control: Cypriot pound (CYP) area administered by Turkish Cypriots: Turkish New lira (YTL)

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Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds per US dollar: 0.4586 (2006), 0.4641 (2005), 0.4686 (2004), 0.5174 (2003), 0.6107 (2002) Turkish lira per US dollar: 1.4451 (2006), 1.3436 (2005), 1.426 million (2004), 1.501 million (2003), 1.507 million (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year