Cyprus History, Geography, Economy and Important Events

In 1974, after years of rioting between the Greeks and Turks living on the island and an attempt by the Greek Cypriot nationalists to help the military government occupy power in the Athens, the Turkish attacked the island. Occupied the third part. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of separate Greek Cypriot political power in the north. Controversy persists even today due to circumstances and political situation arising after this incident. The Republic of Cyprus is an internationally recognized state with legitimate sovereignty over the entire island and surrounding waters, except for small portions, which are allocated by treaty as sovereign military bases for the United Kingdom. It is a republic that became independent from the British colony in 1960.

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is a Eurasian island country located east of Greece, west of Lebanon, Syria and Israel, north of Egypt and south of Turkey on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Nicosia. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and is a popular tourist destination, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year. It became a Republic independent from the British colony in 1960, became a member of the Commonwealth in 1961 and a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004. Cyprus is one of the region's advanced economies.

The Cypriot economy diversified and prospered in the early 21st century. However, in 2012 it was affected by the Eurozone financial and banking crisis. In June 2012, the government of Cyprus announced that it would need € 1.8 billion in foreign aid to support the Cyprus popular bank, and Fitch then switched to the Cyprus junk status. The downgrade was mainly due to the Greek financial crisis of Bank of Cyprus, Cyprus Popular Bank and Hellenic Bank, the three largest banks in Cyprus. According to the 2017 International Monetary Fund estimates, GDP per capita (adjusted for purchasing power) was below the EU average of $ 36,442.

Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish. Armenian and Cypriot Maronite are recognized as Arabic minority languages. However without official status, English is widely spoken and is originally included in street signs, public notices and advertisements, etc.

Cyprus [LM] , Egypt [M] , Greece [M] , Israel [M] , Lebanon [M] , Syria [M] , Turkey [M] , United Kingdom [LM] ,
Definition of international border: L = Land Border | M = Maritime Border