Location: |
Island in the east Mediterranean 35 00 N, 33 00 E |
Nationality: |
Cypriot |
Currency: |
Euro (adopted in 2008). As from 1 January 2008 the currency of the Republic of Cyprus is the euro which replaced the Cyprus pound (£) at an exchange rate of €1 = £0.585274 |
Area: |
9.251 km² |
Climate: |
Mediterranean with hot dry summers and mild winters |
Geography: |
Central plain with mountain range to the north and southwest |
Natural resources: |
Copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment. Recently natural gas and petroleum reserves have been discovered |
Ethnic groups: |
Greek Cypriot 75.5% (including 1.2% Maronites, Armenians and Latin), Turkish Cypriot 10%, Other 14.5% |
Religions: |
Most Greek Cypriots belong to the Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church, most Turkish Cypriots are Muslims, while other smaller religious groups include Armenians, Maronites and Catholics. There is also a certain growing percentage of Agnostic and Atheists |
National Languages: |
Greek, Turkish, English |
Commonly spoken languages in business and tourism: |
Greek, Turkish, English, Russian, French, German, Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Hindi, Philipino, among other |
Government: |
Independent sovereign Republic with a presidential system |
Agriculture products: |
Citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, poultry, pork, lamb, dairy, cheese |
Cypriot Industries: |
Tourism, food and beverage processing, cement and gypsum production, textiles, light chemicals, metal products, wood, paper, stone and clay products |
Exports from Cyprus: |
€963 million |
Cyprus key export partners: |
Germany 16%, Greece 12.6%, United Kingdom 8.8%, Italy 3.5% (2009) |
Imports to Cyprus: |
€5.6 billion |
Cyprus key import partners: |
European Union 72%, Asia 11%, Middle East 9%, Other European countries 3% (2009) |