Location: Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 33 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total: 9,250 sq km (note—of which 3,355 sq km are in the Turkish Cypriot area)
land: 9,240 sq km
water: 10 sq km

Area—comparative: about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 648 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters

Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Olympus 1,952 m

Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 13%
other: 70% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 390 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity

Environment—current issues: water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall; sea water intrusion to island's largest aquifer; increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants