Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Cyprus
conventional short form:
Cyprus
local long form:
Kypriaki Dimokratia/Kibris Cumhuriyeti
local short form:
Kypros/Kibris
note:
the Turkish Cypriot community, which administers the northern part of the island, refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" or "TRNC" (Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti or KKTC)
Government type:
republic
note:
a separation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the island began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified after the Turkish intervention in July 1974, following a Greek military-junta-supported coup attempt that gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot "President" Rauf DENKTAS declared independence and the formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"), which is recognized only by Turkey
Capital:
name:
Nicosia (Lefkosia/Lefkosa)
geographic coordinates:
35 10 N, 33 22 E
time difference:
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
6 districts; Ammochostos (Famagusta; all but a small part administered by Turkish Cypriots), Keryneia (Kyrenia; the only district completely administered by Turkish Cypriots), Larnaka (Larnaca; a small part administered by Turkish Cypriots), Lemesos (Limassol), Lefkosia (Nicosia; a small part administered by Turkish Cypriots), Pafos (Paphos); note - the five districts of Turkish Cypriot-administered part of Cyprus are Gazimagusa (Famagusta), Girne (Kyrenia), Guzelyurt (Morphou), Lefkosia (Nicosia) and Iskele (Trikomo)
Independence:
16 August 1960 (from the UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these proclamations are only recognized by Turkey
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 October (1960); note - Turkish Cypriots celebrate 15 November (1983) as "Independence Day"
Constitution:
ratified 16 August 1960; note - in 1963, the constitution was partly suspended as Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government; Turkish-held territory in 1983 was declared the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"); in 1985, the "TRNC" approved its own constitution (2013)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law and civil law with Greek Orthodox religious law influence
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Nicos ANASTASIADES (since 28 February 2013); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; post of vice president is currently vacant; under the 1960 constitution, the post is reserved for a Turkish Cypriot
head of government:
President Nicos ANASTASIADES (since 28 February 2013)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - under the 1960 constitution, three of the ministerial posts are reserved for Turkish Cypriots appointed by the Vice President but the positions are currently filled by Greek Cypriots
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 17 and 24 February 2013 (next to be held in February 2018)
election results:
Nicos ANASTASIADES elected president; percent of vote (first round) - Nicos ANASTASIADES 45.46%, Stavros MALAS 26.91%, Giorgos LILLIKAS 24.93%, other 2.7%; (second round) Nicos ANASTASIADES 57.48%, Savros MALAS 42.52%
note:
Dervis EROGLU became "president" of the "TRNC" on 23 April 2010 after "presidential" elections on 18 April 2010; results - Dervis EROGLU 50.4%, Mehmet Ali TALAT 42.9%; Ozkan YORGANCIOGLU is "TRNC prime minister"
Legislative branch:
unicameral - area under government control: House of Representatives or Vouli Antiprosopon (80 seats; 56 assigned to the Greek Cypriots, 24 to Turkish Cypriots; note - only those assigned to Greek Cypriots are filled; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: "Assembly of the Republic" or Cumhuriyet Meclisi (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections:
area under government control: last held on 22 May 2011 (next to be held in May 2016); area administered by Turkish Cypriots: last held on 28 July 2013 (next to be held on July 2018)
election results:
area under government control: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - DISY 34.3%, AKEL 32.7%, DIKO 15.8%, KS-EDEK 8.9%, EVROKO 3.9%, other 4.4%; seats by party - DISY 20, AKEL 19, DIKO 9, KS-EDEK 5, EVROKO 2, KOP 1; note - as of 1 January 2014, the composition of the Cypriot House of Representatives was DISY 20, AKEL 19, DIKO 8, KS-EDEK 5, EVROKO 1, SP 1, KOP 1, independent 1; area administered by Turkish Cypriots: "Assembly of the Republic" - percent of vote by party - CTP-BG 38%, UBP 27%, DP-UG 23%, TDP 7%, other 5%; seats by party - CTP-BG 21, UBP 14, DP-UG 12, TDP 3
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):
Supreme Court of Cyprus (consists of 13 judges including the court president); note - the highest court in the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)" is the "Supreme Court" (consists of 8 "judges" including the "court president")
judge selection and term of office:
Republic of Cyprus Supreme Court judges appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the Supreme Court judges; judges tenure is until the age of 68; "TRNC Supreme Court" judges appointed by the "Supreme Council of Judicature", a 12-member body of "judges", the "attorney general", "appointees" - one each by the "president" of the "TRNC" and by the "Legislative Assembly", and a member elected by the Bar Association; "judge" tenure NA
subordinate courts:
Republic of Cyprus district courts; Assize Courts; specialized courts for issues relating to family, industrial disputes, military, and rent control; "TRNC Assize Courts"; "district and family courts"
Political parties and leaders:
area under government control:
area administered by Turkish Cypriots:
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Cypriot Workers or SEK (pro-West)
area administered by Turkish Cypriots: Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions or Turk-Sen
International organization participation:
Australia Group, C, CD, CE, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador George CHACALLI (since 30 May 2013)
chancery:
2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 462-5772, 462-0873
FAX:
[1] (202) 483-6710
consulate(s) general:
New York
note:
representative of the Turkish Cypriot community in the US is Ahmet ERDENGIZ; office at 1667 K Street NW, Washington, DC; telephone [1] (202) 887-6198
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador John M. KOENIG (since 17 August 2012)
embassy:
corner of Metochiou and Ploutarchou Streets, 2407 Engomi, Nicosia
mailing address:
P. O. Box 24536, 1385 Nicosia
telephone:
[357] (22) 393939
FAX:
[357] (22) 780944
Flag description:
white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities
note:
the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" flag retains the white field of the Cyprus national flag but displays narrow horizontal red stripes positioned a small distance from the top and bottom edges between which are centered a red crescent and a red five-pointed star; the banner is modeled after the Turkish national flag but with the colors reversed
National symbol(s):
Cypriot mouflon (wild sheep); white dove
National anthem:
name:
"Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian" (Hymn to Liberty)
lyrics/music:
Dionysios SOLOMOS/Nikolaos MANTZAROS
note:
adopted 1960; Cyprus adopted the Greek national anthem as its own; the Turkish community in Cyprus uses the anthem of Turkey
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Cyprus on this page is re-published from the 2015 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cyprus Government 2015 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cyprus Government 2015 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 10-Feb-15