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Turkish Cypriots, together with Turkey, do not accept the Republic's rule over the whole island and call it the "Greek Authority of Southern Cyprus". They control the northern third of the island, following a military invasion by Turkey in 1974. This happened following a coup sponsored by the military regime of Greece, see: the 1974 crisis between Greece and Turkey.

Cyprus changed hands numerous times prior to the Medieval era, and was an important outpost of Christianity and European civilization during the Crusades. The tumultuous history introduced a variety of styles, including music from Armenia, France, Greece and Arabs. The island's peak as a cultural capital of Europe occurred from 1359 to 1432.

Negotiations have been ongoing for years to reunite the island, but have not as yet seen substantial success. A United Nations plan, announced on 31 March 2004 following talks in Switzerland, was put to both sides in separate referenda on 24 April 2004.

The music of Cyprus includes a variety of classical, folk and popular genres. Recent trends have seen the rise of Ayia Napa, a resort, as a home for UK garage music, similar in its evolution to that of the island Ibiza.

Cyprus has been liberalizing its trade regime by eliminating import quotas and licenses and lowering tariffs on most products as a result of its obligations under the new world trade agreement and its Customs Union agreement with the European Union. As a result, U.S. products are becoming more competitive in Cyprus and prospects for further expansion of bilateral trade ties are excellent.

Cyprus has an open, free-market, serviced-based economy with some light manufacturing. The Cypriots are among the most prosperous people in the Mediterranean region. Internationally, Cyprus promotes its geographical location as a "bridge" between West and East, along with its educated English-speaking population, moderate local costs, good airline connections, and telecommunications.

Greek language is predominantly spoken in the south, Turkish language in the north. This delineation of languages is true only in the present period, due to the post-1974 division of the island, which involved an expulsion of Greek Cypriots from the north and the analoguous move of Turkish Cypriots from the south. Historically however, Greek (its Cypriot dialect) was spoken by nearly 82% of the population, which was evenly distributed along the entire area of Cyprus, north and south. Similarly, Turkish speakers were evenly distributed. English is widely used.

The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) is the main broadcaster in the Greek Cypriot area, although there are also privately-owned radio and TV stations. A TV channel from Greek state broadcaster ERT is also available. The British Forces Broadcasting Service also operates radio and TV stations, although the TV signal is now confined to the Sovereign Base Areas or encrypted for copyright reasons. In the Turkish Cypriot area, Bayrak Radio Televizyon is the local broadcaster, with radio and TV from Turkish state broadcaster TRT also available.