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Economic affairs in Cyprus are dominated by the division of the country into the southern (Greek) area controlled by the Cyprus Government and the northern Turkish Cypriot-administered area. The Greek Cypriot economy is prosperous but highly susceptible to external shocks. Erratic growth rates in the 1990s reflect the economy's vulnerability to swings in tourist arrivals, caused by political instability on the island and fluctuations in economic conditions in Western Europe. Economic policy in the south is focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the European Union. As in the Turkish sector, water shortage is a growing problem, and several desalination plants are planned. The Turkish Cypriot economy has about one-fifth the population and one-third the per capita GDP of the south. Because it is recognized only by Turkey, it has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. The economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture and government service, which together employ about half of the work force. Moreover, the small, vulnerable economy has suffered because the Turkish lira is legal tender. To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides direct and indirect aid to tourism, education, industry, etc.

The metal "copper" in the english languages stems from the Latin word Cyprus. Large deposits of copper are found on the island.

Cyprus is mentioned by biblical historian Flavius Josephus as being settled by Kittim, son of Javan, grandson of Japheth. "Cethimus possessed the island Cethima: it is now called Cyprus; and from that it is that all islands, and the greatest part of the sea-coasts, are named Cethim by the Hebrews: and one city there is in Cyprus that has been able to preserve its denomination; it has been called Citius by those who use the language of the Greeks, and has not, by the use of that dialect, escaped the name of Cethim."

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.

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 Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognised government of the island, and it controls the southern two-thirds of the island. Almost all foreign governments and the United Nations recognise the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island of Cyprus.

Cyprus has a well-developed system of primary and secondary education. The majority of Cypriots earn their higher education at Greek, Turkish, British, or American universities, while there are also sizeable emigrant communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Private colleges and state-supported universities have been developed by both the Turkish and Greek communities.

Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided de facto into the government-controlled southern two-thirds of the island and the Turkish-Cypriot northern one-third. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has continued as the internationally recognized authority; in practice, its power extends only to the Greek Cypriot-controlled areas.

In 1974, following a coup by the Greek backed National Guard and the arrival of Turkish troops (claiming their authority was as one of the 3 international guarantors of Cyprus), the Turkish Cypriots formally set up their own institutions with a popularly elected president and a Prime Minister responsible to the National Assembly exercising joint executive powers. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots declared an independent "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC). In 1985, they adopted a constitution and held elections--an arrangement recognized only by Turkey.

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.

Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, with the UK, Greece and Turkey retaining limited rights to intervene in internal affairs.

Both greek and turkish cypriots use the violin as the main solo instrument, accompanied by laouto (form of lute) for greek cypriots and ud for turkish cypriots. Accordion, percussion and recorder (pithkiavli) are also used.

EU law is currently not applied in the Turkish occupied north. The Union has promised to aid and to work towards lifting the trade sanctions imposed by the European Court, but they have ruled out diplomatic recognition of northern Cyprus.