Location: Middle East, in the eastern Mediterreanean Sea, 97 km west of Syria and 64 km west of Turkey

Map references: Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 9,250 sq km
land area: 9,240 sq km
comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 648 km

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

International disputes: 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (60% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (35% of the island), that are separated by a narrow UN buffer zone; in addition, there are two UK sovereign base areas (about 5% of the island's land area)

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

Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south

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

Land use:
arable land: 40%
permanent crops: 7%
meadows and pastures: 10%
forest and woodland: 18%
other: 25%

Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most potable resources concentrated in the Turkish Cypriot area); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization
natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

NOTE: The information regarding Cyprus on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cyprus Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cyprus Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.