Cyprus Issues - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Disputes - international

hostilities in 1974 divided the island into two de facto autonomous entities, the internationally recognized Cypriot Government and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the 1,000-strong UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served in Cyprus since 1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north and south; on 1 May 2004, Cyprus entered the EU still divided, with the EU's body of legislation and standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in the north; Turkey protests Cypriot Government creating hydrocarbon blocks and maritime boundary with Lebanon in March 2007

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 10,869 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 18,680 (Ukraine) (as of 25 June 2023)

IDPs: 242,000 (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced since 1974) (2021)

stateless persons: 74 (2022)

note: 53,552 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-June 2023)

Illicit drugs

the ROC financial system is vulnerable to money laundering by domestic and foreign criminals; proceeds generated by illicit activity abroad pose a greater threat; primary sources of illicit proceeds are investment fraud, corruption, advance fee fraud, tax evasion, illegal drugs, and tobacco smuggling. Additionally, cybercrime, especially phishing, e-mail hacking, and ransomware use, continues to increase. Criminals have reportedly used ROC banks to launder proceeds, particularly from Russian and Ukrainian illicit activity.

 

NOTE: The information regarding Cyprus on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cyprus 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cyprus 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.