Cyprus Geography - 2024

Location

Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey; note - Cyprus views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both

Geographic coordinates

35 00 N, 33 00 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 9,251 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus)

land: 9,241 sq km

water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative

about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 156 km

border sovereign base areas: Akrotiri 48 km; Dhekelia 108 km

Coastline

648 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate

temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

Terrain

central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast

Elevation

highest point: Mount Olympus 1,951 m

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 91 m

Natural resources

copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt, marble, clay earth pigment

Land use

agricultural land: 13.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 9.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 3.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 18.8% (2018 est.)

other: 67.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

268 sq km (2020)

Population distribution

population concentrated in central Nicosia and in the major cities of the south: Paphos, Limassol, and Larnaca

Natural hazards

moderate earthquake activity; droughts

Geography - note

the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia); several small Cypriot enclaves exist within the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area