Cyprus – education
After independence in 1960, each of the two dominant population groups got its own education system with resp. Greek and Turkish as languages of instruction. However, the use of English is still widespread in trade and administration. The Turkish invasion in 1974, which resulted in the relocation of approximately 180,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots, created an acute shortage of school buildings in the south.
The public school system (1995) consists of a six-year primary school and a six-year secondary school, which is divided into a three-year 1st part as well as a three-year general upper secondary and technical superstructure education. There is ten years of compulsory schooling.
In 1992, a Cypriot university for the humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, as well as economics and administration was founded. However, a large proportion of higher and higher education is still abroad, mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States.
In addition to the public system, there are a limited number of private institutions. 4% of the pupils at the primary school level and 10% at the secondary level follow this teaching.
OFFICIAL NAME: Kypriaki Dimokratia/Kibris Cumhuriyeti
CAPITAL CITY: Nicosia
POPULATION: 1,170,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 9240 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Greek, Turkish
RELIGION: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslims 18%, others 4%
COIN: euro (from 1.1.2008)
CURRENCY CODE: EUR
ENGLISH NAME: Cyprus
INDEPENDENCE: 1960
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Greek Cypriots 78%, Turkish Cypriots 18%, others 4%
GDP PER residents: $ 24,500 (2013)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 75.5 years, women 81 years (2013)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.845
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 32
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .cy
Cyprus is an island and republic of the eastern Mediterranean, approximately 70 km south of Turkey and 400 km east of the Greek island of Rhodes. Since a Turkish invasion in 1974, the island has actually been divided into a Greek and a Turkish Cypriot part. For many years there have been fruitless attempts to unite the island. In 2004, Cyprus joined the EU; Officially, the whole island is now a member of the EU, but in reality only the Greek part is occupied.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as CY which stands for Cyprus.
Cyprus – Constitution
The Constitution of the Internationally Recognized Republic of Cyprus is from 1960. The executive power is held by a President elected directly for five years and appoints and heads the Government. Legislative power lies with a directly elected House of Representatives with 80 seats, of which 24 are reserved for Turkish Cypriots, who, however, have not turned up since 17.12.1964. The election period is five years.
Cyprus – social conditions
Cyprus’s social system was founded in the 1950’s. It is mainly structured as a social insurance and is financed by the state as well as by contributions from the self-employed, workers and employers. The insurance partially covers expenses for medical and hospital treatment. It also covers the payment of unemployment benefits in the event of illness and birth, unemployment benefits, compensation and benefits paid in connection with an occupational injury, as well as old-age, disability and widow’s pensions. The retirement age is 63 years for women and 65 for men.
Families with children receive child family benefits, which consist of a fixed amount as well as a supplement that depends on income and number of children. Young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are in education can also receive family benefits.
Persons who do not have the means of subsistence can receive assistance, which is financed and paid by the state.
Unemployment is 2% -3% (2006). Check youremailverifier for Cyprus social condition facts.
Cyprus – mass media
All approximately ten Greek-Cypriot dailies were founded after 1950 and represent a broad political spectrum with Phileleftheros (Liberal) from 1955 as the largest and most influential. The most popular of the Turkish Cypriot dailies is Kibris, grdl. 1989. In addition, the English-language Cyprus Mail, founded in 1945, is published. In the Greek-Cypriot part of the island, radio and television are broadcast from the channels of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, while Bayrak Radio and Televizyon broadcasts in the Turkish-Cypriot part. There are several private radio and television stations on the island, and the British forces have their own radio and television service. The residents can also receive radio and television from Greece and Turkey, and satellite TV is becoming more and more widespread.
Cyprus – religion
Orthodox Christianity is the most widespread among the Greek people and Islam among the Turkish; in addition, small Christian congregations, Maronite and Armenian. The independence of the Cypriot Orthodox Church dates back to the Synod of Ephesus in 431 and led in 488 to full autocephaly (self-government); the church attributes its foundation to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13: 4-12). The Muslim population originated from Ottoman-Turkish rule (1570/71-1878) and from later immigration. Under the Ottomans, Orthodox clergy increasingly took on the role of both religious and political leaders; this tradition was revived when Archbishop Makarios was the island’s president 1960-77.
Cyprus – visual arts and architecture
Cyprus is exceptionally rich in churches and church art. One can see examples of basilicas from the 300’s. in Salamis, Paphos, Kourion and Soli and on mosaic and frescoes from before the iconoclasm (726-843) in the churches Panagia Kanakaria at Lythrangomi, Panagia Kyra at Livadia, Panagia Angeloktistos at Kiti and Nicodemus’ Chapel at Salamis.
The Troodos area in particular is rich in historic churches. They are small with steep saddle roofs covered with wood shavings. Almost all the interiors of the churches are painted with frescoes. They have mainly been created in two periods: from the 1100’s, when Cyprus was in Byzantine possession, the frescoes of Agios Nikolaos tis Stegis, Asinou, Lagoudera, Perachorio and the monk Neophytos’ hermit cave at Paphos, made in a style that is characteristic of the so-called communist renaissance in Byzantine art. In the 1400’s and 1500’s, when the island was in Venetian hands, the frescoes in Platanistasa, Pedoulas, Louvaras and Palechori were executed in a post-Byzantine style with western features, in the form of staple portraits.
Under Frankish rule was built in 1200-1400-t. Gothic-style churches, monasteries and chapels, such as the Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia, the Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta, the Bellapais Monastery and the Royal Chapel in Pyrga.
Cyprus is rich in portable icons. According to legend, a Maria icon in the Kykko monastery must have been painted by the evangelist Luke. Especially from 1100-t. and from the Frankish and Venetian periods there are numerous beautiful icons. As in Crete, it was painted in both a strict Byzantine and in a more Western influenced style. Not least the small pin portraits found on many of the icons also testify to Western influence here. The icon painting decayed after the Turkish conquest of the island in 1571. Examples of Islamic architecture and art from the Turkish era can be found in Hala Sultan Tekke near Larnaca and the Dragoman’s House in Nicosia, both from the early 1800’s.
An independent Cypriot art, inspired by Western Europe, emerged after approximately 1900 and reached its full unfolding after independence in 1960. With the march of the Turkish troops in 1974, there has been a significant political-national profiling of much art in the Greek part of the island. Thus, Archbishop Makario’s 3rd motif is for numerous paintings, busts and statues, including the colossal statue in front of the new Archbishop’s Palace in Nicosia. However, there is also a group of less politically engaged painters, who has worked in the so-called Apophasi movement, named after a gallery founded in the 1960’s. The island’s modern monumental architecture is largely influenced by traditional forms of construction, such as the Archbishop’s Palace and the new Presidential Palace in Nicosia from 1978.
