Cyprus Map

Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily and Sardinia, and lies about 75 km south of Turkey and roughly 105 km west of Syria. Geographically it belongs to Asia; politically the Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and has used the euro since 2008. The island covers 9,251 km² and has about 1.4 million people (UN World Population Prospects, 2025 estimate, for the whole island). In practice it has been divided since 1974, and any map of Cyprus has to show four different kinds of territory.

A divided island: who controls what

• The Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognised state for the whole island, but its government in Nicosia controls only the south, roughly 59% of the land. This is where the euro, EU law and the Greek-speaking majority are found.
• The north, about a third of the island, is administered by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), declared in 1983 and recognised only by Turkey, which keeps troops there. The Turkish lira, not the euro, is the everyday currency in the north, and EU law is suspended there until a settlement.
• The UN buffer zone, or Green Line, runs about 180 km across the island and through the middle of Nicosia, patrolled by the UN peacekeeping force UNFICYP. Crossing points have been open since 2003.
• The UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri (near Limassol) and Dhekelia (near Larnaca) remained British territory when Cyprus became independent in 1960, and together cover about 3% of the island.

The division followed a coup in July 1974 backed by the military junta then ruling Greece, which aimed at union with Greece, and the Turkish military intervention that came days later. Around 200,000 people were displaced in both directions. A UN reunification plan (the Annan Plan) was accepted by Turkish Cypriots but rejected by Greek Cypriots in 2004, and the last major round of talks collapsed in 2017. As of 2026 the UN Secretary-General is again meeting the two leaders, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman (elected in October 2025), to try to restart formal negotiations.

Troodos, Kyrenia and the Mesaoria

Two mountain ranges frame the island. The Troodos Mountains fill the south-west and centre; their summit, Mount Olympos (also called Chionistra), reaches 1,952 m and carries enough winter snow for small ski runs. Geologists know Troodos as one of the world's best-exposed ophiolites, a slice of ancient ocean floor pushed up onto land, which is also why the island was famous for copper in antiquity. Along the north coast runs the narrow limestone Kyrenia (Pentadaktylos) Range, topped by the castles of St Hilarion, Buffavento and Kantara. Between them lies the Mesaoria Plain, the flat, dry heart of the island where Nicosia stands and where most of its cereals are grown.

The coast has its own landmarks: the long, thin Karpas Peninsula pointing north-east towards Syria, the largely undeveloped Akamas Peninsula in the far west, and the salt lakes of Larnaca and Akrotiri, which fill in winter and draw flocks of greater flamingos. There are no permanent rivers of any size, and water shortages are a recurring problem in dry years.

Climate and when to visit

Cyprus has a hot Mediterranean climate. Summers (June to September) are long, dry and very hot inland: Nicosia regularly passes 40°C in July and August, while the coast is moderated by sea breezes. Almost all rain falls between November and March. Spring (April and May) and autumn (October and November) are the most comfortable months for walking and sightseeing, and the sea stays warm enough for swimming into November. The Troodos villages are a cool escape in summer.

Cities and districts

The Republic is divided into six districts, named after their main towns: Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, Famagusta and Kyrenia. The Kyrenia district and most of the Famagusta district lie in the north, under TRNC administration, which uses its own set of districts.

• Nicosia (Lefkosia / Lefkoşa) - The capital, inland on the Mesaoria and split by the Green Line; its old town sits inside 16th-century Venetian walls, and the Ledra Street crossing links the two halves.
• Limassol - The second city and the main port on the south coast, centre of the island's shipping-management industry and of much of its newer high-rise development.
• Larnaca - Home to the island's busiest airport, the Church of Saint Lazarus and the remains of ancient Kition.
• Paphos - In the west, with its own airport and the UNESCO-listed mosaics of the Roman villas; the rock of Petra tou Romiou nearby is the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite.
• Famagusta - A walled medieval port in the north whose fenced-off modern district of Varosha was abandoned in 1974; part of it was reopened by the Turkish Cypriot authorities in 2020, a move criticised by the UN Security Council.
• Kyrenia (Girne) - A small harbour town on the north coast below the Kyrenia Range.

History on the ground

Few places of this size have been ruled by so many powers: Mycenaean Greeks, Phoenicians, Persians, Ptolemaic Egypt, Rome and Byzantium, then the Crusader Lusignan kings (1192-1489), Venice (1489-1571), the Ottoman Empire (1571-1878) and Britain, which took over administration in 1878 and annexed the island in 1914. Each left buildings behind. Cyprus has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Neolithic settlement of Choirokoitia, inhabited from around 7000 BCE; ancient Paphos; and the ten Painted Churches in the Troodos Region, with Byzantine and post-Byzantine frescoes. Halloumi cheese, now protected under an EU designation of origin, is the island's best-known export to supermarket shelves.

Economy and offshore gas

The south is a high-income economy, at about US$41,800 per person in 2025 (World Bank), built on tourism, shipping, professional and financial services and property. A banking crisis in 2013 led to an EU-IMF bailout and losses for large depositors. Since 2011 gas fields have been discovered in the Republic's offshore exclusive economic zone, including Aphrodite (2011) and Cronos (2022); in 2026 Eni and TotalEnergies approved Cronos as the first to be developed, with gas to be piped to Egypt for export as LNG from about 2028. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot authorities dispute parts of that zone. The north's economy is much smaller and closely tied to Turkey, with universities and casinos as major earners. In the first half of 2026 Cyprus held the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.