ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Cyprus. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Cyprus. The division of Cyprus has been a major point of contention in the long-standing rivalry between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean. Peace in Cyprus remains fragile. Propaganda in schools and in the media has sustained hostility among Cypriot youth. Several private television and radio stations in the Greek Cypriot community compete effectively with government-controlled stations. In addition, the government also publishes a Cyprus Internet home page, which features information regarding efforts to resolve the island's protracted dispute as well as current developments and policy statements by Cypriot leaders.
