Country profile · Eastern Mediterranean
Cyprus
Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean and joined the EU in 2004. It has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the north. Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Cypriot state there. President Nikos Christodoulides leads the internationally recognized government, which controls about 59% of the island. Britain keeps two military bases, and a drone hit one in March 2026.
Where Cyprus ranks
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All alliances →Disputed territories involving Cyprus
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Who runs Cyprus?
President Nikos Christodoulides was born on December 6, 1973, in Geroskipou. He was government spokesman from 2014 to 2018 and foreign minister from 2018 to January 2022 under President Nicos Anastasiades. He ran for president as an independent against the candidate of his own party, the conservative DISY, which expelled him in January 2023. He won the runoff on February 12, 2023, with 51.97% against Andreas Mavroyiannis and took office on February 28, 2023. Cyprus is a presidential republic: the president leads the government, and there is no prime minister. In the parliamentary election of May 24, 2026, DISY came first and the left-wing AKEL second. The far-right ELAM came third with 10.9% and doubled its seats from four to eight (chart). In January 2026 an online video alleged off-the-books cash in his 2023 campaign. His brother-in-law, who ran his office, resigned, and Christodoulides called the video a hybrid attack. The next presidential election is in February 2028.
- Democratic Rally (DISY) 17
- AKEL (left) 15
- ELAM (far right) 8
- Democratic Party (DIKO) 8
- Alma and Direct Democracy (4 each) 8
Photo (June 2025): European People's Party, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
Who are Cyprus's allies and rivals?
Greece is Cyprus's closest ally. A joint defense doctrine dates from 1993, about 950 Greek soldiers are based on the island, and Greek F-16s and a frigate have stayed since March 2026 after a drone struck the British base at Akrotiri. Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and is the only country that recognizes the Turkish Cypriot state in the north, where it keeps an estimated 35,000 troops. Turkish ports have been closed to Cypriot ships since 1987. On September 22, 2026, Turkey's President Erdoğan called at the UN for the world to recognize the north. Cyprus and Greece blocked Turkey from the EU's SAFE defense loans in October 2025. France signed a status-of-forces agreement on June 8, 2026 and is helping upgrade Mari naval base. Israel sold Cyprus its Barak MX air defense system. The United States has waived its 1987 arms embargo one year at a time since 2022, most recently to September 2027.
Allies and partners
GreeceJoint defense doctrine; Greek jets on the island- European UnionMember since 2004; held the presidency in 2026
FranceTroops agreement signed June 2026
IsraelSupplies Cyprus's Barak MX air defense
Rivals and tensions
TurkeyTroops in the north; recognizes only the north- Turkish Republic of Northern CyprusDeclared in 1983, recognized only by Turkey
- Nicosia The capital, divided by a UN buffer zone since 1974. Christodoulides and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, met there on October 13, 2026.
- RAF Akrotiri British air base. A drone hit a hangar on the night of March 1 to 2, 2026, the first strike there since 1986.
- Varosha Beach district of Famagusta, fenced off by the Turkish army since 1974. Turkish Cypriots began opening part of it in 2020.
- Cyprus
- Partner
- Rival
- Held by Turkish Cypriots
Who does Cyprus trade with?
Cyprus imported goods worth €13.55 billion in 2025 and exported €5.55 billion (Cyprus Statistical Service). Most goods exports are fuel sold on, and Libya alone took about a quarter of them (chart). Halloumi cheese, which has EU protected status since 2021, earned €332 million in the first eleven months of 2025. Medicines earned €318 million. Services make up for the goods deficit. Shipping, finance and tourism earned a services surplus worth 25% of GDP in 2025. A record 4.53 million tourists came in 2025. Nearly a third were British and 13% were Israeli. Arrivals fell about 7% in the first eight months of 2026 because of the Iran war. Cyprus has found gas at sea but produces none yet. Its power stations still burn oil. In July 2026 Eni and TotalEnergies decided to develop the Cronos field and pipe its gas to Egypt, with first gas planned for 2028.
Goods, 2025, as reported by Cyprus. UN Comtrade. Fuel for ships at sea (bunkers) and unallocated imports are left out of the ranking.
Why does Britain have military bases in Cyprus?
Britain kept two Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, when Cyprus became independent in 1960. They cover about 254 square kilometers, about 3% of the island, and about 11,000 Cypriots live inside them. Britain flew strikes against the Islamic State from RAF Akrotiri from 2014 and against the Houthis in Yemen in 2024 and 2025. Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ runs a listening station at Ayios Nikolaos in Dhekelia. The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026. On the night of March 1 to 2, a drone hit a hangar at RAF Akrotiri. Cyprus's foreign minister said it was Iranian-made and launched from Lebanon. Greece, France and other EU countries sent warships and jets. On March 20 President Nikos Christodoulides called the bases "a colonial consequence" and asked for talks on their future. Britain says their status is not in question. In September he asked Prime Minister Andy Burnham to consider Cyprus's security when using them.
Why do so many ships and companies register in Cyprus?
Ships registered in Cyprus make up the world's 12th-largest fleet by deadweight tonnage (chart). Shipowners pay a low tonnage tax, approved by the EU until 2029, instead of corporate tax. Limassol is the EU's largest center for third-party ship management, by the industry's count, and shipping earns about 7% of GDP. Low taxes also drew Russian money. For years Russians routed their money through Cypriot companies and back into Russia. Russia is still the largest foreign investor in Cyprus, but its stake fell from €135.7 billion in 2022 to €83.5 billion at the end of 2024 (Central Bank of Cyprus). From 2007 to 2020 Cyprus granted about 7,000 passports to investors and their families. It ended the scheme on November 1, 2020, after an Al Jazeera investigation. A 2021 inquiry found that about half the passports were granted illegally. In April 2023 the United States and Britain sanctioned Cypriot lawyers and firms accused of hiding Russian oligarchs' wealth.
Merchant fleet by flag of registration, million deadweight tonnes, January 2026
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MaltaUNCTADstat maritime transport data, from Clarksons Research, 2026