The island of Cyprus became an independent republic under the Anglo-Greek-Turkish treaty of 19 February 1959 (which brought British sovereignty to an end). According to the 1960 Cyprus Act, the island was to be jointly ruled by the Greek and Turkish communities but, as early as 1963, the Turkish Cypriot vice-president, ministers and deputies abandoned the country’s political institutions. In 1964, the UN was forced to send peacekeepers to the island. However, this was not enough to prevent the military junta then in power in Greece from staging a coup on 17 July 1974. There followed military intervention by Turkey, which seized control of the north of the island, creating the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In 2004, the UN plan to re-unify the island failed when a referendum was rejected in the Greek Republic of Cyprus (75.8% voting “No”), despite being approved in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (64.9% voting “Yes”). As a result, only the Greek Republic of Cyprus joined the EU (1 May 2004).
The President of the Republic, who is also head of the executive, is elected by direct suffrage for a five-year term, as is the House of Representatives (80 members, though the 24 seats reserved for the Turkish community are not occupied).

Defence and justice.
The military defence lies in the hands of the National Guard. On the island there are a UN peace-keeping force and two British military bases.

Population by age and gender (% - 2017)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

After partition in 1974, more than 180 000 Greeks moved to the south and 50 000 Turks moved to the North.

Economic situation.
After higher growth than expected in 2017 (3.9%), the economy should continue to develop at a rate of around 3.5% over the next two years, with unemployment on the decline, currently under 10%. After the adjustment concluded in 2016, public finances have been strong. Investments are growing.

Primary sector.
The main crops are cereals (wheat and barley), vines, citrus fruits, fruit and potatoes.
Livestock farming is limited, whereas fishing is more lucrative, especially sponge-fishing.

Secondary and tertiary sector.
The discovery of huge natural gas deposits between the coasts of Cyprus, Israel and Egypt is redefining the geopolitical equilibrium. With the aim of reducing Europe’s dependence on gas supplies from Russia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Israel agreed to build a new gas pipeline.
A new pipe towards Egypt is also in the works.
There are many small and medium-size companies producing food, textiles (Yeroskipou), building materials and tobacco (Nicosia). The dismantlement of the refinery in Larnaca began in 2017. Tourism is the country’s main source of income. Cyprus has special tax laws which attract large amounts of foreign capital.