| Economy - overview: | The Republic of Cyprus has a capitalist economy dominated by the service sector, which accounts for 76% of GDP. Tourism and financial services are the most important sectors; erratic growth rates over the past decade reflect the economy's reliance on tourism, which often fluctuates with political instability in the region and economic conditions in Western Europe. Cyprus joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2) in May 2005 and could adopt the euro within the next two years. Although sluggish tourism and poor fiscal management have resulted in high budget deficits since 2001, the government is pursuing reforms to trim the deficit. As in the Turkish sector, water shortages are a perennial problem; a few desalination plants are now on-line. After 10 years of drought, the country received substantial rainfall from 2001-03, alleviating immediate concerns. The Turkish Cypriot economy has roughly one-third of the per capita GDP of the south, and economic growth tends to be volatile, given north Cyprus's relative isolation, bloated public sector, reliance on the Turkish lira, and small market size. The Turkish Cypriot economy grew 15.4% in 2004, fueled by growth in the construction and education sectors as well as increased employment of Turkish Cypriots in the Republic of Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriots are heavily dependent on transfers from the Turkish government. Under the 2003-06 economic protocol, Ankara plans to provide around $550 million to the "TRNC." Agriculture and services, together, employ more than half of the work force, especially with tourism growth and the easing of border restrictions with the Greek Cypriots since April 2003. |
| GDP - per capita | Republic of Cyprus: $21,600 (2005 est.); north Cyprus: $7,135 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate (%) | Republic of Cyprus: 3.8% (2005 est.) north Cyprus: 15.4% (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, vegetables, poultry, pork, lamb, kids, dairy, cheese |
| GDP - composition by sector (%) | Republic of Cyprus: agriculture 3.8%; industry 20%; services 76.2% (2005 est.), north Cyprus: agriculture 10.6%; industry 20.5%; services 68.9% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, food and beverage processing; cement and gypsum production; ship repair and refurbishment; textiles; light chemicals; metal products; wood, paper, stone, and clay products |
| Economic aid - recipient | Republic of Cyprus - NA; north Cyprus - $700 million from Turkey in grants and loans, which are usually forgiven (2003-06) |
| Debt - external | Republic of Cyprus: $7.803 billion; north Cyprus: $NA (2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line (%) | NA |
| Labor force - by occupation (%) | Republic of Cyprus: 7.4%, agriculture 7.4%, industry 38.2%, services 54.4% (2004 est.) |
Environment, Land use / Resources, Economy, Population / Demographics, Infrastructure, Health -- CIA World Factbook, 2005
