Greek and Turkish Cypriots share many customs but maintain distinct identities based on religion, language, and close ties with their respective motherlands. Greek is predominantly spoken in the south, Turkish in the north. English is widely used. Cyprus has a well-developed system of primary and secondary education. The majority of Cypriots earn their higher education at Greek, Turkish, British, or American universities, while there are also sizeable emigrant communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Private colleges and state-supported universities have been developed by both the Turkish and Greek communities.

Map of ethnic distribution (2002)

http://mondediplo.com/maps/cyprusmdv49

(External link to the English version of Le Monde Diplomatique)

Population: 758,363 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23% (male 91,075; female 86,832)
15-64 years: 66% (male 252,252; female 247,464)
65 years and over: 11% (male 35,149; female 45,591) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.6% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 13.27 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 7.68 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.71 years
male: 74.43 years
female: 79.1 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.95 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Cypriot(s)
adjective: Cypriot

Ethnic groups: Greek 78% (99.5% of the Greeks live in the Greek Cypriot area; 0.5% of the Greeks live in the Turkish Cypriot area), Turkish 18% (1.3% of the Turks live in the Greek Cypriot area; 98.7% of the Turks live in the Turkish Cypriot area), other 4% (99.2% of the other ethnic groups live in the Greek Cypriot area; 0.8% of the other ethnic groups live in the Turkish Cypriot area)

Religions: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, Maronite (an Eastern Catholic church in full union with the Pope), Armenian Apostolic, Latin Catholic and other 4%

Languages: Greek, Turkish, English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94%
male: 98%
female: 91% (1987 est.)

See also : Cyprus