Economy - overview The Greek Cypriot economy is small and prosperous, but highly susceptible to external shocks. Industry contributes 22% to GDP and employs 25% of the labor force, while the service sector contributes 73% to GDP and employs 62% of the labor force. Erratic growth rates in the 1990s reflect the economy's vulnerability to swings in tourist arrivals, caused by political instability on the island and fluctuations in economic conditions in Western Europe. The Turkish Cypriot economy has about one-third the per capita GDP of the south. Because it is recognized only by Turkey, it has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. The economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture and government service, which together employ about half of the work force. Moreover, the small, vulnerable economy has suffered because the Turkish lira is legal tender. To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides direct and indirect aid to nearly every sector. In January 1997, Turkey signed a $250 million economic cooperation accord with the Turkish Cypriot area to support tourism, education, and industry.

GDP purchasing power parity - $11.19 billion (Greek Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $9.75 billion; Turkish Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $1.44 billion) (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2.4% (Greek Cypriot area: 2.5%; Turkish Cypriot area: 1.7%) (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $13,500 (Greek Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $15,000; Turkish Cypriot area: purchasing power parity - $8,000) (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector Greek Cypriot area: agriculture 4.4%; industry 22.4%; services 73.2% (1996); Turkish Cypriot area: agriculture 10%; industry 24.6%; services 65.4% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index Greek Cypriot area: 3.5% (1997 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 87.5% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: Greek Cypriot area: 299,700
by occupation: services 62%, industry 25%, agriculture 13% (1995)
total: Turkish Cypriot area: 76,500 (1996)
by occupation: services 66%, industry 11%, agriculture 23% (1995)

Unemployment rate Greek Cypriot area: 3.3% (1997 est.); Turkish Cypriot area: 6.4% (1996)

Budget
revenues: Greek Cypriot area - $2.9 billion, Turkish Cypriot area - $171 million
expenditures: Greek Cypriot area - $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $345 million, Turkish Cypriot area - $306 million, including capital expenditures of $56.8 million (1997 est.)

Industries food, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metal products, tourism, wood products

Industrial production growth rate Greek Cypriot area: -4% (1996); Turkish Cypriot area: 5.1% (1995)

Electricity - capacity 666,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 2.6 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 3,530 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products potatoes, citrus, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, vegetables

Exports
total value: Greek Cypriot area: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes
partners: Russia 19.1%, Bulgaria 16.4%, UK 11.3%, Greece 6.3%, Germany 4.8%
total value: Turkish Cypriot area: $70.5 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: citrus, potatoes, textiles
partners: Turkey 48.2%, UK 21.3%, other EU 13.7%

Imports
total value: Greek Cypriot area: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, food and feed grains, machinery
partners: US 17.8%, UK 11.9%, Italy 9.7%, Germany 7.5%, Greece 7.6%
total value: Turkish Cypriot area: $318.4 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: food, minerals, chemicals, machinery
partners: Turkey 55.3%, UK 13.8%, other EU 11.6%

Debt - external Greek Cypriot area: $1.56 billion (1997)

Economic aid Greek Cypriot area: recipient - $187 million (1990-94) in grants; Turkish Cypriot area: recipient - $700 million (1990-97) from Turkey in grants and loans that are usually forgiven

Currency 1 Cypriot pound (£C) = 100 cents; 1 Turkish lira (TL) = 100 kurus

Exchange rates Cypriot pounds per US1$ - 0.5326 (January 1998), 0.5135 (1997), 0.4663 (1996), 0.4522 (1995), 0.4915 (1994), 0.4970 (1993); Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 187,477 (November 1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Cyprus on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cyprus Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cyprus Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.