The Republic of Cyprus , referred to as Cyprus, is an island country at the junction of Europe and Asia, located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 9251 square kilometers. Cyprus belongs to Asia geographically, but it is a part of Europe culturally and politically.

The earliest known traces of human activities in Cyprus can be traced back to 10000 B.C. the ruins of this period include Joel lukodia, which is still intact in the Neolithic age. Because of its location in the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus entered the Western Asia region. In 1500 BC, the ancient Greeks moved to the island. It was ruled by Assyria, Egypt, Persia, Rome and Byzantium. Alexander the great took over the island from the Persians in 333 BC. It was ruled by the Ottoman Empire in 1571. It was ceded to Britain in 1878 and became a British colony in 1925. Independence was declared on August 16, 1960 and became a member of the Commonwealth the following year. 

After the independence of Cyprus, the main ethnic Greeks and the minority Turks continued to have sporadic conflicts until 1974, when serious ethnic bloodshed broke out. With the intervention and support of Turkey, the Turks, who mainly live in the northern part of the island, have established a separate regime in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Therefore, the legal sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus is the whole island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters (except for a small part of the area allocated to the United Kingdom as a military base by the Treaty), but in fact, the effective ruling area is only the south, accounting for 63% of the total Island area. Northern Cyprus as a political entity is only recognized by Turkey. 

Cyprus, a developed capitalist country, joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.