Country · Europe
Cyprus
Republic of Cyprus
Cyprus is a country in Southern Europe. About 1.2 million people live there, in an area of 9 251 square kilometres. Its capital city is Nicosia.
Picture credit: Deensel (CC BY 2.0) · Michal Osmenda (CC BY 2.0) · An. Antoniou (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Cyprus?
Cyprus lies in Southern Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 896 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 648 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is Cyprus?
Cyprus covers 9 251 square kilometres.
That is about 3.6 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 162nd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 128.6 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Cyprus?
About 1.2 million people live in Cyprus.
That is the 154th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Greek and Turkish.
They pay with the Euro (€).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 77 years.
The land of Cyprus
The land of Cyprus sits on average 91 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 648 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 32 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Cyprus different?
A dish the country is known for: Fasolada.
Websites from here often end in .cy.
Cyprus and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Cyprus.
It takes up about 0.01 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 38th of 45 by size, and 36th by population.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Cyprus: Domestic cat. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Olympus (Chionistra), at 1 952 metres. The longest river in the country is the Pedieos. The largest lake in the country is Larnaca Salt Lake.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Cyprus compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 1 013 times as big as Cyprus: 9 372 610 km² against 9 251 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 26 times as big as Cyprus: 242 900 km² against 9 251 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Cyprus?
The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Cyprus?
About 1.2 million people live in Cyprus, which makes it the 154th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Cyprus?
Cyprus covers 9 251 square kilometres, making it the 162nd largest country in the world. That is about 3.6 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Cyprus?
The highest mountain in Cyprus is Mount Olympus (Chionistra), 1 952 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Cyprus?
The longest river in Cyprus is the Pedieos, about 98 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Cyprus?
The largest lake in Cyprus is Larnaca Salt Lake. It covers about 2 km².
Which continent is Cyprus in?
Cyprus is in Europe, in the part called Southern Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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