Part 228

Economy - overview: The Greek Cypriot economy is small and prosperous, but highly susceptible to external shocks. Industry contributes 23% to GDP and employs 25% of the labor force, while the service sector contributes 72% 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 fluctuations in political and economic conditions in Western Europe and the Middle East) and the need for structural changes in the economy. One bright spot has been the low rate of inflation. In 1996 Cyprus fully satisfied all the Maastricht convergence criteria. The Turkish Cypriot economy has less than 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 - $8.8 billion (Greek area: purchasing power parity - $8,300,000,000; Turkish area: purchasing power parity - $536,000,000) (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.4% (Greek area: 4%; Turkish area: 0.5%) (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,800 (Greek area: purchasing power parity - $13,700; Turkish area: purchasing power parity - $3,950) (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: Greek area: agriculture 5.3%; industry 22.7%; services 72% (1996 est.); Turkish area: agriculture 11.4%; industry 22.9%; services 65.7% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: Greek area: 3.3% (1996 est.); Turkish area: 86% (1996 est.)

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

Unemployment rate: Greek area: 2.3% (1996 est.); Turkish area: 3.6% (1995 est.)

Budget: revenues: Greek area - $2.9 billion, Turkish area - $149 million expenditures: Greek area - $3.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $453 million, Turkish area - $304 million, including capital expenditures of $20 million (1996)

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

Industrial production growth rate: Greek area: -4% (1996); Turkish area: 2.6% (1992)

Electricity - capacity: 690,000 kW 000 kW

Electricity - production: 2.5 billion kWh

Electricity - consumption per capita: 3,380 kWh (1995)

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

Exports: total value: Greek area: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996); commodities: citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes partners: Russia 17%, UK 11%, Greece 6%, Germany 5% total value: Turkish area: $71 million (f.o.b., 1996); commodities: citrus, potatoes, textiles partners : UK 35%, Turkey 30%

Imports: total value: Greek area: $4 billion (f.o.b., 1996); commodities: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, food and feed grains, machinery partners: US 16%, UK 11%, Italy 9%, Germany 7%, Greece 7%, Japan 6% total value : Turkish area: $330 million (f.o.b., 1996); commodities: food, minerals, chemicals, machinery partners: Turkey 53%, UK 13%

Debt - external: Greek area: $1.8 billion (1996)

Economic aid: Greek area: recipient - $700 million with amount declining in recent years (1974-96 est.); Turkish area: recipient - $400 million from Turkey (1977-96 est.)

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

Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds per US1$ - 0.4816 (January 1997), 0.4663 (1996), 0.4522 (1995), 0.4915 (1994), 0.4970 (1993), 0.4502 (1992); Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 112,019 (January 1997), 81,405 (1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Cyprus:Communications

Telephones: Greek area: 367,000 (1996 est.); Turkish area: 80,000 (1996 est.)

Telephone system: excellent in both the Greek and Turkish areas domestic: open wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay international: tropospheric scatter; 3 coaxial and 5 fiber-optic submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: Greek area: AM 4, FM 36, shortwave 1, Turkish area: AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: Greek area: 500,000 (1996 est.); Turkish area: 130,000 (1996 est.)

Television broadcast stations: Greek area: 8 (repeaters 34); Turkish area: 2