Cyprus

Cyprus is an island divided; the northern third of the island is Turkish in ethnicity and Islamic in [Page 274]religion, while the larger Greek south is dominated by the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous institution based on Greek Orthodoxy. The two regions are governed separately and generally treated separately by sociologists. Greeks account for 77% of the Mediterranean island's entire population, with Turks constituting 18%, and both groups residing almost entirely in their respective territories. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is 98% Sunnī Muslim, while allegiance to the Church of Cyprus characterizes 95% of the Republic of Cyprus (the only ruling party officially recognized by many foreign nations). While maintaining its relationship with the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of Cyprus has played a ...