about Cyprus
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The “jewel” of a Mediterranean island and the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite. Cyprus combines a rich cultural and archaeological heritage with great natural beauty. Cyprus is a small European island country located in the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The island gained independence from the UK in 1960. Cyprus is a presidential republic and became a member of the European Union in 2004 offering greater business and investment opportunities.
Cyprus is known for the vast amount of foreigners from all over the world that travel here to live, as well as, for vacation for its features and potentials.
One of the benefits of being a Mediterranean island is plentiful sunshine throughout the year, and Cyprus is no exception. In fact, Cyprus weather epitomizes the ideal weather of the region with sunny days and fine temperatures almost every day. Extremes of temperatures are rare. Cyprus is blessed with long summers (more than 300 sunny days) and short winters.
With its approximately 1.800 species and subspecies of flowering plants, Cyprus, is an extremely interesting place for nature lovers and has all the attributes which make it a botanist’s paradise. The environment of Cyprus is one of the healthiest in the world according to the World Health Organization and is relatively unspoiled by industrialization. This green Mediterranean island is also remarkable for the variety of its topography, with a series of sandy and shingle beaches.
Cyprus is popular for its respect towards all foreign cultures hosting a number of communities, the main once are the English, the Russians, The Armenians, the Arabs and Asian communities. Foreign schools and places of worship are available for all these communities. Cypriots are very friendly and welcoming people, they invite people to their home and treat them like a part of their family.
Locals speak Greek Cypriot, which is a dialect of Greek that reflects the influence of the myriad of nations that have ruled Cyprus over the years… The second language of Cyprus is English, as the country was a British colony from 1878 until 1960. And because so many Cypriots speak English, many residents (particularly the British) make very little effort to learn more than a few words of Greek and live life in isolation as if they were on an extended holiday.
Cyprus is like paradise on earth, it enjoys a very low crime rate in comparison with other competitive Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. Cyprus crime rate is only one tenth of the average rate of the other European countries (6% of United Kingdom). One will find that in residential areas, people rarely lock their cars, many times leave houses, windows or even doors open. This is all due to friendliness and honesty of the local population and the reason people return year after year.
Cyprus provides a fairly high, European level standard of living. The annual per capita income is about US 27,000. The overall cost of living averages about 1/3 to 2/3 of most parts of Europe, Japan or the USA. The number ONE retirement destination ranked by the Sunday times in January 2008 having considered tax fees, property costs, healthcare, climate and culture …The Economist ranked the island 23rd out of 111 countries for worldwide quality of life.
Cyprus is often a country chosen by those who would like to receive a top quality European education, the tradition of which is closely related to British education system and schools. State schools teach in the Greek language, and are free for children between 5 -18 years of age. Children who wish to attend state schools but do not speak Greek, are given special lessons in the language. There are private high standard English & French schools in each city, and many state and private universities throughout the country with all specialties (medicine, engineering, law, etc)
Cyprus has a very high standard of medical services. Hospitals, private clinics and medical centers are equipped with the latest facilities. The latest technology and operating techniques are standard, with heart bypass surgery and kidney transplantation now routine in hospitals. The principle underlying the Government’s health policy is that health, as a social good, is the responsibility of the state. The national health insurance Gesy system covers the outpatient cases for all Cypriots and permanent residents of Cyprus. The system is financed by the Government budget.
Good standard of municipal services, like clean drinking water, new sewage systems, electricity, and continuous maintenance for roads and green areas in the city. The main responsibilities of municipalities are the construction, maintenance and lighting of streets, the collection, disposal and treatment of waste, the protection and improvement of the environment and the good appearance of the municipal areas, the construction, development and maintenance of municipal gardens and parks and the protection of public health.
With 6 internet providers,3 Mobile telecommunication providers local and international communications is offered at competitive prices and high quality .Cyprus strategic location is ideal for traveling to Europe , Asia and Africa .two international airports are served by more than 40 airlines , while the ports offer trips to Greek Islands, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Syria. Within Cyprus all cities are connected via new motorways making traveling both safe and effortless.
The Cyprus legal system is a common law system, based on UK standards, and land register is one of the most advanced and reliable in the world. Purchasers of property in Cyprus will therefore be far more secure, with regards to their property transactions and title deeds, than they might be in another country. In Cyprus, the holder of the title deed is the sole legal owner of the property.
Cyprus was the meeting point of great civilizations due to its strategic location. Its 9000 years of history shaped its culture from those who conquered the island ; ancient Greek sanctuaries, Roman temples, medieval castles and Othman empire buildings reveal the rich history of the island .Ten of the numerous Byzantine painted churches have been put on the UNESCO heritage list along with other archaeological monuments.
Cyprus adopted the euro as its national currency in 2008 and was listed by the IMF as one of the 31 advanced economies in the world in 2016. Cyprus has an open, free-market, service-based economy with a long record of resilience and successful economic performance. The expansion and upgrading of the tourism sector, the rapidly developing investment fund sector and the discovery of significant quantities of natural gas in Cypriot waters raise the prospect of a transformation of the Cypriot economy in the medium-long term.
The Cyprus economy has been expanding rapidly, with robust growth rates averaging 4.4% in 2015-18. The island was among the top five Eurozone performers in 2018, with an impressive growth rate of 3.9%, compared with a Eurozone average of 1.9%. The European commission predicts a growth rate of 3.1% in 2019 and 2.7% in 2020. The growth is being driven by both strong private demand, spurred by growing employment, and an expanded and upgraded tourism sector after four successive years of record tourism arrivals.
Vat is just 19% with many items including foodstuffs taxed with as low 5% or 9%. Corporation tax for resident companies is 12.5%. Income from dividends and profit from the sale of shares is also tax exempted for Non Domiciled Cypriot Tax Residents. Capital gains tax is 0% for profits less than 17,088 euro and 20% for any net profits above that. Further Cyprus has double tax treaties with 63 countries including the UK, Russia, and former Soviet Union countries, USA and Scandinavian countries.