After Sicily and Sardinia, Cyrus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus was a significant producer of copper in antiquity, with mines being worked as early as 2500 BC. Today, gypsum, asbestos, copper, and iron pyrites have all made substantial contributions to international trade. This is hardly surprising given that manufacturing has been one of the key forces behind the growth of the Cypriot economy over the past forty years, along with tourism.
Despite this, the manufacturing sector has been experiencing issues with competitiveness over the past few years, particularly after the significant financial downturn of 2013. This is primarily because of the manufacturing sector’s low level of exports and its more conventional production methods.
The most significant industries in Cyprus are listed below.
Industry and manufacturing
In recent years, the nation’s industrial and manufacturing sector has gradually shrunk as the services sector has continued to expand. In 2013, manufacturing contributed roughly 6.5% of the nation’s GDP. In the same year, 9% of the country’s workforce was working in this area. The World Bank has ranked the nation 39th out of 185 nations in terms of how easy it is to do business there. The regulatory and enabling conditions for the establishment and operation of local businesses are taken into account in the ranking. Textiles, food and drink, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and equipment are only a few of the major goods produced in the nation.
The manufacturing sector’s GDP peaked in 2008 at 260,53 EUR million, but the economic recession of 2013 severely hurt the sector, which saw its GDP fall to 155,32 EUR million in that year. Since that time, manufacturing-related GDP has been increasing. The sector contributes almost 5% of the nation’s GDP, according to the most recent statistics from the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus, and has a production value of 2.734,4 EUR million (up 6,4% from 2015 data). Despite this, Cyprus ranks 69th out of 137 nations in terms of development prospects on the Global Competitiveness Index 2017-201812, stressing the need to concentrate on potential new opportunities.
Mining
The economy of the country receives just a modest boost from the mining industry. An estimated 534 persons were employed in the sector in 2012. The asbestos, copper, gold, iron pyrite, and mining industries were formerly enormously lucrative. However, the industry started to deteriorate in the 1970s as a result of various outside causes, such as the Turkish invasion of the island’s northern parts in 1974, which contained some significant mines.
Agricultural
In 2010, the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors made for roughly 2% of the nation’s GDP. Because other economic sectors have been growing steadily, the sector has seen a significant drop. Although it employed an estimated 4.3% of the nation’s labor force in 2010, the industry is nevertheless essential. According to estimates from 2009, 13.5% of the nation’s land is used for agriculture.
Tourism
Since Cyprus gained its independence, the tourist sector has been a major contributor to the country’s economy. Currently, the nation ranks among the top tourist destinations in the Mediterranean area. In 2011, the industry earned $3.6 million and employed about 74,000 people in the nation. The country is ranked 35th out of 181 nations by the World Travel and Tourist Council in terms of the contribution of the tourism industry to the overall economy. In 2011, the sector represented 17.7% of the country’s economy, higher than the 14% global average.
Banking and financial services
The banking and financial sector is both extremely expansive and technologically advanced. It is made up of companies that deal in financial services such as capital markets, insurance, cooperative credit, accounting, and taxation. In 2009, the asset market contributed about 69% to the overall gross domestic product of the nation.
