Libraries in Cyprus
The library field in the Republic of Cyprus* has strong potential for development and modernisation, in order to bring all institutions up to the level of the most prominent academic libraries. Greater recognition of the role – and corresponding support – will help to better realise the role they play elsewhere in the world in powering equitable and sustainable development.
In particular, there is considerable scope to upgrade school libraries, and integrate them more effectively into education strategies, as well as to enable public libraries to compete more effectively for the attention of users. To some extent, academic libraries are working to fill the gap in service provision by other library types.
There are also a number of well-organised special libraries, although with a primary focus on their host institutions, deal relatively little with the public.
The main ministry working with libraries is the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports. However, with libraries just one part of a broad portfolio, there is room for greater attention and investment.
The Ministry is directly responsible for funding the National Library, as well as school libraries (in conjunction with School Boards), while public libraries are financed by their respective municipality or community, academic libraries by universities and special libraries by host institutions. The latter two library types tend to be the best supported.
The national library association brings together librarians in the country, with a basic programme of events bringing active members together. Here too, there is ambition to increase the number of librarians with active participation, to extend the reach of the association and the scope of its activities.
*Please note that this profile details only the situation in the area under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.
Library data
Contextual data
Population
Population Growth
Proportion of Population Younger than 15
Proportion of Population Older than 64
Population Density
people per sq km
Population Growth
Access to Electricity
Internet Users
Female Internet Users
Male Internet Users
GDP per capita
Poverty Rate
2011 PPP
Inequality
2011 PPP
Unemployment
Inactive Youth
2011 PPP
Education Spending
% of GDP
Adult Literacy Rate
% of people age 15+
Female Adult Literacy
% of GDP
Male Adult Literacy
% of people age 15+
Female Youth Literacy
% of GDP
Male Youth Literacy
% of people age 15+
Research Spending
% of GDP
Researchers
% of GDP
Research Spending
% of GDP
Library data
|
Library type |
Total |
National |
Academic |
Public |
Community |
School |
Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Libraries (Service Points)
254
Library service point is a fixed or mobile facility through which library provides a service to its users. Central libraries, branch libraries, mobile libraries, and external service points located in different geographical locations and managed by one administrative unit are all each individual service points. Number of libraries is the total number of central/main libraries, branch libraries, external service points and mobile libraries. |
254 2019 |
3 2019 |
44 2016 |
27 2016 |
35 2016 |
113 2018 |
32 2016 |
|
Main Libraries
1
Central/main library is usually part or those parts of an administrative unit where the main administrative functions and the important parts of the library collection and services are located. An administrative unit comprising several branch libraries does not necessarily include a central library. |
1 2019 |
1 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Branch Libraries
2
Branch library is a part of a larger administrative unit providing, in separate quarters, a service for a particular user group (e.g. children, faculties) or for a locally defined clientele. Institute, departmental and other affiliated libraries are included. Mobile libraries and external service points are excluded. |
2 2019 |
2 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
External Service Points
0
External service point is a point away from library premises at which a certain service is regularly offered to users. This includes places within a locality at which library material is deposited for informal circulation to a restricted group of users but without other library services, for example, old people’s homes, community centres, collections for hospital patients. Mobile libraries and their stops are not counted as external service points. |
0 2019 |
0 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Mobile Libraries
0
Mobile library is a library, sometimes a division of a public library, using transport means to provide documents and services directly to users as an alternative to access on library premises. |
0 2019 |
0 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Libraries (Administrative Units)
1
Administrative unit is any independent library, or group of libraries, under a single directorate or a single administration. The term “independent” does not imply legal or financial independence but only that the library is a recognisably separate unit, typically within a larger organisation. The administrative unit can be a single library or a larger organisation, typically containing a central/main library, branch libraries and administrative functions. |
1 2019 |
1 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Libraries with Internet Access
179
Libraries (Service Points) that provides internet access from at least one workstation available to the public regardless of whether access is free, and/or provides a wireless network allowing users to connect to the Internet. |
179 2019 |
3 2019 |
44 2016 |
13 2016 |
3 2016 |
93 2018 |
23 2016 |
|
Full-Time Staff
268
Full-time equivalent (FTE) staff are all library employees who work for the library in return for payment. It includes professional staff, qualified staff, project staff and assistants. Other staff (library employees who work in security and on domestic duties, for example, cleaners, porters, caretakers and catering staff) and volunteers are excluded. |
268 2019 |
12 2019 |
142 2016 |
28 2016 |
26 2016 |
18 2018 |
42 2016 |
|
Volunteers
452
Volunteer is a person working on library tasks without payment. In counting volunteers, the concept of headcount is used. |
452 2019 |
0 2019 |
8 2016 |
22 2016 |
18 2016 |
400 2018 |
4 2016 |
|
Registered Users
149,581
Registered user is a person or organisation registered with a library in order to use its collection and/or services within or away from the library. Users may be registered upon their request or automatically when enrolling in the institutions. |
149,581 2019 |
12,197 2019 |
54,890 2016 |
20,409 2016 |
7,566 2016 |
48,300 2018 |
6,219 2016 |
|
Physical Visits
524,752
Physical visit is a person (individual) entering the library premises. |
524,752 2019 |
10,008 2019 |
382,577 2016 |
52,575 2016 |
14,036 2016 |
32,000 2018 |
33,556 2016 |
|
Physical Loans
336,988
Physical loan is a direct lending or delivery transaction of an item in physical form. Physical loans include loans of items in non-electronic form (e.g. books) and loans electronic documents on a physical carrier (e.g. CD-ROM). |
336,988 2019 |
6,095 2019 |
177,471 2016 |
97,349 2016 |
10 2016 |
31,858 2018 |
24,205 2016 |
|
eBook Loans
112,079
eBook is a non-serial digital document, licenced or not, where searchable text is prevalent, and similar to a print book (monograph). eBooks can be lent to users either on portable devices (eBook readers) or by transmitting the contents to the user’s PC or other device for a limited time period. |
112,079 2016 |
— |
112,079 2016 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Audio Book Loans
354
Audio book (or talking book) is a sound recording of readings of a book, magazine, or newspaper, usually designed for use by visually impaired people. Audio books can be lent to users either on a physical carrier or other device, or by transmitting the content to the user’s PC or other device for a limited time period. |
354 2016 |
— |
4 2016 |
— |
— |
— |
350 2016 |
|
Downloads
342,628
Download is a content unit that is successfully requested from a library-provided online service or other internet service (e.g. database, electronic serial or digital document). |
342,628 2018 |
— |
335,179 2016 |
— |
— |
191 2018 |
7,258 2016 |
Contextual data
|
Population |
Cyprus |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Population Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates. |
1,358,282 2024 |
928,263,208 2024 |
8,141,808,945 2024 |
|
Proportion of Population Younger than 15 Age dependency ratio, young, is the ratio of younger dependents--people younger than 15--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population. |
23.2% 2024 |
27.0% 2024 |
38.0% 2024 |
|
Proportion of Population Older than 64 Age dependency ratio, old, is the ratio of older dependents--people older than 64--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population. |
21.1% 2024 |
28.1% 2024 |
15.7% 2024 |
|
Population Growth Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. |
1.0% 2024 |
0 2024 |
1.0% 2024 |
|
Population Density Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes. |
145.6% 2023 |
33.7% 2022 |
61.6% 2022 |
|
Urban Population Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division. |
66.7% 2024 |
74.0% 2024 |
57.6% 2024 |
|
Information Infrastructure |
Cyprus |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet Users Internet users are individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc. |
91.2% 2023 |
90.9% 2024 |
71.2% 2024 |
|
Female Internet Users This indicator refers to female individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc. |
91.8% 2023 |
90.0% 2024 |
68.2% 2024 |
|
Male Internet Users This indicator refers to male individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc. |
- |
90.0% |
- |
|
Access to Electricity Access to electricity is the percentage of population with access to electricity. Electrification data are collected from industry, national surveys and international sources. |
100.0% 2023 |
100.0% 2023 |
91.6% 2023 |
|
Economy, Poverty, and Employment |
Cyprus |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
GDP per Capita This indicator provides values for gross domestic product (GDP) expressed in current international dollars, converted by purchasing power parities (PPPs). PPPs account for the different price levels across countries and thus PPP-based comparisons of economic output are more appropriate for comparing the output of economies and the average material well-being of their inhabitants than exchange-rate based comparisons. Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. This series has been linked to produce a consistent time series to counteract breaks in series over time due to changes in base years, source data and methodologies. Thus, it may not be comparable with other national accounts series in the database for historical years. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. The PPP conversion factor is a currency conversion factor and a spatial price deflator. PPPs convert different currencies to a common currency and, in the process of conversion, equalize their purchasing power by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries, thereby allowing volume or output comparisons of GDP and its expenditure components. |
61,272 2024 |
51,720.6 2024 |
24,405 2024 |
|
Poverty Rate Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.00 a day at 2021 purchasing power adjusted prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions. |
0.2% 2019 |
0.5% 2024 |
10.3% 2024 |
|
Inequality Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality. |
31.8% 2023 |
0.0% |
- |
|
Unemployment Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country. |
4.9% 2024 |
5.3% 2024 |
6.2% 2021 |
|
Inactive Youth The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive). percentage of youth population |
10.6% 2024 |
11.7% 2024 |
- |
|
Education and Literacy |
Cyprus |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Education Spending General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments. percentage of GDP |
4.7% 2022 |
4.6% 2022 |
3.5% 2023 |
|
Adult Literacy Rate Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of people ages 15 and above |
98.7% 2011 |
4.6% 2022 |
87.7% 2024 |
|
Female Adult Literacy Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of females ages 15 and above |
98.1% 2011 |
98.5% 2024 |
84.6% 2024 |
|
Male Adult Literacy Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of males ages 15 and above |
98.1% 2011 |
99.1% 2023 |
90.9% 2024 |
|
Female Youth Literacy Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of females ages 15-24 |
99.8% 2011 |
99.8% 2023 |
92.0% 2024 |
|
Male Youth Literacy Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of males ages 15-24 |
99.8% 2011 |
99.8% 2023 |
94.1% 2024 |
|
Research and Innovation |
Cyprus |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Research Spending Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. percentage of GDP |
0.7% 2022 |
2.0% 2022 |
2.7% 2022 |
|
Researchers The number of researchers engaged in Research &Development (R&D), expressed as per million. Researchers are professionals who conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories, models techniques instrumentation, software of operational methods. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. per million people |
1,728 2022 |
3,466.1 2022 |
1,516 2018 |
|
Scientific Articles Article counts refer to publications from a selection of conference proceedings and peer-reviewed journals from Scopus in science and engineering fields, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Taxonomy of Disciplines. fractional count |
1,867 2022 |
913,901.4 2022 |
3,338,192 2022 |
National Library Associations
The association’s activities are run by few active members who intervene each time library issues arise in Parliament or in state affairs. CALIS advocate on behalf of libraries to convince all institutions that all libraries need to be staffed with professionals, to convince the State that the situation of the National Library is critical, needing modern premises, modern technology, more staff, and a bigger budget.
National Library
Cyprus Library serves as a municipal public library, while it also has additional roles of being responsible for creating the national bibliography, trying to gather the publications of and about Cyprus, and acting as ISBN, ISMN and ISSN national centre. It is also the representative of Cyprus in Europeana. The Library is trying to find its way to explore other activities, including organising the other public libraries which operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, cooperating in projects with other libraries of Cyprus, organising events, and contribute to the digitization of material concerning Cyprus.
Policy Making Institutions
The Ministry has a Department of Libraries.
Library Support Organisations
CLC is a newly established consortium, at the moment dealing with negotiating with vendors and acquiring e-resources for the 7 public and private universities of Cyprus.
National Policy for Libraries
There is no information available.
Library Law
There is no information available.
Legal Deposit Law
Cyprus does not have a stand-alone legal deposit law. Instead, there is a law creating the Cyprus Library, which gives the Library a responsibility to acquire and safeguard as large a share as possible of works published within Cyprus, as well as concerning Cyprus. It should also create the national bibliography, in practice on an annual basis.
In parallel, the Press Law of 1989 includes obligations on publishers of printed books and journals only to deposit copies with the ministry, in order to create a Book Archive. The Press and Information Office (part of Ministry of Interior) is the one responsible for legal deposit, and in theory should give two (out of 3) copies to the Cyprus Library (National Library), although. Of the books received, one copy is reserved and the other is in circulation.
Copyright Law & Library Exceptions and Limitations
Public libraries, non-commercial collection and documentation centres, educational establishments, museums and scientific institutions can make copies on a non-commercial basis, as prescribed by law.
Libraries may also benefit from exceptions allowing for performance or quotation. They also fall under provisions implementing the Marrakesh Treaty , and so can make, share and receive accessible format copies of works.
As under EU law, lending is allowed, but conditional on public lending right payments being made to authors. Similarly, Cyprus also has provisions for orphan works, which can be used following a diligent search for rightholders.
Cyprus is obliged to implement the recent EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which will introduce exceptions allowing for digital preservation, text and data mining, and create new opportunities to provide access to out-of-commerce works.
Professional Qualification Requirements
There is no information available.
Education
There is no information available.
Professional Publications
There is no information available.
Professional Events
There is no information available.
Library Location Resources