Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and the 80th largest island in the world by area. It is located south of the Anatolia peninsula, yet it belongs to the Cyprus arc. Cyprus is in West Asia in the Middle East. Cyprus also had lengthy periods of mainly Greek and intermittent Anatolian, Levantine, Byzantine, Turkish and Western European influence.

The island is dominated by two mountain ranges, the Troodos Mountains and the Kyrenia Mountains or Pentadaktylos, and the central plain, the Mesaoria, between them. The Troodos Mountains cover most of the southern and western portions of the island and account for roughly half its area. The narrow Kyrenia Range extends along the northern coastline. It is not as high as the Troodos Mountains, and it occupies substantially less area. The two mountain ranges run generally parallel to the Taurus Mountains on the Turkish mainland, the outlines of which are visible from northern Cyprus. Coastal lowlands, varying in width, surround the island.

Geopolitically, the island is divided into four segments. The Republic of Cyprus, the only internationally recognized government, occupies the southern 60% of the island, and has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is diplomatically recognized only by Turkey, occupies the northern one-third of the island, around 36% of the territory. The United Nations-controlled Green Line is a buffer zone that separates the two and it is about 4%. Lastly, two areas—Akrotiri and Dhekelia—remain under British sovereignty for military purposes, collectively forming the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA). The SBAs are located on the southern coast of the island and together encompass 254 km², or 2.8% of the island.