Cypriots in the United Kingdom
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UK residents born in Cyprus (2011 Census) England: 78,795 Wales: 1,215 Scotland: 1,941 Northern Ireland: 344 |
The British Cypriot community in the United Kingdom consists of British people born on, or with ancestors from, the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. British Cypriot people may be of Greek-, Turkish-, Maronite-, or Armenian-Cypriot descent.
Migration from Cyprus to the UK has occurred in part due to the colonial links between the countries and the internal conflict that followed Cyprus' independence from the British Empire in 1960. Migration peaked at the time of independence but has continued on a smaller scale. The number of Cypriot-born people in the UK fell between the 1991 and 2001 censuses, but the community, including people of Cypriot ancestry, remains sizeable, and the Cypriot-born population grew slightly between the 2001 and 2011 censuses.
A number of famous British people are of Cypriot ancestry, including musicians George Michael and Cat Stevens, footballer Leon Osman, visual artist Tracey Emin, and politician Lord Adonis. Migration between the UK and Cyprus is currently open and free, as both countries are members of the European Union at this point in time.
Before the First World War, very few Cypriots migrated to the UK and the British Cypriot population at this time was around 150, according to historian Stavros Panteli. Only a handful of marriages involving Cypriots are recorded at London's Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia in the years before 1918. During the First World War many Cypriots joined the allied forces. When the British annexed Cyprus in 1914, Cypriots' political status changed and they found it easier to travel.
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