Demographics of Cyprus

The people of Cyprus are broadly divided into two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who share many cultural traits but maintain distinct identities based on ethnicity, religion, language, and close ties with their respective motherlands. Before the dispute started in 1964 the peoples of Cyprus (then 77% Greek Cypriots, 18% Turkish Cypriots, 5% other communities, including Armenians and Maronites) were dispersed over the entire island.

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 de facto partitioned the island into two political areas: 99.5% of Greek Cypriots now live in the Republic of Cyprus, while 98.7% of Turkish Cypriots live in Northern Cyprus (of other nationalities, 99.2% live in the Greek Cypriot area in the south).Greek is predominantly spoken in the South, where the majority are Greek Cypriots, Turkish in the north, where the majority are Turkish Cypriots. English is widely used over all of the island.

The total population of Cyprus as of the end of 2006 is slightly over 1 million, comprising 789,300 in the territory controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus and 294,406 in Northern Cyprus. The population of Northern Cyprus includes some 150,000–160,000 Turkish immigrants who are regarded as "illegal settlers" by the Republic of Cyprus government and are not included in the population statistics of the Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service.

Population by citizenship

Republic of Cyprus government controlled area:

Northern Cyprus:

Historical data about main demographic indicators from 1901 to 1990, for the entire island:

¹ The numbers of births and deaths 1901–1932 are estimates calculated from the birth and death rates.

Historical data about main demographic indicators from 1990 to 2013, for the southern part of the island:

Structure of the population (01.10.2011) (Census) (Data refer to government controlled areas) :

Turkish Cypriots were the majority of the population between 1777 and 1800.

In the census from 1881 to 1960, all Muslims are counted as Turks, only Greek Orthodox are counted as Greeks. There were small populations of Greek-speaking Muslims and Turkish-speaking Greek Orthodox.

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