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 Greece and Turkey respectively. Before the dispute started in 1964 the peoples of Cyprus (then 77.1% Greeks, 18.2% Turks, <5% other communities, primarily Armenians, Maronites, and other Lebanese) were dispersed over the entire island.
| Demographics of Cyprus | |
|---|---|
Population pyramid of Cyprus in 2020 | |
| Population | 1,295,102 (2022 est.) |
| Growth rate | 1.06% (2022 est.) |
| Birth rate | 10.57 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.94 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 79.74 years |
| • male | 76.93 years |
| • female | 82.68 years (2022 est.) |
| Fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (2022 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | 8.36 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Net migration rate | 6.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Age structure | |
| 0–14 years | 15.69% |
| 65 and over | 12.97% |
| Sex ratio | |
| Total | 0.93 male(s)/female (2022 est.) |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| Under 15 | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 65 and over | 0.55 male(s)/female |
| Nationality | |
| Nationality | Cypriot |
| Major ethnic | Greek 98.8% |
| Minor ethnic | Others 1% (including Turkish, Armenian, Maronite) and unspecified 0.2% |
| Language | |
| Official | Greek, Turkish |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 186,173 | — |
| 1891 | 209,286 | +1.18% |
| 1901 | 237,022 | +1.25% |
| 1911 | 274,108 | +1.46% |
| 1921 | 310,715 | +1.26% |
| 1931 | 347,915 | +1.14% |
| 1946 | 450,114 | +1.73% |
| 1960 | 573,566 | +1.75% |
| 1973 | 631,788 | +0.75% |
| 1976 | 497,879 | −7.63% |
| 1982 | 522,845 | +0.82% |
| 1992 | 615,013 | +1.64% |
| 2001 | 703,529 | +1.51% |
| 2011 | 840,407 | +1.79% |
| 2021 | 923,272 | +0.94% |
| The post 1974 censuses refer to the Government controlled areas. | ||
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 (99.2% of other nationalities live in the Greek Cypriot area in the south). Greek is predominantly spoken in the South, where the majority are Greek Cypriots, and Turkish in the north, where the majority are Turkish Cypriots. English is widely used throughout the island, as a common language.
The total population of Cyprus as of the end of 2006 was 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 has increased following the immigration of 150,000–160,000 Turkish mainlanders, which the UN considers to have arrived illegally. On this basis, the Republic of Cyprus government does not include this group in the population statistics of the Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service.