Immigration in Cyprus
How many people move to Cyprus, and where from? In 2024, 40,471 people moved to Cyprus for a year or more, and arrivals minus departures was 13,588. The 2021 census counted 923,381 people living in Cyprus, of every citizenship they hold.
The first three numbers are people crossing the border in 2024; the citizenship number is a snapshot from the 2021 census, a different year and a different question.
What has changed
Interactive Migratory Map
Origin networks and migratory patterns to Cyprus over time. Explore 2008–2025 valid residence permits (third-country nationals), asylum applications, and 2021 Census stocks.
Migration over time, 1981-2024
Long-term immigration, emigration and net migration on one axis. Net migration can run negative — more people leaving than arriving in a given year.
Show the data table
| Year | Immigrants | Emigrants | Net migration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 246 | no figure published | 196 |
| 1982 | 390 | no figure published | -31 |
| 1983 | 597 | 79 | 518 |
| 1984 | 251 | 96 | 155 |
| 1985 | 329 | 91 | 238 |
| 1986 | 354 | 179 | 175 |
| 1987 | 454 | 182 | 272 |
| 1988 | 383 | 126 | 257 |
| 1989 | no figure published | no figure published | 4,526 |
| 1990 | no figure published | no figure published | 8,707 |
| 1991 | no figure published | no figure published | 10,559 |
| 1992 | no figure published | no figure published | 9,999 |
| 1993 | no figure published | no figure published | 8,000 |
| 1994 | no figure published | no figure published | 7,000 |
| 1995 | no figure published | no figure published | 6,000 |
| 1996 | no figure published | no figure published | 5,300 |
| 1997 | no figure published | no figure published | 4,800 |
| 1998 | 8,801 | no figure published | 4,200 |
| 1999 | 8,524 | no figure published | 4,200 |
| 2000 | 12,764 | no figure published | 3,960 |
| 2001 | 17,485 | no figure published | 4,650 |
| 2002 | 6,940 | 1,474 | 5,466 |
| 2003 | 7,981 | 1,696 | 6,285 |
| 2004 | 9,003 | 1,913 | 7,090 |
| 2005 | 10,320 | 2,192 | 8,128 |
| 2006 | 13,077 | 2,778 | 10,299 |
| 2007 | 19,328 | 4,106 | 15,222 |
| 2008 | 21,060 | 4,474 | 16,586 |
| 2009 | 22,581 | 4,797 | 17,784 |
| 2010 | 20,206 | 4,293 | 15,913 |
| 2011 | 23,037 | 4,895 | 18,142 |
| 2012 | 16,138 | 19,986 | -3,848 |
| 2013 | 13,666 | 20,679 | -7,013 |
| 2014 | 13,003 | 16,020 | -3,017 |
| 2015 | 15,364 | 15,733 | -369 |
| 2016 | 18,590 | 16,445 | 2,145 |
| 2017 | 22,458 | 16,931 | 5,527 |
| 2018 | 25,740 | 17,562 | 8,178 |
| 2019 | 27,553 | 18,598 | 8,955 |
| 2020 | 22,850 | 14,200 | 8,650 |
| 2021 | 25,473 | 13,244 | 12,229 |
| 2022 | 37,558 | 21,118 | 16,440 |
| 2023 | 40,761 | 26,979 | 13,782 |
| 2024 | 40,471 | 26,883 | 13,588 |
Source: Statistical Service of Cyprus — Migration Movements, Annual. Trace a value →
Long-term immigrants by sex
CYSTAT splits long-term immigrants by sex; it does not split emigrants or net migration this way in this table.
Source: Statistical Service of Cyprus — Migration Movements, Annual (same table as the migration-over-time chart above).
Who lives in Cyprus
Legal citizenship as recorded at the 2021 Census — a single moment, not a trend, and not the same thing as birthplace or ethnicity. CYSTAT’s “Cypriots” category includes people who declared Cypriot as a second citizenship.
| Citizenship | People | Share of the population |
|---|---|---|
| CYPRIOTS * | 719,252 | 77.89%* |
| Greece | 43,438 | 4.70%* |
| Romania | 20,375 | 2.21%* |
| United Kingdom | 18,918 | 2.05%* |
| Bulgaria | 16,186 | 1.75%* |
| Syria | 13,096 | 1.42%* |
| Russia | 12,250 | 1.33%* |
| Philippines | 8,104 | 0.88%* |
| India | 8,085 | 0.88%* |
| Nepal | 6,949 | 0.75%* |
| Other Countries | 3,146 | 0.34%* |
| NOT STATED | 3,421 | 0.37%* |
Source: Statistical Service of Cyprus — Population Enumerated by Country of Citizenship, Sex and District, 1.10.2021.
Immigration Laws, Framework & How to Apply
Statutory architecture of the Republic of Cyprus, the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection (established June 2024), official permit categories (EU Yellow Slip, BFU tech permits, Digital Nomad, Category 6.2 PR), application procedures, and official government portals.
Select Permit Category
EU/EEA & Swiss Citizens (Yellow Slip)
Citizens of EU member states, EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), and Switzerland.
Key Requirements & Criteria
- Entry is visa-free with valid passport or national identity card.
- Stays up to 3 months require zero formalities.
- Stays exceeding 3 months require application for Registration Certificate within 4 months of arrival.
- Employment contract OR proof of self-employment OR comprehensive health insurance plus sufficient financial resources (bank statements).
Where immigrants previously lived
Previous country/region of residence — EU or non-EU only, not individual countries. CYSTAT does not publish a per-country previous-residence breakdown, so this is the finest grain available. There is no “from Cyprus” category: arriving from Cyprus is definitionally impossible for an immigrant, not a missing figure.
2024 shown above. Every published year is in the table below.
Show all years
Immigrants shown as published, EU/non-EU only.
Source: Statistical Service of Cyprus — Immigrants by Age, Sex, Citizenship, Country of Birth and Country of Previous Residence, Annual.
Where emigrants go next
Country of next residence — EU or non-EU only, and a different published categorisation scheme from previous residence: the two are never merged, even though both happen to be EU/non-EU splits.
2024 shown above. Every published year is in the table below.
Show all years
| Year | Country of next residence - EU | Country of next residence - Non EU |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 11,994 | 8,685 |
| 2014 | 8,971 | 7,049 |
| 2015 | 8,967 | 6,766 |
| 2016 | 9,538 | 6,907 |
| 2017 | 9,989 | 6,942 |
| 2018 | 10,274 | 7,288 |
| 2019 | 11,959 | 6,639 |
| 2020 | 8,591 | 5,609 |
| 2021 | 6,886 | 6,358 |
| 2022 | 8,447 | 12,671 |
| 2023 | 9,443 | 17,536 |
| 2024 | 8,244 | 18,639 |
Emigrants shown as published, EU/non-EU only.
Source: Statistical Service of Cyprus — Emigrants by Citizenship and Country of Next Residence, Annual.
Modification notice and disclaimer
The counts on this page are published by Statistical Service of Cyprus and are reproduced unchanged. Humanity Observatory has additionally derived the following from them:
- The ranking of countries in "Who lives in Cyprus" and the top-10 selection shown on the chart.
- Shares of the population counted, computed as one published count divided by another published count for the same geography, period and source.
- The CSV export below, which reproduces published figures verbatim in one downloadable file.
Figures on this page derived by Humanity Observatory from CYSTAT data are modifications of the published statistics; the modification is described in the methodology note attached to each figure. CYSTAT does not accept liability for any damage or other consequences arising from the direct or indirect use of the disseminated information, and does not guarantee that published figures will remain unchanged.
Source: Statistical Service of Cyprus (CYSTAT). Reuse terms.
* Calculated by Humanity Observatory from published figures.