BETWEEN 650,000-760,000 CYPRIOTS OF THE DAISPORA AND PERHAPS SURPASS THE CYPRIOTS LIVING ON THE ISLAND

 Filenews 3 November 2025 - by Vassos Vassiliou

Literally a second Cyprus lives outside Cyprus, with its citizens living scattered almost all over the world, if it is taken into account that while the population of Cyprus is around 923,000 (of which only 719,252 Cypriots), it is estimated that more than 700,000 Cypriots live outside Cyprus. Perhaps the Cypriots who live outside Cyprus exceed the number of Cypriots who live on the island.

The landscape is not entirely clear with the numbers, considering that in the government's data there is a variation in the number of Cypriots who live abroad.

Specifically, from the answer of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Konstantinos Kombos, to a question by the MP of DISY Famagusta, Mr. Nikos Georgiou, the following numbers emerge for the Cypriots of the diaspora:

United Kingdom	350,000 – 450,000
USA	70,000 – 80,000
Australia and New Zealand	80,000
Greece	70,000
Rest of Europe	5,000
Canada	35,000
Southern Africa	35,000
Countries in the rest of Africa	5,000

If the scenario with the smallest number (first column) is taken into account, then 650,000 live outside Cyprus, while if the scenario with the two numbers of the second column (residents in the United Kingdom and the USA) is taken into account, then 760,000 live permanently outside Cyprus. That is, based on this scenario, about 40,000 more Cypriots live outside Cyprus than those living in Cyprus.

The number of Cypriots living in Cyprus results from the last census of the year 2021, while as the Minister of Foreign Affairs explains, the numbers of Cypriots of the diaspora result from information received by the government from the institutions of the Cypriot diaspora in the main countries where Cypriot communities are present.

It is noteworthy that more Cypriots live in the United Kingdom than half of the population of Cyprus with their number ranging from 350,000-400,000.