OCCUPIED TERRITORIES - 9 OUT OF 10 TURKISH CYPRIOTS SEE THE WRONG COURSE - CONCERN ABOUT THE ECONOMY, CORRUPTION AND LEADERSHIP - INABILITY TO MEET BASIC NEEDS - Filenews 15/4
90.4% of Turkish Cypriots believe that things in the occupied territories are going in the wrong direction, while corruption and problematic political leadership are emerging as top problems, according to a new poll.
According to the online information website "Özgür Gazete Kıbrıs", the Turkish Cypriot Center for Migration, Identity and Rights Studies (CMIRS) published the first part of its survey for the period March 2026, conducted with personal interviews with 500 participants.
CMIRS Director Mine Yucel pointed out that dissatisfaction has remained at high levels since 2017, peaking at 97% in 2022, while in 2026 it returned to 90%. According to the findings, the most important problems faced by the Turkish Cypriot community are classified as follows: economic problems, the Cyprus problem, corruption, inadequate political leadership, the health system, inflation and infrastructure problems, especially in electricity.
In terms of economic prospects, 63.33% of respondents estimate that their personal financial situation will deteriorate within two years, while only 8.01% expect an improvement. For the economy as a whole, 69.94% predict a deterioration and only 4.61% an improvement.
Also, 53.6% of the respondents state that they are unable to meet basic family needs, 72.8% express concern about the repayment of instalments, while 74.2% are unable to meet medical expenses.
The happiness index for March 2026 rose to 5.95 out of 10, while the social trust index stood at a particularly low 3.49, which, according to Ms. Yücel, raises serious concerns about the state of democracy and society. The sustainability index stood at 6.02 out of 10.
