|
THE POPULATION of Cyprus has increased 21.7 per cent to 838,897 since 2001, according to the official results of the census, which were published yesterday. “It answers the question ‘how many are we?’ which is what you’ve all wanted to know”, the head of Statistical Services’ Giorgos Georgiou said. From the total, 51.3 per cent are female and 48.7 per cent male, the census showed. The census counted all residents of Cyprus who have lived or intend to live on the island for at least a year. It showed an increase of 21.7 per cent over ten years. Census takers counted about 670,000 in 2001, again with slightly more women than men. When it came to foreign residents, the figures were revealing, even without taking account of the thousands of illegal immigrants believed to be on the island. According to the census, Cyprus currently has 179,547 foreign residents who now comprise 21.4 per cent, or one fifth of the total population. When the last census was taken ten years ago, foreign residents comprised only 9.4 per cent of the total population – around 65,000 people. “It is a dramatic increase,” said census coordinator Dora Kyriakidou. Over 112,000 EU nationals make up 62.6 per cent of the island’s current foreign population. Around 31,000, or 17 per cent hail from Greece; some 27,000, or 15 per cent are British. Romanians comprise 13.6 per cent of foreign residents with over 24,000 nationals and around 19,000 Bulgarians make up 10.7 per cent of the foreign input. Most third country nationals come from the Philippines (almost 10,000), followed by Russia (around 9,000), Sri Lanka (around 7,000) and Vietnam (also around 7,000). Filipinos comprise 5.4 per cent of the whole migrant population, Russians 4.8 per cent, Sri Lankans 4.1 per cent; and Vietnamese 4.0 per cent. The Syrians, Ukrainians, Indians and Georgians make up smaller numbers lying at various points of the 1.0 per cent spectrum. Paphos holds by far the greatest proportion of non-Cypriot to Cypriot residents at 34.9 per cent of the town’s total population. Relative to population, Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta’s populations are made up of around 20 per cent foreigners, while in Nicosia the figure is 19 per cent. However, in terms of real numbers more foreign nationals live in Nicosia which hosts 61,534 non-Cypriots - around 34 per cent of the 179,547 foreign residents. In terms of the population increase since 2001, Paphos marked the most dramatic hike at 33.0 per cent from about 66,000 in 2001 to over 88,000 this year. Larnaca followed with a 24.4 per cent rise, from a population of about 115,000 in 2001 to over 143,000 this year. Famagusta followed suit with a 23 per cent rise in population; from about 38,000 to over 46,000. Nicosia and Limassol had a 19.0 per cent and 19.6 per cent population increase respectively with the capital counting almost 326,000 people and Limassol just over 235,000. Cities vary in relative size with Famagusta’s residents comprising 5.5 per cent of the total population; Paphos 10.5 per cent; Larnaca 17.1 per cent; Limassol 28 per cent; and Nicosia 38.8 per cent. The population census data has not yet been analysed to give a more detailed representation of the population’s structure, Kyriakidou said. Georgiou – the head of statistical services - said that they still needed to adjust the 2011 numbers to make up for those people they did not manage to interview. The census started on October 1 and was wrapped up on December 23, over three weeks after its expected completion following difficulties in locating people. The project was budgeted at €3.3 million. Kyriakidou said that all housing units were visited and census takers talked to at least one person from each block of flats or housing unit. “All personal data is strictly confidential,” Kyriakidou said.
|