Foreigners Outnumber Locals: Statistics Department Reveals New TRNC Labor Market Data

The labor market in Northern Cyprus has reached a historic turning point. According to the latest report from the Department of Statistics, the share of foreigners among 170,636 officially registered workers has risen to 52.9 percent. For the first time, arriving specialists made up the majority of the labor market — their number reached 90,240, while the number of working TRNC citizens in the social insurance system stands at 80,396. The main inflow of labor continues to come from Turkey and third countries.
At the same time, the overall unemployment rate in the country remains relatively low — just 4.7 percent. Nevertheless, the statistics exposed hidden problems: it is twice as difficult for women to find vacancies as it is for men, and among young people under 24, one in eight remains unemployed.