Majority of workers in Northern Cyprus are now foreign nationals

A 2026 Macroeconomic Monitoring Report prepared by the World Bank with European Union funding shows that the share of foreign nationals with work permits in total registered employment in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) rose from 36 percent to 53 percent over four years.

The report says Turkish Cypriots made up 64 percent of registered employment in 2021, while citizens of Türkiye held 23 percent and citizens of other countries 13 percent. By 2025, the Turkish Cypriot share had fallen to 46 percent, while Turkish citizens accounted for 27 percent and citizens of other countries for 26 percent.

Overall unemployment stood at 4.7 percent and youth unemployment at 15.7 percent. The labour force participation rate was 39.4 percent for women compared with 65 percent for men, a gap of 25.6 percentage points. The World Bank said the local labour shortage is increasingly being filled by foreign workers, reflecting demographic and structural constraints.