How many Poles live in Cyprus? We checked the numbers.

How many Poles live in Cyprus? The "Atlas of Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad," prepared by the Central Statistical Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lists Cyprus as having 7,000 inhabitants. This is an estimate of the Polish diaspora as of May 2025. Meanwhile, in the 2021 Cypriot census, 2,379 residents were included in the category of Polish citizenship.

Why such a large difference? CYPRNews examined official statistics, the methodology of the Polish atlas, and previous publications. The answer lies primarily in who we're counting: Polish citizens, people of Polish descent, or holders of residence permits. Each of these numbers describes something different.

How many Poles live in Cyprus according to the Central Statistical Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

In the Polish "Atlas of Polonia and Poles Abroad" the size of the community associated with Poland was estimated at 7 thousand peopleData refers to May 2025.

The list was compiled based on information provided by Polish diplomatic and consular missions. They use statistics from the receiving countries and, where relevant data is unavailable, their own estimates.

The atlas includes both individuals with Polish citizenship and their descendants. In case of discrepancies, the maximum value was used.

Therefore, 7,000 should be presented as estimated size of the Polish diaspora, without attributing census accuracy to this number. It is also not a running population count updated after each move.

What did the Cypriot census actually count?

In the CYSTAT table on citizenship, Poland is recorded 2,379 people: 1,436 women and 943 men.

Data is as of October 1, 2021. It covers areas under the control of the government of the Republic of Cyprus. It does not represent the entire island, including the occupied territory.

There is also an important note regarding dual citizenship. The "Cypriot" category also includes individuals who indicated Cypriot citizenship as their second citizenship.

This means that a person with both Polish and Cypriot citizenship could be classified as Cypriot. The "Poland" line does not automatically include all residents with a Polish passport or all people with Polish roots.

Most in the Limassol district

In the census category of Polish citizenship, the largest group was recorded in the Limassol district, with 879 people. Next came Nicosia and Paphos.

This is a division by entire districts. A person living in a village near Paphos should not be considered a resident of the city itself on this basis.

Why doesn't 6,000 Yellow Slips mean 6,000 inhabitants?

Archival Cypr24 publications from 2024 included information about over 6,000 Poles holding residence permits.

A similar discrepancy was previously described in the 2023 "Atlas of Poles in the World." It listed approximately 6,000 EU citizen registration certificates, explaining that the document was issued for an indefinite period.

The certificate holder could later leave for Poland or move to another country. The sheer number of documents issued does not determine how many holders actually still live on the island.

Information about certificates should also not be added to the census results. The same people may appear in both lists.

Where did the discrepancies in earlier publications come from?

The topic appeared on Cypr24, among others, on August 24 and December 15, 2024. Even then, it was pointed out that the census results and the number of residence permits do not provide one simple answer.

When re-checking such materials, it is necessary to additionally distinguish citizenship by country of birthA person born in Poland may have Cypriot citizenship, and a child of Polish parents may be born in Cyprus.

The date the data refers to is equally important. Publishing a table in 2024 does not mean it reflects residents in 2024. The census results still refer to October 2021.

Does the Polish community really number 7,000 people today?

This is an available estimate from the Central Statistical Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the entire diaspora, which is worth citing along with the date and definition. However, it does not provide a basis for stating that this is the exact number of people living on the island as of the date of this article's publication.

It's also impossible to compare the 2,379 people from the census and the 7,000 from the atlas and then announce a nearly threefold increase. Both the scope of the two groups and the method of determining them differ.

So the most honest answer is: The Polish diaspora in Cyprus was estimated at approximately 7,000 people as of May 2025. The 2021 census recorded 2,379 residents with Polish citizenship. This data does not establish the exact current number of all Polish residents.