Since 1974, Cyprus has been a divided island and despite the best efforts of some politicians on both sides of the divide, it remains so.

When the island was partitioned there was a dispersal of people to each side. The Turkish Cypriots who had homes in the Southern part, vacated their property and moved into the Northern part of the island. The Greek Cypriots moved from the north into the south occupying approximately two thirds of the island.

The two endemic peoples became refugees in their own country. Hardship and privation have been experienced by most of those who had to move and a new life, has of necessity, had to be forged. Many Cypriots both Turkish and Greek left the island to take employment, residence, and citizenship in other countries, however there is still a population of just over 1,000,000 on the whole of the island. Slightly more than 250,000 people in the north and the remainder in the south.

The population continues to grow and the expatriate community increases by the year. Much of the development that has taken place in North Cyprus has been created to accommodate the number of British, and other nationalities, who wish to live in the balmy warmth of North Cyprus.