Villages’ population halves over past 50 years

The population in 250 communities in the south has more than halved since the 1973 census, according to new environmental NGO Elders Creating Green Communities.

The NGO, set up in September, said on Tuesday that the 250 communities represent 64 per cent of communities in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos, and their populations have “tragically dropped” after the Turkish invasion.

According to the 1973 census, these communities had 94,000 residents, while the 2021 census indicated this number had dropped to 42,500, recording a decrease of 55 per cent.

The same communities also closed 227 primary schools or 91 per cent of the total.

The NGO, committed to support communities in adapting to the European Green Deal, said the Republic of Cyprus was “a single ecosystem” and that the pollution of the environment in the north should be calculated in the total carbon dioxide emission load of the Republic of Cyprus, so that it can demand compensation from Turkey.

It added that the government’s green community programme, that began in early 2024, could offer an incentive for the increase of population in remote communities.