According to the decision, the Ministry of Finance has been authorised to borrow this amount. The decision published in the Official Gazette includes the following statements:
“The Council of Ministers has decided to authorise the Ministry of Finance to borrow 3,000,000,000 TL (Three Billion Turkish Lira) within the limits of the 2024 Fiscal Year Budget Law to enable the fulfilment of the state’s financial obligations”.
*Today, the economy is predominantly driven by the services sector, including public administration, trade, tourism, and education, currently, the TRNC has 18 universities. There are smaller contributions from agriculture and light manufacturing.
The country is also plagued by the fact that the Turkish Lira has seriously declined in value in recent years, thus increasing the cost of imports and raising the cost of living.
The most recent official census conducted in Northern Cyprus on December 4, 2011, recorded a population of 286,257. By 2021, the TRNC Institute of Statistics estimated the population to have grown to 382,836. Nevertheless, Mete Hatay, a senior researcher at the PRIO Cyprus Centre with extensive expertise on Northern Cyprus’s demographics, argues that this estimate overlooks significant factors. Hatay notes that the official figures only consider fertility and mortality rates, excluding a substantial number of individuals working in the informal economy or overstaying their visas. He suggests that the actual population is likely at least half a million, with Turkish Cypriots being a minority.
Given this substantial and likely underestimated population growth, the TRNC government may indeed be obliged to borrow an additional three billion Turkish Lira to meet its fiscal responsibilities in 2024. This increased borrowing could be necessary to support the expanded public services and infrastructure required to accommodate the larger population, as well as to address the economic challenges posed by the significant informal workforce. [Ed.]
