How many expats live in North Cyprus

I have just been reading the results from the census that was carried out here in the TRNC last year.

Knowing the vast amount of British moving out or buying properties here in North Cyprus the number of 8000 being permanent residents came as quite a surprise, I would have thought the number be much higher than that.

I can only guess that the title permanent residents means just what it says, and doesn’t take into account people who hold temporary residence permits.

To become a permanent resident you need to have been a temporary resident for 5 years, so if this is the case I suspect the number will change dramatically over the next few years, as expats hit that magical number 5 and are eligible to become a permanent resident of the TRNC