Cyprus attracting most migration of all acceding states

CYPRUS had the highest migratory flow of all acceding EU states in 2003, almost five times the natural birth rate, according to new Eurostat figures. The island also had the lowest death rate per 1,000 people of the acceding states, a figure also lower than in many member states.

According to the figures, the total population of Cyprus increased by 17.4 per cent last year, but only 3.3 per cent of that related to natural births while the remaining 14.1 was covered by migration.

Spain accounted for 23 per cent of all the net migration to member states, Italy 21 per cent, Germany 16 per cent and the UK ten per cent. Cross-border migration accounted for more than three-quarters of the EU’s population increase last year.

France and the Netherlands noted only a 0.2 per cent and a 1.0 per cent increase in migration last year. Among acceding countries, Malta was popular with migrants, recording an increase of 3.9 per cent, but other acceding countries such as Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia recorded more emigration than immigration.

As well as leading on migration, Cyprus was also in front with its 3.3 per cent natural population increase, compared to the EU average of 1.1 per cent, with several member states registering a fall in natural population.

Within members states, the highest birth rates were registered in Ireland with 15.5 live births per 1,000 inhabitants, France 12.7, the Netherlands 12.6 and Denmark 12, with the lowest birth rates in Germany 8.6, Greece 9.3, Italy 9.4 and Austria 9.5. Cyprus registered 11.1 live births per 1,000 inhabitants, just over the EU average of 10.6.

In 2003, there were 3.74 million deaths in the EU, 64,000 more than in 2002. Ireland and Luxembourg had the lowest rates within the bloc, recording 7.3 and 8.5 per 1,000 inhabitants respectively. Cyprus recorded only 7.8 per 1,000 deaths last year, the lowest of the acceding countries. The Cypriot death rate was also lower than several EU member states. Germany and Sweden, both with 10.4 per 1,000, have the highest death rates in the EU.
At the beginning of this year, the EU had a population of 380.8 million, to which the 10 acceding states will add 74 million in May.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.