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Living in Nicosia

Nicosia is the national capital of Cyprus. Nicosia had a population of 56,848 in October 2021. The city covered 50.3 km². Population density was 1,123.7 people per km² in 2021.

Last checked 2026-10-1029 sources

Population56,848people1 Oct 2021Official source · Population and housing units by municipality/community; Lefkosia Municipality
Average net rent11EUR/m²/month7 Oct 2026Regional figureIndependent source · Apartments for rent in Nicosia — market snapshot
PM2.5, annual mean13µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — validated PM2.5 station data

Which Cyprus-wide rules apply when you move to Nicosia?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in CyprusNational rates and thresholds that apply in Nicosia.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

Practical estimates in July 2026 placed basic utilities for an 85 m² home at €194.62 per month and an inexpensive restaurant meal at €15. Fixed internet cost €33 per month at the provider's published price in October 2026. A monthly estimate placed a fitness-club membership at €66.11 in July 2026. A 10 GB mobile plan cost €21.50 per month at the provider's published price in October 2026.

What recurs every month6 published recurring costs, € per month
Nicosia recurring monthly costs, € per month

€ / month

Private kindergarten€458
Utilities, 85 m² flat€195
Fitness club€66
Transport pass€50
Internet, 60 Mbps€33
Mobile plan, 10 GB€22

Supplemental estimate lane, not official statistics: Utilities, 85 m² flat, Private kindergarten, Fitness club. The others are published prices.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Fitness club membership, monthly66.11 EUR/month31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Nikosia26Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Grocery basket, monthly68.58 EUR/month3 Aug 2026Numbeo27Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited33 EUR/month31 Oct 2026Cyta — Internet Home Fiber3Official · national market
Private kindergarten, monthly458.4 EUR/month31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Nikosia26Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant15 EUR31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Nikosia26Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB21.5 EUR/month31 Oct 2026Cyta — RED/FREEDOM plan terms4Official · national market
Monthly transport pass50 EUR/month26 Jul 2026Ticket Fares16Official
Basic utilities, 85 m² home194.6 EUR/month31 Jul 2026Lebenshaltungskosten in Nikosia26Commercial estimate · Supplemental context
Dwellings30,100 dwellings1 Oct 2021Official statistics: dwellings10Official
Average net rent (nettokalt)11 EUR/m²/month7 Oct 2026Apartments for rent in Nicosia — market snapshot17Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context · regional context

Is Nicosia a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker47%strong on work, weak on safety · range 37–57%
Skilled employee62%strong on work, weak on safety · range 53–71%
Student61%strong on education, weak on safety · range 51–71%
Family65%strong on family, weak on safety · range 54–76%
Retirement48%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 36–60%

Worked out from these numbers

What does a 60 m² flat cost?

About €660 a month in cold rent, from the published average of 11 EUR/m²/month. Heating, water and operating charges come on top, and a specific flat can sit either side of an average.

Uses a supplemental estimate, so treat it as indicative.

How international is the population?

32.1% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 18,252 of 56,848 people. This counts nationality, not place of birth, so long-settled residents who naturalised are not in it.

Work and income

MetricValuePeriodSource
Public employment offices1 count15 Sept 2026Cyprus Department of Labour — Nicosia district office1Official

Public employment offices in Nicosia

Cyprus Department of Labour lists 1 public employment office in Nicosia (checked 2026-09-16). Use the official office finder for addresses and appointments; registration and job search are also available online through the national service below.

Office count verified

Public Employment Service Cyprus — Public employment service

Department of Labour, Republic of Cyprus

Job SearchCareer Counselling
Search jobs
Open the Cyprus service overview

The office count comes from the service's own directory. Individual addresses and opening hours are not listed here yet. Sources checked through 16 Sept 2026.

Family and education

37.5% of adults held a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 77.8% had completed high school or above in October 2021.

MetricValuePeriodSource
Residents with high school education or higher77.8 %1 Oct 2021Official statistics: g07 high school or higher share pct11Official

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 4 to 15, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: Parallel classes for intensive Greek (Greek as second/foreign language). How to enrol a child (moec.gov.cy).

A country-wide rule for Cyprus; Nicosia's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Mobility and administration

MetricValuePeriodSource
Destinations from nearest airport8 count3 Aug 2026OpenFlights12Official
Nearest airportECN3 Aug 2026OurAirports13Official
Distance to nearest airport14 km3 Aug 2026OurAirports13Official
Public transport monthly pass40 EUR/month3 Aug 2026Numbeo27Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Nicosia. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Greek for foreigners and asylum seekers — Adult Education Centres — State Language Course

Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth — Adult Education Centres

For foreigners, asylum seekers, repatriates, people with literacy difficulties.

GreekIn PersonCost varies
Open official information

Greek to Foreigners — State Institutes of Further Education — State Language Course

Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth — Department of Secondary General Education

For speakers of other languages who live and work in Cyprus.

The official page describes Greek to Foreigners and adult classes in some State Institutes; it does not publish an exact city schedule.

GreekIn PersonCost varies
Open official information
Open the full Cyprus section
National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Nicosia.

Find courses near Nicosia

Climate and air quality

Monthly mean temperatures were 12.4°C in January and 27.8°C in July. Monthly precipitation was 83.2 mm in January and 0.7 mm in July. Annual PM2.5 was 13 µg/m³ at the end of 2024.

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C
Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm
Sunshine through the yearAverage monthly sunshine, hours
Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

MetricValuePeriodSource
NO₂ — annual mean18 µg/m³31 Dec 2024European Environment Agency8Official
PM2.5 — annual mean13 µg/m³31 Dec 2024EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — validated PM2.5 station data7Official
Average daytime high by monthJan 17.1 · Feb 17.5 · Mar 19.9 · Apr 23 · May 27 · Jun 30.6 · Jul 33 · Aug 33.3 · Sep 31.4 · Oct 28.3 · Nov 23.3 · Dec 18.9 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV29Independent
Average night-time low by monthJan 7.8 · Feb 7.6 · Mar 9.1 · Apr 12.1 · May 16.4 · Jun 20.1 · Jul 22.6 · Aug 23 · Sep 20.6 · Oct 17.5 · Nov 13.2 · Dec 9.7 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV29Independent
Average temperature by monthJan 12.4 · Feb 12.6 · Mar 14.5 · Apr 17.6 · May 21.7 · Jun 25.3 · Jul 27.8 · Aug 28.2 · Sep 26 · Oct 22.9 · Nov 18.2 · Dec 14.3 °C1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV29Independent
Average precipitation by monthJan 83.2 · Feb 47.4 · Mar 30.3 · Apr 15.8 · May 11.5 · Jun 2.1 · Jul 0.7 · Aug 0.4 · Sep 5.2 · Oct 16 · Nov 42 · Dec 95.4 mm1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV29Independent
Average sunshine by monthJan 181.4 · Feb 189.4 · Mar 243 · Apr 273.6 · May 338.4 · Jun 378.6 · Jul 394.4 · Aug 370.3 · Sep 314.7 · Oct 272.5 · Nov 214.5 · Dec 177.1 hours1991–2020WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV29Independent

Population and city profile

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

MetricValuePeriodSource
City area50.26 km²pre-07/2024Official statistics: city area9Official
Foreign-resident share32.32 %1 Oct 2021Official statistics: foreign-resident share2Official
Foreign residents18,252 people1 Oct 2021CYSTAT official municipality table2Official
Population density1,124 people/km²1 Oct 2021Official statistics: city area9Official
Population56,848 people1 Oct 2021Population and housing units by municipality/community; Lefkosia Municipality14Official

International community in Nicosia

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Citizenship

Population enumerated in the Cyprus 2021 Census; total sex; CYSTAT municipality/community geography · 2021 Census (1 October 2021)

Published groupPeopleShare
Total56,479100.0%
Cypriots *37,86267.0%
Other European Union citizens9,46416.8%
Non European Union citizens8,78815.6%
Not stated3650.6%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source15

Additional context

MetricValuePeriodSource
Residents with a bachelor's degree or higher37.5 %1 Oct 2021Official statistics: g07 high school or higher share pct11Official

Alternatives for people set on Nicosia

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Tallinn as a Nicosia alternative in another country

A move, not a commute, at 2770 km, better on 1 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1. Rent and foreign residents cannot be compared like for like.

  • Annual PM2.5: 3.0 µg/m³ Tallinn vs 13.0 µg/m³ Nicosia−77%
  • Rent: €7.33/m² (2008) Tallinn vs €11.00/m² (2026) Nicosiano percentage
  • Basic utilities, 85 m²: €280 Tallinn vs €195 Nicosia+44%
  • Foreign residents: 20.4% (2026) Tallinn vs 32.3% (2021) Nicosiano percentage
  • A meal out: €15 Tallinn vs €15 Nicosiasame level
Full comparisonMore about Tallinn

Cities near Nicosia

Published cities within 25 km, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Alternative cities in Cyprus

Other cities in Cyprus to compare with Nicosia, nearest in population first.

All Cyprus cities
Larnaka52,046 residentsStróvolos70,823 residentsKáto Lakatámeia43,111 residentsPafos37,991 residentsPaphos37,991 residentsKyrenia33,207 residents

How does Nicosia compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Nicosia's.

Open the full comparison

Nicosia in rankings

#4 of 11 in Largest cities in Cyprus #5 of 11 in Cities with cleanest air in Cyprus #9 of 30 in Cities with the most published annual sunshine

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Nicosia when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide
Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Is Nicosia part of Lemesos?

Nicosia belongs to the same official metropolitan area as Lemesos; that does not by itself make it an administrative part of the hub. It is about 62.0 km away by straight-line distance. Lemesos city profile

Relationship type: Metro Member Of. Source28

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How much does it cost to rent in Nicosia?

Average net cold rent is 11 EUR/m²/month, excluding heating and operating charges. For a 70 m² flat that is about €770 a month before utilities. This is a supplemental estimate and a regional context, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Apartments for rent in Nicosia — market snapshot.

Is the air quality good in Nicosia?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 13 µg/m³. The WHO 2021 guideline is 5 µg/m³ and the EU limit value is 25 µg/m³, so this reading is above the WHO guideline but within the EU limit. Source: EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — validated PM2.5 station data.

How many people live in Nicosia?

The published population is 56,848 people. Source: Population and housing units by municipality/community; Lefkosia Municipality.

How many foreign residents live in Nicosia?

18,252 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: CYSTAT official municipality table.

How much is public transport in Nicosia?

A monthly transport pass is 50 EUR/month. Source: Ticket Fares.

Is Nicosia a good place to live?

Nicosia may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Is Nicosia part of Lemesos?

Nicosia belongs to the same official metropolitan area as Lemesos; that does not by itself make it an administrative part of the hub. It is about 62.0 km away by straight-line distance.

Which cities are near Nicosia?

Aglantziá, Ágios Dométios, Káto Lakatámeia, Géri, Tséri are near Nicosia. Typed relationship labels are shown where published; other rows use straight-line distance from admitted coordinates.

How many people are in the Cypriots * citizenship group in Nicosia?

The official citizenship distribution records 37,862 people (67.0%) in the source-defined population for 2021 Census (1 October 2021). This is a citizenship measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Nicosia, Cyprus: population, rent, cost of living, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 59838b7860d9c3f85ac6cb7b05eb7eca]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/cy/nicosia/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_nicosia-cyprus-population-rent-cost-of-living-jobs_5e7fd9bf1b5d,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Nicosia, Cyprus: population, rent, cost of living, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {59838b7860d9c3f85ac6cb7b05eb7eca},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/cy/nicosia/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Nicosia, Cyprus: population, rent, cost of living, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/cy/nicosia/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 59838b7860d9c3f85ac6cb7b05eb7eca; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown
  1. Cyprus Department of Labour — Nicosia district office Cyprus Department of Labour · mlsi.gov.cy · checked 2026-09-15
  2. CYSTAT official municipality table cystatdb23px.cystat.gov.cy · checked 2026-07-18
  3. Cyta — Internet Home Fiber Cyta · cyta.com.cy · checked 2026-10-08
  4. Cyta — RED/FREEDOM plan terms Cyta · cyta.com.cy · checked 2026-10-08
  5. ec.europa.eu place coordinates ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-28
  6. ec.europa.eu place coordinates ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-28
  7. EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics — validated PM2.5 station data EEA Air Quality Annual Statistics · air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
  8. European Environment Agency air.discomap.eea.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
  9. Official statistics: city area ucm.org.cy · checked 2026-07-18
  10. Official statistics: dwellings cystatdb23px.cystat.gov.cy · checked 2026-07-18
Show 19 more sources
  1. Official statistics: g07 high school or higher share pct cystatdb23px.cystat.gov.cy · checked 2026-07-18
  2. OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
  3. OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
  4. Population and housing units by municipality/community; Lefkosia Municipality library.cystat.gov.cy · checked 2026-07-16
  5. Statistical Service of Cyprus (CYSTAT) cystatdb.cystat.gov.cy · checked 2026-08-30
  6. Ticket Fares publictransport.com.cy · checked 2026-07-26
  7. Apartments for rent in Nicosia — market snapshot Apartments for rent in Nicosia · offer.com.cy · checked 2026-10-07
  8. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  9. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  10. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  11. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  12. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  13. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  14. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  15. Coordinate identity evidence wikidata.org · checked 2026-09-06
  16. Lebenshaltungskosten in Nikosia de.numbeo.com · checked 2026-07-26
  17. Numbeo numbeo.com · checked 2026-08-03
  18. wikidata.org place coordinates wikidata.org · checked 2026-08-28
  19. WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 station CSV ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-26

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.