Economy of Northern Cyprus

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The economy of Northern Cyprus is dominated by the services sector including the public sector, trade, tourism and education, with smaller agriculture and light manufacturing sectors. The economy operates on a free-market basis, although it continues to be handicapped by the political isolation of Turkish Cypriots, the lack of private and governmental investment, high freight costs, and shortages of skilled labor. Despite these constraints, the Turkish Cypriot economy turned in an impressive performance in 2003 and 2004, with growth rates of 9.6% and 11.4%.^{[citation needed]} This growth has been buoyed by the relative stability of the Turkish Lira and by a boom in the education and construction sectors. The Turkish Cypriots are heavily dependent on monetary transfers from the Turkish government. Under the 2003-06 economic protocol, Ankara plans to provide around $550 million to the TRNC. The number of tourists visiting Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus during January-August 2003 was 286,901.^[1]

Over the same period, per capita income almost doubled