Turkish Cypriots

ethnic group; Cypriots of Turkish ancestry

Key facts

Northern cyprus: est. 150,000
Turkey: 300,000 to over 650,000 , (Higher estimate includes descendants of the early twentieth century muhacirs )
United kingdom: 130,000 ( TRNC nationals only – excludes British born and dual heritage children) , 300,000 to 400,000 (including descendants)
Australia: 30,000 (Turkish Cypriot immigrants in 1993 ) , est.40,000 to 120,000
Canada: 6,000 (Turkish Cypriot immigrants in 1993 )
United states: 6,000 (Turkish Cypriot immigrants in 1993 )
Cyprus south: 1,128 (2011 Cyprus census ) , est.2,000
Other countries: 5,000 (2001 TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimate), particularly in Western Europe , New Zealand , South Africa

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks (Turkish: Kıbrıs Türkleri or Kıbrıslı Türkler; Greek: Τουρκοκύπριοι, romanized: Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land once they arrived in Cyprus. Additionally, many of the island's local Christians converted to Islam during the early years of Ottoman rule. Nonetheless, the influx of mainly Muslim settlers to Cyprus continued intermittently until the end of the Ottoman period. Today, while Northern Cyprus is home to a significant part of the Turkish Cypriot population, the majority of Turkish Cypriots live abroad, forming the Turkish Cypriot diaspora. This diaspora came into existence after the Ottoman Empire transferred the control of the island to the British Empire, as many Turkish Cypriots emigrated primarily to Turkey and the United Kingdom for political and economic reasons.

Standard Turkish is the official language of Northern Cyprus. The vernacular spoken by Turkish Cypriots is Cypriot Turkish, which has been influenced by Cypriot Greek, as well as English.