90.4% of Turkish Cypriots believe that things in the occupied territories are going in the wrong direction, with corruption and problematic political leadership emerging as the top problems, according to a new poll.
According to the online information website “Özgür Gazete Kıbrıs”, the Turkish Center for Migration, Identity and Rights Studies (CMIRS) published the first part of its survey for the period of March 2026, which was conducted with personal interviews of 500 participants.
CMIRS director Mine Youtzel pointed out that dissatisfaction has remained at high levels since 2017, peaking at 97% in 2022, while in 2026 it returned to 90%. According to the findings, the most important problems facing the Turkish community are classified as follows: economic problems, the Cyprus issue, corruption, insufficient political leadership, the health system, inflation and infrastructure problems, especially in electricity.
Regarding the economic outlook, 63.33% of respondents estimate that their personal financial situation will worsen within two years, while only 8.01% expect an improvement. For the economy as a whole, 69.94% foresee a deterioration and only 4.61% an improvement.
Also, 53.6% of respondents declare their inability to meet basic family needs, 72.8% express concern about repayment of installments, while 74.2% are unable to meet medical expenses.
The happiness index for March 2026 stood at 5.95 out of 10, while the social trust index stood at a particularly low 3.49, which, according to Ms. Yutzel, raises serious concerns about the state of democracy and society. The sustainability index stood at 6.02 out of 10.
KYPE