The tertiary, or service, sector of the Turkish Cypriot economy grew in importance during the 1980s as part of the economy's modernization. The greatest expansion was in trade and tourism; earnings from tourism tripled between 1986 and 1989. Financial, business, and personal services also grew more important to the economy in the 1980s. Government still accounted for too large a share of the Turkish Cypriot economy at the end of the 1980s, but its share was declining. A new development in the late 1980s was the founding of Eastern Mediterranean University in Famagusta. With an enrollment of 3,500 students (2,800 of whom were foreign), it was a valuable new source of employment and foreign exchange, and an example of how the Turkish Cypriot service sector might grow in the future.
Data as of January 1991