There are more mobile phone users than there are people in Cyprus, according to the latest figures from the Statistical Service.
According to the latest figures on the “Information Society”, there were 1,021 mobile phone subscriptions per 1,000 inhabitants in 2005, compared with 879 in 2004 and 313 in 2000.
If you think that 12% of the population is under 14 years old, then that translates into well over one mobile phone subscription per person.
Several reasons why
There are several possible reasons why the number of subscriptions exceeds the number of adults in Cyprus.
First, some people have one number for home use and one number for business use. Second, assuming that these figures include pay as you go SIM cards, there are those who bought a card, perhaps for a visitor, and then lost it. Similarly, there are those who bought a card while they were here on holiday.
Third, assuming that the figures refer only to inhabitants in the government-controlled areas, the figures are boosted by Turkish Cypriots who travel south every day and who use a CYTA or areeba SIM card when in the south so that they can talk to customers, bosses and so on.
As a by-product of the Cyprus problem, there is no roaming agreement between the Turkish networks that operate in the north and the two networks that operate in the south.
You can call a Turkcell or Telsim mobile number from a CYTA or areeba number and vice versa.
But it is difficult to use a Turkcell or Telsim phone while physically in the south or a CYTA or areeba phone while physically in the north because the signal disappears in most areas.
Another reason for the high ratio is that there just might be a lot more inhabitants on the island that the authorities think.
More computers in schools
Other data show that the percentage of households in the Republic of Cyprus controlled areas with a computer reached 46% in 2005 compared to 28% in 2000. Thirty-two percent of households had Internet access in 2005.
A significant change was recorded in the type of Internet connection. While dial-up remains the highest, at 59.2% of all subscriptions, it feel from 72.4% in 2004. ISDN also decreased, from 7.9% to 4.3%, whereas broadband connections (DSL) increased to 36.5% in 2005 compared with 19.7% in 2004.
In primary education there were 7.7 computers per 100 pupils in 2005, compared with 1.3 computers in 2001. In secondary education there were 17.0 computers per 100 pupils in 2005, compared with 6.5 computers in 2001.
In tertiary education, in 2004, there were 11.7 computers per 100 students, compared with 8.6 computers in 2001.
Fiona Mullen
