# Cyprus Border Crossing Volumes — How 7.6 Million Trips Move Between North and South Each Year > Across all open checkpoints between the TRNC and the Republic of Cyprus, 7,621,023 arrivals into the north were recorded in 2025 (a 2.2% softening from 2024's 7,793,124). August peaked at 730,885 arrivals. The full monthly + passenger-origin breakdown for both years, and what it means for cross-border trip planning. - Canonical: https://www.kiprarent.com/en/blog/cyprus-border-crossing-volumes/ - Published: 2026-05-23 - Updated: 2026-06-20 - Language: English - Publisher: Kipra Rent A Car — https://www.kiprarent.com/ --- **7,621,023 arrivals into the TRNC from the Republic of Cyprus side in 2025** — a 2.2% softening from 2024's 7,793,124. That's the latest official tally from the TRNC Tourism Planning Department, and it captures a flow most international tourism analyses miss entirely. For a small island, that's a remarkable number. ~21,000 crossings per day on average. Peak day in August probably runs north of 28,000. ## The monthly numbers, 2024 vs 2025 | Month | Total 2024 | Total 2025 | YoY % | |---|---|---|---| | Jan | 534,791 | 559,202 | +4.6% | | Feb | 565,354 | 543,419 | -3.9% | | Mar | 616,195 | 627,564 | +1.8% | | Apr | 666,830 | 648,321 | -2.8% | | May | 663,488 | 667,333 | +0.6% | | Jun | 698,938 | 678,548 | -2.9% | | Jul | 700,740 | 689,060 | -1.7% | | Aug | 759,370 | **730,885** | -3.7% | | Sep | 688,183 | 652,322 | -5.2% | | Oct | 676,244 | 662,964 | -2.0% | | Nov | 605,320 | 591,578 | -2.3% | | Dec | 617,671 | 569,827 | -7.7% | | **TOTAL** | **7,793,124** | **7,621,023** | **-2.2%** | By passenger origin, 2025: TRNC residents 3,253,476 (+9.9%); South Cyprus residents 2,398,498 (-15.4%); Other Foreigner 1,969,049 (-1.3%). ## Q1 2026 — the latest crossings The first official 2026 figures show **1,556,533 land-gate entries into the TRNC in January–March** (with a near-mirror 1,558,074 exits back south). By side: TRNC residents 752,295, South Cyprus residents 470,438, and Other Foreigner 333,800. The pattern holds — most crossings are same-day, and the foreign-visitor share keeps the cross-border-rental model central. (Source: TRNC Tourism Planning Department, Jan–Mar 2026 statistics, published 30 April 2026.) ## Three things the latest data shows **The flow softened mildly in 2025.** Net -2.2%, driven by lower South Cyprus residents (-15.4%) — likely the EU-side political-economic backdrop. TRNC residents crossing back from the south actually rose 9.9% (cross-border shopping continuing). Foreign visitor crossings were nearly flat (-1.3%). **Peak month August (730,885).** Still the highest-volume single month — but down 3.7% from the 2024 peak. The August softening tracks the same pattern across the year. **Foreign visitors are 26% of the crossing flow.** 1,969,049 "Other foreigner" arrivals into TRNC from the south side in 2025. These are mostly tourists who flew into Larnaca or Paphos, then crossed north for a day-trip or a longer stay. That figure dwarfs the 356,409 direct foreign arrivals at Ercan + Girne + Famagusta ports — by ~5.5×. ## What this means for crossing your rental This is where the data shapes a real practical question: **how do you actually structure a Cyprus trip when both halves matter?** The high foreign-crossing volume confirms what the rental industry already knows: tourists fly into Larnaca, cross north, and want a car on the north side. The crossing itself is straightforward — about 15-20 minutes for passport control on a normal day. But — and this is what most travel content misses — **rental cars cannot cross the border with you.** TRNC-insured rentals cannot operate south of the Green Line (legal restriction + insurance void). South-side rentals can cross north but only with expensive border-kiosk insurance that doesn't cover damage to your own rental. We've broken this math down in detail in the [South vs North Cyprus Rental Real Cost](/en/blog/south-vs-north-cyprus-rental-real-cost/) post. For most cross-border travellers, the cleanest play is: cross the border on foot or by taxi (no rental friction), then pick up a fully-covered Kipra rental on the north side. We offer free transfers from [Deryneia and Famagusta Crosspoint borders](/en/blog/south-to-north-cyprus-border-crossing-guide/). ## Verify the data The TRNC Tourism Planning Department publishes the full annual report at [turizmplanlama.gov.ct.tr](https://turizmplanlama.gov.ct.tr/) — Table 7 in both the 2024 and 2025 annuals holds the monthly arrival/departure flow this dataset mirrors. We refresh when each annual is published. A per-checkpoint breakdown (Deryneia / Famagusta-Strovilia / Astromeritis / Ledra / Metehan / Akyar / Pergamos / Limnitis) is collected by TRNC Police and Republic of Cyprus CYSTAT but is not currently published as a single aggregated file. Per qualitative reporting, Agios Dometios (Metehan) in Nicosia is the busiest crossing, with Deryneia (closest to Famagusta) handling the largest share of tourist-origin trips. **📊 Download the data:** [CSV file](/data/insights/cyprus-border-crossing-volumes.csv) — open data, CC-BY-4.0 license. Includes both 2024 + 2025 monthly tables. ## Bottom line 7.62 million border crossings in 2025. The vast majority are same-day. The foreign component is ~2 million annually — about 5.5× the direct-foreign-arrival count at the north's own airports. This is the structural reality that makes cross-border rental + free-transfer pickup the model that actually works for international visitors. [Browse the fleet at kiprarent.com](/en/) or [book a car with free border transfer](https://app.kiprarent.com/book/cars). *Last updated: June 2026 — now includes official Q1 2026 land-gate entries. Source: TRNC Tourism Planning Department, Tourism Statistics 2024 + 2025 + Jan–Mar 2026, Table 7.* --- Kipra Rent A Car — Famagusta, North Cyprus. No-deposit, no-credit-card car rental; VAT + insurance included. Booking: https://app.kiprarent.com/en/book/cars · WhatsApp: +90 546 996 1004