Around one in six people in the north own a gun, according to the latest Turkish Cypriot figures.
A statement on the interior office website claims that there are 49,526 firearms in the north (an increase of 3,590 since 2010). With the current population in the Turkish Cypriot community standing at around to 290,000, those figures translate to one in six people in possession of firearms.
A further breakdown of the figures shows that one in three men in the north (male population stands at 150,483) owns some kind of firearm. The firearms include hunting rifles, air rifles, paintball armoury and handguns.
The figures, that were published in Kibris newspaper, says there were 33,432 registered hunting rifles in 2010 and that this figure increased to 34,551 rifles in 2015.
The import and export of any weapons however is based on official permission.
The same goes for the ownership or possession of a handgun as any weapons owned have to be registered with the Turkish Cypriot police.
Cyprus weekly
