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In recent years Cyprus has flourished with a strong economy, growing business sector and developing real estate sector. This was not always the case in Cyprus, as in 2011 the island suffered from a financial downturn, despite this, Cyprus has gone from strength to strength at a much quicker rate than experts predicted.

The Cypriot economy is now so healthy that the Island of Cyprus has now been able to fully repay a loan from Russia that was given in 2011 as confirmed by Minister Harris Georgiades. He commented on twitter:

A short while ago the Russian loan was fully paid off,

He added, Cyprus can now comfortably finance its needs from the international markets.

The 2.5-billion-euro loan was negotiated in Moscow in 2011 to keep the economy afloat.

With such a positive outcome many wonder what has contributed to the Cyprus success story? One noteworthy factor is the Cyprus Investment Program.

Cyprus Investment Program

The program offered by Cyprus is designed to draw international investment with people required to invest 2 million euro into property development and in return, they gain a passport of Cyprus – an EU country. Due to this initiative, the real estate market has grown at a healthy rate.

In 2018 a 6 per cent growth in property sales were reported with a 5 – 10 per cent growth for 2019. A large majority of sales are due to foreign buyers due to the Cyprus Investment Program, accounting for 50 per cent of sales last year according to the financial mirror.

The foreign investors not only build properties to live in Cyprus, but many chose to set up businesses in Cyprus which in turn benefit the economy. Due to the quality of life and favourable location of Cyprus with access to Europe, the middle east and America Cyprus is making its name as a hub of business creating new jobs and increasing spending.

The positive effects can be seen on the economy as GDP continues to grow at 3.1 per cent in 2019 with a predicted steady growth in 2020 of 2.7 per cent. Another positive knock-on effect of the Cyprus Investment Program is that the unemployment rate has dropped significantly from 8.4 per cent in 2018 to 6.7 per cent in 2019 with predictions of an unemployment rate of 5.9 per cent in 2020.

It is clear that the Cyprus Investment program has greatly contributed to these impressive figures and the overall success story of Cyprus.