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