There, I've asked it. It's to do with an article I am preparing for the Spanish press about the number of Brits - and other Northern Europeans - living in certain countries.
So please, has anyone got any general, rough, roundabout numbers that don't come from the Daily Mail?

Tough one this one. Reckon on around 75,000. This will include UK Born Cypriots who have British Passports and have settled in Cyprus. The best bet is to contact the British High Commission in Nicosia. They have a list of registered British expats, but it is not compulsory to register, so not an accurate figure, but will give you some idea.

Thanks for your input.

Official figures put the number at around 60,000, but as zygiman says that doesn't include "residential tourists".

Thanks Joe. Sorry to hear of the bank problems with you in Cyprus. We are naturally worried that something similar is going to happen here in Spain.

not just Spain - France, Italy and Portugal appear to be watching from the sidelines with "interest" and shuddering quietly. Such a move could start a run on all banks across the EU.
is that the next stage ??

but the only place where there is huge upset seems to be Russia, which is using Cyprus as a conduit for its money and washing it thru the banking system.

The troika wanted to do a smash and grab on the Russian money. The Russians are very smart, and they moved lot's of money abroad long before this happened.