The structure of the family was affected by the postwar changes. The family was traditionally the most valuable institution in Cypriot society. particularly in village life, people thought of themselves primarily as members of families, and rarely, according to sociologist Peter Loizos, spoke of "themselves as individuals in the existential sense." Others have famous that Greek Cypriots traditionally identified themselves first as members of families, then according to their places of origin, and lastly as citizens of a nation.
contempt changes in its structure, the family remained strong in Greek Cypriot society. In the time 1985-89, the nation's marriage rate was 9.5 per thousand, the highest in Europe. The time saw a rising trend in the marriage age for men and women, about one year older for both than in earlier years. In 1988 the mean age at marriage was 28.7 for grooms, and 25.2 for brides. Grooms and brides in rural areas still tended to marry younger than their urban counterparts. On the other hand, the divorce rate had almost doubled from 42 per thousand in 1980 to 68 per thousand in 1988. The number of extramarital births remained very low by European standards; in 1988 only seventy-two children were born out of wedlock, a mere 0.7 % of the total number of births.