By 2000, only 400 Greeks remained, while the Turks were around 8000. , only 318 Greeks remained on the island, whereas the number of Turks increased to 8,344. However, international pressure resulted in Turkey′s authorities relaxing some of the previously imposed restrictions in the 2000s, which, combined with persistent efforts of the Imvrian expatriate communities and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a native of Imbros, allowed the opening of Greek educational establishments on the island as well as the return of some Greeks who had left their native Imbros (in 2019, there were three Greek schools operating on the island, the Greek population of Imbros being over 500 people).