Spatial distribution, galactic model parameters and luminosity function of cataclysmic variables (CVs) in the solar neighbourhood have been found using distances estimated from the period-luminosity-colours (PLCs) relation of CVs. It can be concluded that exponential function fits better to the observational z-distributions of the whole CVs in the sample, non-magnetic CVs and dwarf novae, while the sech^2^ function is more appropriate for nova-like stars and polars. The vertical scaleheight of CVs is 158+/-14pc for the 2MASS J band limiting apparent magnitude of 15.8. The discrepancies between the theoretical and observational population studies of CVs can be at least partly removed if the sech^2^ density function is used in deriving the galactic model parameters. We estimated the vertical scaleheights of 128+/-20pc and 160+/-5pc for dwarf novae and nova-like stars, respectively. The local space density of CVs is found ~3x10^-5^pc^-3^ which is in agreement with the lower limit of the theoretical predictions. The luminosity function of CVs shows a trend toward higher space density at low luminosity, implying an increase in the number of short-period systems.

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