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Eurostat: 17.6% of Cypriots at risk of poverty and social exclusion

18/10/2021 15:58

During 2020, 17.6% of Cypriots were at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.

The EU average for that same year was at 21.9%, meaning that the percentage in Cyprus was relatively below that of the EU. However, the percentage of citizens aged 65 years or older in Cyprus was larger than the EU average (22.5% compared to 20.4%).

Among the general population, the highest percentages of citizens at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2020 were recorded in Romania (35.8%), Bulgaria (33.6%), Greece (27.5%) and Spain (27.0%). The lowest percentages were recorded in Czechia (11.5%), Slovakia (13.8%), Slovenia (14.3%) and the Netherlands (15.8%).
 
According to the data, released as an interactive table by Eurostat (accessible at  https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/edn-20211017-1) on the occasion of the International day for the Eradication of Poverty, there was an increased danger of poverty or social exclusion among the unemployed, affecting 66.2% of the unemployed in the EU.
 
In Cyprus, the percentage of the unemployed that were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2020 was at 55%.
 
Cyprus was the country with the fifth lowest percentage of unemployed at risk, after Poland (49.1%), Croatia (53.3%), Portugal (54.2%) and Slovenia (54.9%).
 
The highest percentages of unemployed risking poverty were recorded in Romania (83.7%), Germany (80.9%), Bulgaria (76.5%) and the Netherlands (76.0%)
 
The percentage of workers aged 18 years or older that were at risk in Cyprus was at 8.6% (compared to 11.8% in the EU). The highest percentages concerning those employed were recorded in Romania (23.9%), Bulgaria (16.5%), Greece (16.1%) and Spain (15.2%). The lowest percentages were recorded in Finland (3.7%), Czechia (4.2%), Slovenia (5.9%) and Croatia (6.0%).
 
Regarding the risk of poverty or social exclusion by gender, women in Cyprus were more at risk (18.6%) than men (16.6%), compared to an EU average of 22.9% for women and 20.9% for men.
 
By age group, 19.0% of children and teenagers under 18 years of age in Cyprus was at risk, while 22.5% of those aged 65 or over was at risk. On average of the EU, 24.2% of persons under 18 were at risk, while 20.4% of those aged 65 at over were in the same position.
 
The percentages of households without children, as well as households with children in Cyprus, that were at risk were below the EU average: 19.6% of households¨ without children were at risk (compared with 21.6% in the EU), while 16.0% of households with children were at risk (compared with 22.3% in the EU).