Filenews 24 October 2025 - by Theano Thiopoulou
Inequality and poverty in Cyprus are decreasing, at least according to social indicators, which record an improvement and, as stated by the Ministry of Finance, this is the result of the continuous improvement of the economy, the consequent increase in employment and incomes, as well as the targeted benefit policy of the Government.
The analysis Economic Developments 2025 and Outlook 2026-2028 records optimistic data.
– The at-risk-of-poverty threshold increased in 2024 to €12,400 for one-person households compared to €11,548 in 2023 and to €26,039 for households with two adults and two dependent children, compared to €24,250 in 2023.
– The at-risk-of-poverty rate in 2024 decreased to 17.1%, compared to 17.4% in 2023. The poverty rate of women shows an improvement (18.5% from 19.0%) as well as the percentage of men, which decreased marginally to 15.6% in 2024 from 15.7% in 2023.
Looking at the data over time, women are kept in a more unfavourable economic position compared to men. In 2024, the poverty rate in Cyprus remains lower compared to the EU average, which stands at 16.2%.
– The percentage of the population that was at risk of poverty before any social benefits and pensions (social transfers) were included in household disposable income amounted to 34.2%. When pensions were included in the disposable income of households, then this percentage decreased to 21.0%, while when social benefits were then included, the percentage decreased further to 14.6%.
The Ministry of Finance concludes that social transfers contribute to reducing the at-risk-of-poverty rate. In 2024, overall social transfers reduced this ratio by 19.6 percentage points (13.2 percentage points due to pensions and 6.4 due to social benefits).
It is also noted that the at-risk-of-poverty rate for the entire population fluctuates slightly during the period 2008-2024, but what is worth noting is the significant decrease in the at-risk-of-poverty rate faced by women (from 20.2% in 2018 to 18.5% in 2024).
For people aged 65 and over, there is an increase in the at-risk-of-poverty rate (from 21.7% in 2018 to 31.5% in 2024). The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (AROPE) is the percentage of the population that is below the poverty line or lives in households that are severely materially deprived or lives in households with a very low work intensity index. Each person is counted only once, even if they fall into more than one indicator. In Cyprus, it is noted, this percentage decreased to 17.1% in 2024, from 17.4% in 2023, from 22.8% in 2015, following a steady downward trend reflecting the significant economic recovery and the improvement of the labour market since then.
The average annual net disposable income of the household for 2024, with the financial year 2023 as the reference year, was €40,834, showing an increase of 8% compared to the previous year when it was €37,821, according to data cited by the Ministry of Finance. The indicators related to the distribution of national income (S80/S20 and Gini coefficients) remain at the levels of the previous three years.
Subjective poverty in Cyprus at 19%
Yesterday, Eurostat announced that the subjective poverty rate in Cyprus stood at 18.9% in 2024, showing a decrease of 1.3% compared to 2023 and is lower than the European average, which stood at 17.4% in the entire European Union. "Subjective poverty" is the feeling of households that they have difficulty meeting their needs, as opposed to "objective poverty" which is based on specific income criteria.
