Filenews 9 December 2025
Cyprus has one of the highest levels of xenophobia in Europe, according to the findings of the latest European Social Survey (ESS). The survey also reveals a dramatic decline in trust in institutions and a deep gap between democratic values and their implementation in practice.
In today's announcement, the University Field Research Centre (KEPE) of the University of Cyprus, in collaboration with the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), announce the launch of the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 12 (2025/2026).
According to an announcement, the European Social Survey is the most important comparative survey currently being conducted in Europe and aims to comparatively study citizens' views on the main political issues and social problems faced by European countries.
Due to its standard methodology, CSR has been awarded the leading European Descartes Prize in 2005 and until 2013 this programme was one of the European Commission's policy priorities.
The European Social Research includes topics that respond to current issues on various aspects of life in Cyprus and in Europe in general (perception of democracy, trust in institutions, attitude towards the European Union, attitudes towards immigration, work, political behaviour, etc.).
In addition, the CSR structure allows to compare the attitudes of Cypriots residing in the free areas with the attitudes of populations from other European states, but also to compare them over time.
Data collection started
The collection of data for the new round began on November 10, 2025, with invitation letters sent to a random, small number of households, which, however, are sufficient to reliably represent the entire country.
In each selected household, the person who has the next birthday is invited to participate, an internationally established practice that enhances the randomness of the sample.
The questionnaire is completed self-filled, either in printed or electronic form, giving participants flexibility and time.
Findings of previous rounds
The results of the last two rounds of CSR (Round 10 – 2022 and Round 11 – 2024) highlight serious concerns for Cypriot society.
In terms of trust in institutions, there has been a systematic decline since 2006, with the biggest crisis being found in politicians and political parties. Despite the slight recovery that has been looming recently, probably due to the creation of new party formations, mistrust remains deep.
In contrast, external institutions, such as the European Parliament and the UN, gather significantly higher levels of trust compared to domestic parties and the Parliament.
According to the announcement, the data on Democracy are equally worrying, since while citizens assess the importance of democratic principles as very high, their satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in Cyprus remains desperately low, creating a dangerous gap between values and political reality.
In the field of social cohesion, Cyprus records one of the highest rates of xenophobia in Europe, ranking among the ten most xenophobic countries out of the 31 that participated in the most recent round of CSR.
The deterioration that occurred in Round 11 sounds the alarm in a society that is under intense pressure.
Cyprus' participation in CSR allows the monitoring of critical social indicators over time, while each country can add topics related to its own particularities.
For Cyprus, the additional questions concern the Cyprus problem and intercommunal relations, with the relevant results expected to be presented in a separate announcement.
The research bodies emphasize that the success of the Cypriot participation in this pan-European effort depends directly on the participation of the households that will receive the invitation by post.
The contribution of "lucky" households is crucial, as it allows the production of reliable and scientifically documented results, necessary for public debate and policy-making.
CNA
