THE NUMBER OF LARGE FAMILIES RECEIVING STATE AID HAS DECREASED BY 65% - LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT ASKS FOR SUPPORT - Filenews 26/3 by Vassos Vassiliou
Large families make up only 6.5% of the beneficiaries of child benefit, as stated in data cited on behalf of a group of large families by Mr. Ioannikios Fakas in a letter sent to the President of the Republic.
The data also show that of the 96,078 children who have access to the Child Allowance (2023), 22,355 come from single-child families, 40,454 from two-child families, 23,315 from three-child families, only 9,944 from large families.
Based on the same data, births of natives have been steadily declining with Cypriots falling from 6,728 in 2013 to 6,572 in 2023.
At the same time, according to the same data, births of third-country nationals are increasing. As reported, from 937 recorded in 2013 they increased to 2.460 in 2023).
Especially regarding Paphos, in the year 2025 only 36% of young large families were native.
Mr. Fakas sent a letter to the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, recording that the large families receiving financial aid in 2012 decreased by 65% in 2024 and from 10,065, they shrank to 3,166, which led to savings of €15-€20 million annually as stated in the letter to the President of the Republic.
In the letter, signed by Mr. Ionnikios Fakas, a group of 83 large families asks for support measures and indicates that births of Cypriot citizens have fallen to a historic low (6,111 in 2024), which exacerbates the demographic problem.
At the same time, reference is made to a systematic weakening of support for large families. This is, as mentioned, a political course that began in 2012 and which, in 2026, has led to the effective exclusion of a large part of families with children from basic benefits.
In the letter of the group of large families, the following reasons that lead large families to exclusion are recorded and analyzed:
1. The architecture of exclusion (2012–2026)
The current situation is not a coincidence, but is the result of a specific political choice with the main goal of reducing public spending on children.
This option was implemented through four main mechanisms:
• Income criteria (2012): They functioned as a mechanism for immediate limitation of beneficiaries and reduction of expenses.
• Escalating tightening at the expense of large families: The limits become stricter as the number of children increases.
• Dependent child mechanism: The total size of the family is ignored. Thus, a family that raised seven children is treated, when one dependent is left, with the same limits as a family with one child.
• Freezing Income Limits: For over 14 years, leading to continuous exclusion due to nominal wage increases (ATAs), while the real cost of living (housing, education, living) has skyrocketed.
This is, as claimed in the letter, a system that in practice weakens and punishes large families.
2. Budget savings at the expense of families
According to data from the Cyprus Statistical Service, from 2012 onwards there has been a significant reduction in spending on family and children, with an estimated annual saving of approximately €80 million.
At the European level, according to Eurostat data:
• Cyprus ranks last in family/child support.
• 65.6% of the benefits are granted on the basis of income criteria (EU: 26.4%)
• Expenditure amounts to only 4.6% of total social expenditure (EU: 8.6%)
• Expenditure per child amounts to 1,551 PPS, the lowest level in the European Union
This picture demonstrates a long-standing policy of limited support for the family.
3. The collapse of large families
The impact is measurable:
• 2012: 10,065 large Cypriot families with support
• 2024: 3,166 families
A reduction of more than 65%, with corresponding savings of €15-20 million per year only for large families.
At the same time, births of Cypriot citizens fell to a historic low (6,111 in 2024), which exacerbates the demographic problem.
4. Student sponsorship: restriction instead of support
• Reduction of beneficiaries: 19,511 → 12,972
• Unspent funds: €47,883,969 (last 7 years)
• Student Grant: €1,709 (unchanged since the 1990s)
The proposed bill:
• It provides for the abolition of income limits for just 29 families at a cost of about €200,000 per year and with a temporary effect, as the loss of a dependent child leads to exclusion again.
At the same time, the benefit for other large families with fewer than five dependent children remains very limited and does not meet their real financial needs.
The letter also states that the possible impact on the economy of the war in the Middle East makes it imperative to support large families. It is added that high prices disproportionately affect large families, as two working parents are called upon to bear the particularly increased cost of raising many children in an environment of economic uncertainty.
