Detached houses in Cyprus appear to benefit more from energy upgrades than apartments, according to Eurostat data for 2025. Overall, 28% of Cypriot residents said that their home's energy efficiency has improved over the past five years, higher than the European Union average of 23.9%.
The picture varies significantly depending on the type of residence. In houses, the percentage reaches 33.6%, while in apartments it is limited to only 10.3%. The difference of 23.3 percentage points is one of the largest recorded in the European Union and shows that energy upgrades are progressing at a much faster pace in homes than in apartment buildings.
At the European Union level, 30.5% of those living in houses stated that their home was upgraded in terms of energy efficiency, compared to only 16.6% of those living in apartments, confirming that interventions are generally easier to implement in detached houses and independent houses.
The highest performance in Europe is recorded by the Netherlands, where 68.3% of residents in houses and 33.4% of residents in apartments reported energy improvements. They are followed by Sweden (43.7%) and Denmark (40.2%), while in apartments Portugal is first with 34.1%. On the other hand, Greece records particularly low rates, with 11.4% in houses and 8.3% in apartments, while Italy has the lowest rate in the EU (2.6%) regardless of the type of residence.
The image of Cyprus highlights a key challenge for the energy transition: renovations in apartment buildings remain limited. The need for consultation between many owners, the issues of management of common areas and the higher cost of collective interventions are key obstacles to the implementation of energy upgrade projects.
The data underline the need to design specialized support programs for apartment buildings and apartments, so that the energy upgrade of the building stock proceeds in a more balanced way and more citizens benefit from the reduction of energy consumption and electricity costs.
In terms of the overall picture, according to Eurostat data for 2025, Cyprus is in 16th place among the member states in terms of the overall percentage of energy upgrades, however it was one of the countries that recorded the largest increase compared to 2023, which indicates an acceleration of investments in the energy upgrade of the housing stock. The first place in the European Union is held by the Netherlands with a percentage of 60.5%, followed by Denmark (34%), France and Slovenia (33.3%). On the other side are Italy (2.6%), Malta (7.8%) and Greece (9.5%).
Despite the positive overall picture, the data reveals that the benefits of energy upgrades are not evenly distributed. In Cyprus, only 16.7% of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion reported that their home has been energy upgraded in the last five years. On the contrary, the corresponding percentage for those who are not at risk of poverty or social exclusion reaches 30.3%.
The difference between the two groups amounts to 13.6 percentage points, one of the largest in the European Union. The largest gap is recorded only in the Netherlands, where it reaches 18 percentage points, followed by Denmark (13.5) and Luxembourg (12.6). These figures show that, while energy renovations are increasing in Cyprus, households with lower incomes continue to face greater difficulties in accessing such investments. The comparison with the European average is revealing.
In the EU, 17.4% of people at risk of poverty stated that their home had improved in terms of energy, slightly higher than in Cyprus (16.7%). On the contrary, for those who are not at risk of poverty, Cyprus significantly exceeds the European average, as the percentage reaches 30.3%, compared to 25.6% in the EU.
This picture suggests that energy upgrades in Cyprus are mainly carried out by households with greater financial capacity or easier access to finance and grant schemes.
Reducing energy poverty
Eurostat points out that the energy upgrade of homes is a key tool for reducing energy poverty and electricity costs. However, the data for Cyprus show that there is still a significant gap until all social groups benefit equally. Expanding the access of vulnerable households to subsidy programs for thermal insulation, replacement of frames, installation of photovoltaics and other interventions is expected to be a critical factor in reducing energy costs and tackling energy poverty in the coming years.
