Births to mothers who are third-country nationals in Cyprus have recorded a significant increase in the last decade (2015–2024), while births to Cypriot women are declining, according to official data transmitted to the Parliament by the Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos.
The demographic issue and its ramifications come to the fore again after a parliamentary question posed by DISY MP, Prodromos Alambritis, who asked for detailed and comparable data, which would reflect both the birth order of the children and the citizenship of the mother.
It is also clear from the answer of the competent minister that the vast majority of births of a fourth child or more come from women who are nationals of third countries.
The X-ray of births (2015–2024)
The statistics reflect a clear change in the country's demographic balances:
- In 2015, total births in Cyprus were 9,170, peaked in 2021 with 10,309 and have been declining ever since, falling to 9,766 in 2024.
- Births to Cypriot mothers decreased from 6,717 in 2015 to 6,111 in 2024.
- Births to mothers with non-EU nationality almost tripled, jumping from 891 in 2015 to 2,484 in 2024.
- Births to mothers from other European member states have declined, from 1,538 in 2015 to 1,170 in 2024.
Reversal for large families
Of particular interest are the data on large families having a fourth child or more.
In 2015, out of the 348 births of a fourth child or more, the vast majority (250) came from Cypriot mothers and only 46 from third-country nationals.
On the contrary, in 2024 the picture was completely reversed, since out of 451 corresponding births, 232 were mothers from non-EU countries and only 167 Cypriot women.
The separate index for Cypriot women is non-existent
Answering Mr. Alampritis' question on whether the specialized fertility rate of Cypriot women is reflected, Mr. Keravnos clarified that "the total fertility index is calculated and published for the entire female population residing in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, regardless of nationality. In the context of the regular production of official demographic statistics, a separate fertility index for women of Cypriot nationality is not compiled."
Therefore, as he mentioned, there is no corresponding time series available that allows the comparison of the index of women of Cypriot citizenship with the overall fertility index of Cyprus.
