The share of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Cyprus, according to the EU AROPE indicator, remained steady at 16.7% in 2023 with the percentage of the population at risk of poverty unchanged at 13.9%, the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat) has said.

According to the results of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2023, with income reference period the year 2022, 16.7% of the population or 153,000 persons were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE indicator, the main indicator to monitor the EU 2030 target on poverty and social exclusion).

“The indicator for 2023 remained at the same level compared to the previous year when it was also at 16,7%. Therefore, the indicator remained unchanged in 2023, after the continuous downward trend of the recent years,” Cystat added.

Even though the improvement in recent years has been reflected in both women and men, still throughout the years, women are maintaining their unfavorable position in respect to men.

In 2023, the relevant indicator for women was 18.1% and for men 15.3%, Cystat added.

Furthermore, in 2023, the percentage of the population that was at risk of poverty, meaning that its disposable income was below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, was 13.9% or 128,000 persons, remaining at the same level as that of the previous year.

The at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which is defined at 60% of the median total equivalized disposable income of the households, was estimated in 2023 at €11,324 for single-person households and at €23,780 for households with 2 adults and 2 children younger than 14 years old, exhibiting an increase of 5,7% in respect to 2022, where the respective thresholds were €10,713 and €22,498.

The median equivalized disposable income (one person) in 2023 was €18,873 in comparison to €17,856 in 2022, Cystat said.

Moreover, the share of the population living at risk of poverty, before any social benefits and pensions (social transfers) were included in the disposable income of the households, was estimated at 33.1%.

When only pensions were included in the disposable income of the households, dropped was reduced to 20%, while when social benefits were further included, the percentage was reduced to 13.9%

In 2023, all the social transfers reduced the indicator by 19.2 percentage points, (13.1 pp as a result of pensions and 6.1 as a result of the social benefits, Cystat added.