27.8% of Cyprus’ population falls into the lowest income class, while 7.6% belongs to the highest, according to the 2024 publication “Population by Income Class”, released on Monday by the Statistical Service of Cyprus.

At the same time, 14.6% of the population, corresponding to 139,930 individuals, lives at risk of poverty, as their equivalised disposable income is equal to or below €12,400, which is the monetary poverty risk threshold.

Based on the methodology proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the middle-income class is defined as the share of the population living in households with income ranging between 75% and 200% of the national median income.

The population living in households with income above 200% of the national median income belongs to the upper income class, while those with income below 75% of the national median income fall into the lower income class.

The national median income for 2024 is calculated at €20,666.

The 27.8% belonging to the lower income class has an equivalised disposable income equal to or below €15,500.

The 64.6% of the population in the middle-income class has a median equivalised disposable income of €23,517, while the 7.6% in the upper income class has a median equivalised disposable income of €51,316.

The middle-income class is divided into lower middle, middle, and upper middle income groups.

22.2% belong to the lower middle-income group, with equivalised disposable income ranging between €15,501 and €20,666.

30.7% fall into the middle middle-income group, with income between €20,667 and €30,999.

The upper middle-income group includes 11.7% of the population, with equivalised disposable income between €31,000 and €41,332.

According to the Statistical Service, historically the largest share of the population belongs to the middle-income class, consistently exceeding 60%, with the exception of the years following the financial crisis.

In 2024, 64.6% of the population was classified as middle income.

Among individuals in the lower income class, 36.6% are employed and 35.9% are pensioners.
In the middle-income class, 68.6% are employed and 14% are pensioners, while in the upper income class, 71.7% are employed and 14.3% are pensioners.

Regarding household composition, 56% of the lower-income class consists of households without children. The corresponding figures are 45.9% for the middle-income class and 57.4% for the upper-income class.

Households with one dependent child account for 11.9% of the lower-income class, 20.5% of the middle-income class, and 21.2% of the upper-income class.

Households with two dependent children represent 18.4% of the lower-income class, 24.2% of the middle-income class, and 18.9% of the upper-income class.

Households with three or more dependent children make up 13.7% of the lower-income class, 9.4% of the middle-income class, and 2.5% of the upper-income class.

In terms of age distribution, 30.5% of those in the lower-income class are 65 years and over, 18.1% are children, and 13.1% are young people, while 38.3% are adults of working age.

In the middle-income class, the majority are working-age adults (53.6%), followed by children (18.7%), young people (15.5%), and pensioners (12.2%).

In the upper-income class, 59.5% are working-age adults, 16.3% are pensioners, 13.9% are children, and 10.3% are young people aged 18–29.

Historically, the highest proportion of individuals living in households that have delayed repayments of mortgage instalments for their main residence or rent payments is found within the lower income class.

In 2024, 27% of the lower-income class reported such delays, compared to 9.9% in the middle-income class and 3% in the upper-income class.