A recent Eurostat analysis reveals that Cyprus ranks sixth among EU member states with the highest proportion of low-wage earners, with 20% of workers falling into this category in 2022. This figure exceeds the EU average of 14.7% for the same year, which itself marks a decline from 16.2% in 2018.

Under Eurostat’s definition, low-wage earners are those receiving two-thirds or less of their country’s median gross hourly pay. Across the EU, women are more likely than men to fall into this category, with 17.1% of female workers earning low wages compared to 12.6% of men. While both figures have improved slightly since 2018—when they stood at 18.2% and 12.5%, respectively—the gender pay gap remains evident.

Age and education level significantly influence the likelihood of earning low wages. Among workers under 30, 25.2% earn low wages, compared to 12.1% of those aged 30–49 and 13.4% of workers over 50. Additionally, education plays a critical role: individuals with lower qualifications face a 27.5% likelihood of being low-paid, whereas 17.5% of those with medium qualifications and just 4.8% of highly educated workers fall into this category.

Significant differences also exist between EU countries. Bulgaria has the highest share of low-wage workers at 26.8%, followed by Romania (23.9%), Latvia (23.3%), Greece (21.7%), Estonia (21.2%), and Cyprus (20%). On the other end of the spectrum, Portugal recorded the lowest proportion at 1.8%, with Sweden (4.1%), Finland (6.5%), Italy (8.8%), Slovenia (9.4%), and both France and Denmark (9.7%) also reporting figures below 10%.

The accommodation and food services sector had the highest share of low-wage earners across the EU, with 35.1% of workers in this industry earning low wages. Employment contract type also plays a key role: 27.2% of employees on fixed-term contracts were low-paid, compared to just 12.6% of those on permanent contracts.

Finally, Cyprus stands out for its significant wage disparity at the upper end of the pay scale. The top 10% of earners in the country take home roughly 2.5 times more than the median wage—marking the largest gap among all EU member states.