16% of Cypriots below poverty threshold, says Eurostat

Around 16% of Cypriots have had in 2008 an income, which, after social transfers, was below the poverty threshold as defined by the European Union.

According to data issued by Eurostat, the higher risk of poverty in Cyprus is among elderly, since in 2008, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for those aged 65 years and over was 49%, the second highest in the EU27, after Latvia (51%).

In 2008, 17% of the population in the EU27 were at risk of poverty.

The highest at-risk-of-poverty rates in 2008 were found in Latvia (26%), Romania (23%), Bulgaria (21%), Greece, Spain and Lithuania (all 20%), and the lowest in the Czech Republic (9%), the Netherlands and Slovakia (both 11%), Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden (all 12%).

Eurostat notes that the at-risk-of-poverty rate is a relative measure of poverty, and that the poverty threshold varies greatly between member states.

In 20 of the 27 member states, child at-risk-of-poverty rates were higher than for the total population. In 2008, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for those aged up to 17 years was 20% in the EU27.

The highest rates were recorded in Romania (33%), Bulgaria (26%), Italy and Latvia (both 25%), and the lowest in Denmark (9%), Slovenia and Finland (both 12%).

Elderly people also face a higher risk of poverty than the total population. In 2008, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for those aged 65 years and over was 19% in the EU27.

The highest rates were observed in Latvia (51%), Cyprus (49%), Estonia (39%) and Bulgaria (34%), and the lowest in Hungary (4%), Luxembourg (5%) and the Czech Republic (7%).

In 2008, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for those in employment was 8% on average in the EU27, ranging from 4% in the Czech Republic to 17% in Romania.