* Donating to developing countries and volunteering rank highest *
Respondents in Cyprus are more positive towards development issues than those in the rest of the European Union, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, conducted ahead of the European Year for Development.
Almost all of the 503 respondents interviewed last September, or 94%, agree it is important to help people in developing countries – the second highest level in the EU after Sweden (97%). Cyprus is also one of only four member states where the majority, or 64%, say helping people in developing countries is very important (Sweden: 74%, Ireland: 56%, Luxembourg: 51%).
Respondents in Cyprus are much more likely than they were in 2013 to agree that tackling poverty in developing countries should be one of the EU’s main priorities (85%, up 8 percentage points on 2013). Only respondents in Croatia (86%) are more likely to agree. Those in Cyprus are also much more likely than they were previously to agree that this should be one of their national government’s main priorities (+15 percentage points), which brings the overall result to close to the EU average (44%).
Cyprus also recorded the largest increase in the proportion of people saying aid should be increased up to (+16) or beyond (+12) what has already been promised. They are also the second most likely, along with people in Austria, to say aid should be increased beyond what has been promised (both 22%).
Just over half of all respondents in Cyprus (55%) think individuals can play a role in tackling poverty – a 14 percentage point increase since the last survey, which is the largest increase seen in any EU member state. Respondents in Cyprus are also more likely than EU average to be willing to pay more for groceries and products from developing countries (58% vs. 49%) – a substantial increase since 2013 (+12).
Those in Cyprus are the most positive of any member state about the effectiveness of donating (81%), volunteering (86%) or official development aid (89%) in helping reduce poverty in developing countries.
In contrast to the general EU trend, younger respondents (aged 15-24) are more likely than older respondents to be personally involved in helping developing countries (42% vs. 35%). Furthermore, unlike in the EU as a whole, young people in Cyprus are much more likely to say they know something about where national (58% vs. 33%) or EU aid (41% vs. 31%) is going.
