Cypriot families need around €4,000 a month to make ends meet, according to expatistan.com, an online platform designed to offer a realistic index on cost-of-living for people eyeing a move to another country.
According to the online platform, a family of four in Cyprus needs an income of €3,953 a month to put a roof over their heads and meet basic needs.
A single person living on the island will need an average of €2,006 monthly.
The cost of living in Limassol is significantly higher than the rest of the island, pushed up by higher rents and property prices in the district.
Compared to the capital, the cost of living in Limassol is 29% more expensive.
In Nicosia, the monthly cost for a family of four is €3,197, and for a single person, €1,348.
In the capital, according to the platform, the monthly rent for an 85 sqm apartment in an expensive area is €882 and in a normal area, €625.
The monthly rent for a furnished studio of 45 sqm in an expensive area is €543, and in a normal area, €420. In Nicosia, a cocktail drink in the city centre costs, on average, €9 and a beer €3.55.
In Limassol, according to expatistan.com, the monthly cost for a family of four is €4,141 and for a single person, €2,380.
The difference with Nicosia is €944 for a family of four; for a single person, it reaches €1,032, almost €100 more than the national minimum wage of 940.
In Limassol, renting a 45 sqm furnished studio in a midrange area costs €1,100 and monthly rent for a 45 sqm furnished studio in an expensive area costs €1,500.
The monthly rent for an 85 sqm apartment in Limassol costs €1,500; uptown, it’s €2,131.
In Limassol, a pint of beer in a neighbourhood pub costs €4, a cocktail in the city centre costs €15, and 1 litre of petrol costs €1.49.
Compared to Nicosia and Limassol, Larnaca’s living cost is lower.
For Larnaca, the monthly cost for a family of four is €2,895 p/m, and for a single person, €1,242.
According to the platform, the monthly rent for a furnished apartment of 85 sqm in an expensive area is €942, and an average area is €477.
The monthly rent for a furnished studio of 45 sqm in an expensive area is €485 and for a furnished studio in a normal area, €359.
The monthly cost is estimated at €2,642 for a family of four in Paphos, but rent is 23.2% higher than in Nicosia.
Other cities
Nicosia is 25% cheaper than Helsinki, and the cost of living in Limassol is 30% more expensive than in Moscow, according to the expatistan.com platform.
Limassol’s living cost is 32% cheaper than in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Larnaca’s is 25% cheaper than in Jerusalem.
And Limassol is 99% more expensive than in Mumbai.
Nicosia is 46% cheaper than London, and Limassol is 49% more expensive than Saint Petersburg.
The cost of living in Nicosia is 4% cheaper than in Lisbon, and Limassol is about the same as Barcelona, Spain.
The cost of living in Cyprus is 25% more expensive than in Greece, and based on the data provided by the platform, food is 32% more expensive, while rent is 66% higher.
Cyprus is also 23% more expensive than Spain and 22% compared to Portugal.
