Cyprus is among the EU’s lowest spenders on social protection, allocating just 3.3 per cent of GDP compared with the bloc-wide average of 7.1 per cent, according to new figures from Eurostat.
The data comes as the statistics agency warns that people with disabilities across the EU face a significantly higher risk of poverty and social exclusion than the rest of the population.
Across the bloc, 22.8 per cent of people with disabilities said they struggled to cover basic living costs in 2024, compared with 15 per cent of other adults, while some 38 per cent said they could not meet an unexpected expense.
The picture in Cyprus is starker still.
Around 22 per cent of residents aged 16 and over report living with some form of disability, and last year 27.6 per cent of them said they struggled to meet everyday financial obligations, more than double the EU average of 12.8 per cent.
Nearly 44 per cent said they would be unable to cover an emergency expense, against an EU average of 38 per cent.
Among those most affected are an estimated 2,500 people in Cyprus living with paraplegia or quadriplegia, who depend daily on care, support and independent-living services, costs that continue to climb year on year.
Yet state support for this group has been frozen for more than half a decade. Care allowances for paraplegia and quadriplegia have remained unchanged since 2019, with paraplegia sufferers receiving €400 a month, rising to €500 for higher-needs cases, while those with quadriplegia receive €900 or €1,100 depending on their level of need.
