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Income inequality widened in Cyprus in 2025, moving in the opposite direction from the European Union as a whole, according to figures released Friday by Eurostat.
Cyprus’ Gini coefficient, a measure of how evenly income is distributed, rose to 31.2 from 30.1 in 2024. The EU average fell slightly, from 29.4 to 29.2.
Behind the technical term is a familiar household question: How much money do different families have available to live on?
The measure runs from zero to 100. Zero would mean everyone receives the same income, while 100 would mean one person receives all of it. A higher score indicates a wider income gap.
Cyprus’ increase of 1.1 points means income was distributed less evenly than a year earlier. It does not, by itself, establish that lower-income households became poorer or explain what caused the change.
The same bills, different room to manage
For families paying for groceries, housing, electricity, and transport, income differences affect how much breathing room remains once essential bills are covered.
A household with a smaller income has less flexibility to absorb an unexpected expense. That is why the distribution of income matters alongside headline figures on economic growth: A growing economy does not necessarily mean its benefits are shared evenly.
The Gini coefficient measures income inequality, rather than the cost of living, poverty, or the distribution of assets such as property.
Above the European average
Cyprus’ score was below Greece’s 31.6. Higher figures were also recorded in Lithuania at 35.5, Latvia at 35.6 and Bulgaria at 37.7, the highest in the EU.
Slovakia had the lowest score, at 23.0, followed by Belgium at 23.4, the Czech Republic at 24.0, Slovenia at 24.6 and Poland at 24.9.
The figures leave Cyprus with a wider income gap than the EU average and a worsening result in a year when the bloc’s overall measure improved slightly.
