According to the results of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2020, with income reference period the year 2019, 21.3% of the population or 188,000 persons were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE indicator).
 
According to a press release by the Statistical Service of Cyprus, AROPE is one of the 9 headline indicators in the European Union’s strategy «Europe 2020»).

Namely, 21.3% of the population was living in households whose disposable income was below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold or was living in severely materially deprived households or was living in households with very low work intensity. This indicator exhibited an improvement in comparison with the previous year when it stood at 22.3%, continuing its downward trend of the recent years, after reaching in 2015 28.9%, the highest share ever recorded. This improvement is reflected in the percentages of both men and women, with 20.2% and 22.2% respectively, with women maintaining throughout the years their unfavorable position in respect to men.
 
At-Risk-of-Poverty Indicator (AROP)
The percentage of the population that was at risk of poverty, meaning that its disposable income was below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, exhibited a minor decrease, reaching 14.3% in respect to 14,7% that was in 2019. The highest percentage that this indicator has ever reached was 16.2% in 2015.  The at-risk-of-poverty threshold in 2020 has increased to €10,022 for single person households compared to €9,729 which was in 2019 and to €21,047 for households with 2 adults and 2 dependent children compared to €20,431 in 2019.
 
Severe Material Deprivation Indicator (SMD)
 
The percentage of the population that was severely materially deprived, meaning that they could not afford, for example, to pay their rent or utility bills or their loans, or keep their home adequately warm in winter, or face unexpected but necessary expenses, decreased in 2020 to 8.3% in comparison to 9.1% that was in 2019.
 
Very Low Work Intensity Indicator (LWI)
The percentage of the population aged 0-59 years, that was living in households with very low work intensity, meaning that the adults in the household worked less than 20% of their work potential during the past year, also showed a decrease in 2020, reaching 5.6% in comparison to 6.8% in 2019.
 
Income Inequality
The mean annual disposable income of the household for 2020, with income reference period the year 2019, was €33,862, exhibiting an increase of 0.8% in respect to that of the previous year, which was €33,584.
 
Income inequality is mainly described by the indicators on income distribution in quintiles, S80/S20 and the income inequality coefficient Gini. In 2020, both ratios of income inequality, referring to income year 2019, exhibited a decrease in relation to the previous year, thus indicating an improvement in the income distribution of the households. Specifically, the ratio S80/S20, which examines the income share of the 20% richer population to that of the 20% poorer population, reached 4.3 units in 2020.  Namely, the income share of the 20% richer population was 4.3 times higher than the income share of the 20% poorer population in comparison with 4.6 in 2019. Additionally, the Gini coefficient decreased to 29.3%, in relation to 31.1% in 2019.
 
Coverage and data collection
The survey conducted in 2020, with income reference period the year 2019, covered a sample of 4,192 households in all districts of Cyprus, in both urban and rural areas.
 
The survey is carried out since 2005 on an annual basis with a rotational sample and consists of two components, the cross-sectional and the longitudinal one. The cross-sectional refers to a point in time or period, whereas the longitudinal refers to the changes that arise on a personal level during a period of three to four years.
 
The data collection was carried out with personal and telephone interviews at the households using electronic questionnaires.
 
CNA