Cyprus

GDP/capita CAGR

5.2%

Unemployment (2025)

4.9%

Gini index (2023)

31.8

CO2/capita (2024)

5.4 t

Cyprus: strong, sustained growth, 1980–2025

A regional financial-services and shipping-registry hub, Cyprus suffered a severe 2012-13 banking crisis tied to Greek debt exposure that forced an unprecedented bail-in of bank depositors. Between 1980 and 2025, Cyprus's GDP per capita grew from $4,232 to $41,783 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 4.2% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 3.6 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 9.6% to 1.1% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 66.4% to 76.8% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 72.8 to 81.8 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 21.6% to 120.9%, while the urban population share grew from 61.1% to 66.7%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 4.79 to 5.40 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) widened from 30.1 to 31.8; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 0.1% to 0.0%.

What it trades

Top exported and imported products, approximate share of total trade value.

Top exports

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral ...48.7%

Ships, boats and floating structures14.8%

Pharmaceutical products8.1%

Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere ...6.7%

Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations3.0%

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television ...2.4%

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof1.7%

Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; products, whether or not containing nicotine, ...0.9%

Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers0.9%

Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates0.9%

Top imports

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral ...25.6%

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof7.4%

Ships, boats and floating structures6.3%

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof5.4%

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television ...5.1%

Pharmaceutical products4.3%

Plastics and articles thereof2.2%

Beverages, spirits and vinegar2.0%

Organic chemicals1.9%

Iron and steel1.9%

Events shaping this economy

Central bank perspective

Why the charts below look the way they do, drawing on the country’s own central bank and monetary authority.

Leading companies in Cyprus

Bank of Cyprus · Banking Hellenic Bank · Banking Louis Group · Tourism Petrolina Holdings · Energy Logicom · Technology