The Cyprus average salary of €2,591 conceals substantial differences in earnings across the economy, with a monthly gap of more than €4,000 between the highest- and lowest-paying sectors, according to an analysis of Statistical Service data.
Almost half of employees earn no more than €1,749 gross per month, equivalent to approximately €1,550 net, while some of the country’s highest-paying industries are recording salary increases well above the national rate.
Statistical Service figures show that the median monthly salary reached €1,953 in 2025, an increase of 3.8% compared with the previous year, while average earnings rose by 4.3%.
The differences between sectors illustrate how higher salaries in certain industries can raise the national average without reflecting the earnings of a typical employee.
More than €4,000 separates highest and lowest salaries
Financial and insurance activities recorded the highest average monthly salary in Cyprus at €5,038, compared with just €956 in agriculture, forestry and fishing.
The difference of €4,082 means that average earnings in the financial sector were more than five times those in agriculture and almost double the overall national average.
Information and communication, which includes information technology and telecommunications, was the second-highest-paying sector, with average monthly earnings of €4,540, approximately 75% above the national average.
Seven sectors pay above the national average
According to the sectoral breakdown, the following economic activities recorded average monthly earnings above the reported national average of €2,591:
- Financial and insurance activities: €5,038, or 94.4% above the national average.
- Information and communication, including ICT: €4,540, or 75% above.
- Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply: €3,762, or 45% above.
- Mining and quarrying: €3,650, or 41% above.
- Public administration and defence: €3,394, or 31% above.
- Professional, scientific and technical activities: €3,014, or 16% above.
- Transportation and storage: €2,738, or 5.7% above.
Hospitality, retail and agriculture among lowest-paid sectors
Twelve sectors recorded average monthly salaries below the national benchmark:
- Education: €2,422, or 6.5% below the national average.
- Water supply, sewerage and waste management: €2,329, or 10% below.
- Administrative and support service activities: €2,323, or 10% below.
- Arts, entertainment and recreation: €2,296, or 11.4% below.
- Human health and social work activities: €2,197, or 15% below.
- Real estate activities: €2,037, or 21.4% below.
- Manufacturing: €1,939, or 25% below.
- Construction: €1,897, or 26.8% below.
- Wholesale and retail trade: €1,850, or 28.6% below.
- Other service activities: €1,789, or 31% below.
- Accommodation and food service activities: €1,649, or 36.4% below.
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing: €956, or 63% below.
Higher-paid industries record faster wage growth
The figures also reveal differences in the pace of salary increases between sectors.
While the overall average salary in Cyprus rose by 4.3% in 2025 compared with 2024, several of the highest-paying sectors recorded considerably stronger growth.
- Financial and insurance activities: salaries increased by 7%, reaching an average of €5,038.
- Information and communication, including ICT: salaries increased by 7.7%, reaching €4,540.
- Mining and quarrying: salaries increased by 10.3%, reaching €3,650.
By contrast, several lower-paying industries experienced smaller increases:
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing: salaries increased by 1.5%, reaching €956.
- Wholesale and retail trade: salaries increased by 3.9%, reaching €1,850.
- Manufacturing: salaries increased by 3.7%, reaching €1,939.
These differences indicate that salary growth in some already well-paid sectors is outpacing increases in industries where earnings are substantially lower, further widening the gap between them.
Average and median salaries reveal income disparities
The difference between the average and median salary provides another indication of how earnings are distributed.
In 2025, the gap reached €638 per month, with the average salary 32.7% higher than the median. The median represented 75.4% of the average.
In 2024, the corresponding difference stood at €602, or 32%, with the median representing 75.8% of average earnings.
The widening gap shows that average salaries increased faster than median earnings, highlighting the greater influence of higher-paid employees on the overall figure.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that average salaries do not necessarily reflect the earnings of a typical worker because they can be influenced by a relatively small number of high earners.
According to the OECD, the difference between average and median salaries is associated with inequality in earnings distribution. The greater the concentration of high salaries among fewer employees, the more the average can rise relative to the median.
Purchasing power remains under pressure
The Cyprus Fiscal Council, in its 2026 Interim Report, noted that income growth recorded in recent years has not automatically translated into an equivalent improvement in household purchasing power, as part of the increase has been absorbed by rising prices.
It also highlighted that the improvement in purchasing power in Cyprus has lagged behind the European Union’s overall performance.
According to the Council, real disposable income per capita in Cyprus was 7.8% higher in 2024 than in 2008, compared with an increase of 14.4% across the EU.
Income inequality has also increased. Cyprus’s Gini coefficient rose from 29 in 2021 to 31.2 in 2025. A higher Gini coefficient indicates greater inequality in income distribution.
In 2025, Cyprus’s Gini coefficient exceeded the EU average of 29.2, indicating greater inequality in disposable income distribution than across the bloc as a whole.
Nearly half of employees earn up to €1,550 net
Statistical Service figures show that 47% of employees, almost one in two, receive monthly gross earnings of up to €1,749, equivalent to approximately €1,550 after deductions.
Economist Michalis Florentiades highlighted the figure during Sigma’s Mesimeri kai Kati programme on 21 October, noting that such earnings leave limited room for other essential expenses, particularly in cities where housing costs are high.
Florentiades also drew attention to the low salaries received by young people during the early years of their careers.
He said these earnings make it harder for younger workers to become financially independent, buy a home and start a family, challenges that are also linked to Cyprus’s demographic problem.
Non-Cypriot workers earn more in some high-paying sectors
Significant differences also emerge between the average earnings of Cypriot and non-Cypriot employees in two of the country’s highest-paying industries.
In information and communication, including ICT, non-Cypriot employees earned an average of €5,442 per month, compared with €3,404 for Cypriot employees.
The difference was €2,038, meaning average earnings among non-Cypriot employees were approximately 60% higher in this sector.
In financial and insurance activities, non-Cypriot employees received an average monthly salary of €6,649, compared with €4,383 for Cypriot employees.
That represents a difference of €2,266, or approximately 52%.
However, across all economic activities, non-Cypriot employees were more heavily represented at both ends of the salary distribution.
According to the Statistical Service, 41.1% of non-Cypriot employees earned less than €1,500 per month, compared with 29.2% of Cypriot employees.
At the opposite end of the scale, 7.6% of non-Cypriot employees earned more than €6,000 per month, compared with 5.2% of Cypriot employees.
What the €2,591 average salary does not show
The Cyprus average salary provides a broad measure of earnings, but the sectoral and distributional figures reveal a more uneven picture.
Substantial differences remain between industries, while salary increases in some of the highest-paid sectors are exceeding those in lower-paid occupations.
At the same time, the gap between average and median earnings has widened, and improvements in real disposable income in Cyprus have remained below those recorded across the European Union.
Together, these figures illustrate why the national average alone cannot capture the financial circumstances of workers across the Cypriot economy.
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