Demographic issue remains key challenge

The Presidency’s recent announcement that 81.6% of the interventions included in the Government Programme have already been completed or are under implementation is certainly a positive development.

Of particular importance was the accompanying statement: “Consistency between words and actions is non-negotiable for us.”

That position creates an expectation that the remaining commitments will soon include one of the country’s most important challenges for the future: the demographic crisis and a meaningful change in policies supporting large families.

Despite repeated references to the demographic issue, however, it does not appear that the state and society have yet addressed it with the seriousness and priority it requires.

2012 policy cannot be the answer in 2026

If the issue had truly been made a national priority, many of the inequalities still affecting large families would already have been addressed.

In 2012, amid an unprecedented economic and fiscal crisis, significant restrictions were imposed on family policy. Income and property criteria gradually excluded thousands of families from state support.

The decisions of that period can be understood in the context of the exceptional economic circumstances at the time.

What is much harder to explain is why, 14 years later, restrictions introduced during an economic crisis remain a central part of family policy, while Cyprus now faces another crisis: the demographic challenge.

The figures are indicative.

Social protection spending for Family/Children stood at around €367 million annually before the cuts. In 2023, it was approximately €283 million. More than a decade later, therefore, spending remained around €84 million below that level.

The demographic crisis cannot be described as a national priority only in statements. A real priority is reflected in legislation, policies and ultimately the state budget.

The larger the family, the stricter the treatment

The problem is not limited to how much is spent, but also to how support is provided.

Under the Child Benefit scheme, for example, a two-parent family with one child has an income threshold of €49,000. For a family with four children, the threshold is €69,000.

This amounts to approximately €16,333 per person in the first case and just €11,500 per person in the second.

In simple terms, the more children a family raises, the lower its income per member must be in order to qualify for support.

Similar distortions can be found in property criteria, student support, housing and even basic services such as water.

A six-member family does not consume more water because it wastes it. It consumes more because six people live in the household.

This is precisely the philosophy that needs to change: every policy affecting families should take their number of members into account.

From 10,065 large families to just 3,166

The consequences of the policy followed after 2012 are also reflected in another figure.

The number of large Cypriot families receiving Child Benefit fell from 10,065 in 2012 to just 3,166 in 2024.

That is a decrease of almost 70%.

The needs of large families did not fall by 70%.

Their access to support did.

This is perhaps the point that should concern us most, particularly when young families are simultaneously being encouraged to have more children.

Birth figures send another message

The development of births according to the mother’s nationality is equally noteworthy.

In 2013, there were 6,728 births to Cypriot mothers and 937 to mothers who were nationals of countries outside the European Union.

In 2024, births to Cypriot mothers fell to 6,111, while those to mothers from third countries rose to 2,484.

Over 11 years, births to Cypriot mothers therefore fell by around 9%, while those to mothers who are third-country nationals increased by approximately 165%.

This comparison is not intended to create any confrontation between Cypriot and foreign families. Every child born and raised in Cyprus is part of our society.

It does, however, raise an important policy question: which economic and social factors enable a family to have more children, and which act as deterrents?

Economic security, housing, the cost of raising children and access to support cannot be considered unrelated to a couple’s decision to have a second, third or fourth child.

The pension system shows why there is no time to lose

The debate over the sustainability of the pension system is perhaps the clearest evidence that the demographic issue is not simply a social matter.

It is an economic, developmental and social security issue.

Today’s workers finance today’s pensioners.

Today’s families, however, are raising tomorrow’s workers, taxpayers and contributors.

We cannot plan for the sustainability of the pension system in 2040 and 2050 without asking who will be working and making contributions at that time.

Family policy, therefore, is not simply social spending.

It is an investment in the country’s future sustainability.

One major commitment remains

This is why the Presidency’s announcement on the 81.6% completion rate creates a reasonable expectation about the important commitments that remain.

Among them is a particularly significant pre-election commitment to large families: the abolition of income criteria and full access to state support for all large families.

It must be understood that the delay is not simply another outstanding item on a list of pre-election commitments.

In practice, it means that families whom the commitment itself recognised as needing support continue, year after year, to be deprived of that support.

These are families raising children, educating them and facing increased housing, food and everyday living costs.

They did not stop being large families because their income exceeded a threshold established 14 years ago, nor did their children’s needs decrease because their parents worked more and managed to increase their income.

Every year of delay, therefore, is another year in which these families remain without the support they expect and need.

Highlighting this commitment is not an attempt to create a confrontation with the President or the Government.

On the contrary, it reflects the expectation that a commitment which recognised an existing problem will be translated into action during the current administration.

Perhaps this is one of the most important opportunities to demonstrate in practice that the Cyprus demographic crisis has moved from diagnosis to a genuine state priority.

In 2012, Cyprus made difficult decisions to address an economic crisis.

In 2026, it needs the same determination to address its demographic crisis.

And this time, families raising more children should not be treated as a fiscal burden.

They should be recognised as part of the solution.

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