Cyprus’s Pay Gap and the Gender Divide

Income distribution and average monthly gross earnings by sex and economic sector, 2024

Much has been said in recent years about wages in Cyprus and the wide income gap between a relatively small number of high earners and the rest of the workforce.

Although unemployment has been gradually declining in Cyprus, one major problem remains: the level of wages.

As the figures below show, workers in Cyprus continue to be divided into two distinct income groups, with the majority remaining in the lower salary brackets. This comes at a time when the cost of living continues to rise.

Another issue worth examining is the difference in earnings between men and women, which has long been one of the key concerns in the labour market.

Despite the progress made in recent years, pay disparities between men and women continue to persist. While there has certainly been significant improvement, there is still considerable room for further progress towards greater pay equality.

Salary Breakdown

According to the latest available data for 2024, 6.5% of employees in Cyprus earned less than €750 per month. Of these, 1.8% earned less than €500, while 4.7% earned between €500 and €749.

In the same year, 12.2% of employees earned up to €999 per month. In other words, more than one in ten workers earned less than €1,000 per month.

Meanwhile, 25.7% of employees earned between €1,000 and €1,499 per month, while 18.7% earned between €1,500 and €1,999.

A further 19.5% earned between €2,000 and €2,999, while 9.7% received salaries ranging from €3,000 to €3,999.

Only 5.4% of employees earned between €4,000 and €4,999 per month, while 3.3% received between €5,000 and €5,999. Finally, 5.3% of employees earned more than €6,000 per month in 2024.

Male and Female Earnings

Women in Cyprus continued to be slightly lower-paid than men overall in 2024, according to the latest available data.

The gap becomes more pronounced as salaries increase. In particular, among employees earning more than €2,000 per month, men account for a noticeably higher share.

In 2024, 12.6% of women in Cyprus earned less than €1,000 per month, compared with 12.4% of men.

Women also accounted for a higher share of employees in the €1,000–€1,999 salary bracket. More specifically, 47.6% of women fell within this range, compared with 41.7% of men.

However, during the same period, 27.6% of women earned between €2,000 and €3,999 per month, compared with 30% of men.

Men were also more strongly represented in the highest salary brackets. Some 15.7% of men earned €4,000 or more per month, compared with 12.2% of women.

At the same time, a higher proportion of men than women earned less than €500 per month, with 2.3% of men falling into this category, compared with 1.2% of women.

Average Monthly Gross Earnings by Economic Sector

Note: All figures refer to 2024 and are presented as supplied for this article.