Cyprus among EU’s strongest economies for post-pandemic GDP growth

Cyprus economy expands as government debt falls to 48.5 per cent of GDPCyprus’ economy grew by 25.8 per cent in real terms between 2019 and 2024, recording one of the strongest expansions in the European Union since before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Eurostat figures comparing economic performance across the bloc’s regions. The increase placed Cyprus well above the EU-wide growth rate of 5.6 per cent over the same period, highlighting the island’s economic expansion between the final pre-pandemic year and 2024. The figures come alongside more recent data showing that Cyprus recorded the EU’s highest government surplus in 2025 and the largest quarterly decline in public debt relative to gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2026, underlining the country’s recent economic and fiscal performance. Eurostat’s regional comparison covered 244 regions across the EU for which data were available, with 197 recording higher levels of economic activity in 2024 than in 2019. GDP fell in 46 regions, while the Spanish region of Ciudad de Ceuta recorded no change, the European statistical office reported. Cyprus’ 25.8 per cent expansion was among the strongest increases recorded across the bloc, although it remained below the exceptional growth rates registered in Ireland and several other regions. Ireland’s Eastern and Midland region recorded the EU’s largest increase, with real GDP rising by 38 per cent between 2019 and 2024. The region also had the highest GDP per inhabitant in the EU in 2024, the latest figures showed. Ireland’s Northern and Western region followed with growth of 36.4 per cent, the second-highest rate across the bloc, while its Southern region recorded an increase of 26 per cent, the sixth-highest. Outside Ireland, the strongest increases were recorded in Romania’s Bucureşti-Ilfov region, where GDP grew by 33 per cent, Malta, at 32.9 per cent, and the French outermost region of Mayotte, at 32.1 per cent. Almost all EU capital regions recorded economic growth over the five-year period, with Helsinki-Uusimaa in Finland the sole exception, registering a real GDP decline of 1.9 per cent. At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria’s Yugoiztochen region recorded the largest contraction, with economic output falling by 20.5 per cent. Greece’s Dytiki Makedonia region experienced a decline of 18 per cent, while the Dutch region of Groningen contracted by 14 per cent. Romania’s Sud-Muntenia and Sud-Vest Oltenia regions recorded decreases of 13.5 per cent and 11.3 per cent respectively. It should be noted, however, that unlike larger EU countries, which are divided into several statistical regions for this comparison, Cyprus is treated as a single region because of its size, meaning the 25.8 per cent growth figure reflects the performance of the entire national economy rather than differences between individual areas. Stronger public finances The regional growth figures provide a longer-term perspective on Cyprus’ economic performance, while the latest public finance statistics offer a more recent picture of the country’s fiscal position. Cyprus recorded a government surplus of 3.6 per cent of GDP in 2025, the highest in the EU, according to figures published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) and Eurostat on Wednesday. The surplus amounted to €1.36 billion, with public revenue reaching almost €15.9 billion, based on audited and verified figures compiled under the European Commission’s Excessive Deficit Procedure. Moreover, government debt stood at €20.05bn, equivalent to 52.3 per cent of GDP. Cyprus was one of only five EU member states to record a government surplus last year, alongside Denmark at 2.9 per cent of GDP, Greece at 2 per cent, Ireland at 1.8 per cent and Portugal at 0.7 per cent. The country also recorded the bloc’s largest quarterly reduction in government debt relative to GDP in the second quarter of 2026. The debt-to-GDP ratio fell to 48.5 per cent at the end of June, down from 51.5 per cent in the first quarter and 58.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2025. General government gross debt declined to €19.2bn at the end of June, compared with €20.03bn at the end of March and €21.7bn a year earlier.