Foreign workers more likely to be in Cyprus’ lowest and highest pay brackets
The median gross monthly earnings of employees in Cyprus rose by 3.8 per cent to €1,953 in 2025, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), while the average gross monthly earnings increased to €2,591, highlighting the substantial difference between what the typical employee earns and the overall mean.
The median earnings increased from €1,881 in 2024, while average gross monthly earnings rose by 4.3 per cent, from €2,483.
The median is generally a more representative measure of what employees earn because it identifies the midpoint of the earnings distribution, meaning half of employees earn less and half earn more.
The average salary, by contrast, is calculated by adding all employees’ earnings and dividing the total by the number of employees. It can be pulled upwards by a relatively small number of people receiving very high salaries, making it less representative of the typical worker’s salary.
The €638 gap between the average and median monthly earnings in 2025 illustrates this difference, with the average salary standing around 33 per cent above the median salary.
The distribution of employees by earnings bracket showed that the largest group, accounting for 13 per cent of the workforce, earned a gross salary between €1,000 and €1,249 per month.
This was followed by employees earning a gross monthly salary between €1,500 and €1,749, who accounted for 11.4 per cent, and those in the €1,250 to €1,499 earnings bracket, representing 11.2 per cent.
Taken together, the figures show that 24.2 per cent of employees earn less than €1,500 a month, including 13 per cent who earn between €1,000 and €1,249 and 11.2 per cent whose monthly earnings range from €1,250 to €1,499.
The figures also showed differences between male and female salaries across income brackets.
Women accounted for a proportion of employees in the €1,000 to €1,249 earnings group that was 3.3 percentage points higher than the corresponding share for men, while the difference in the €1,250 to €1,499 salary bracket was 3.5 percentage points.
At the highest earnings level, however, men accounted for a proportion of employees earning a salary of €6,000 or more per month that was 3.1 percentage points higher than the share for women.
Earnings highest in finance, lowest in agriculture
Average gross monthly earnings varied considerably across economic sectors in 2025, ranging from an average salary of €956 in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €5,038 in financial and insurance activities.
All economic activity sectors recorded increases compared with 2024.
The largest annual rise was in mining and quarrying, where average earnings increased by 10.3 per cent. Cystat cautioned that this sector employs relatively few people, making statistical estimates more sensitive to changes in individual employees’ earnings.
Information and communication followed, with average earnings increasing by 7.7 per cent, while financial and insurance activities recorded a 7 per cent rise in sectoral salaries.
The data also present earnings for all state employees as a subcategory of public administration and defence, and compulsory social security.
Cypriot employees earn more than non-Cypriots at the median
The figures showed differences in employee earnings between Cypriot and non-Cypriot employees, with the median salary providing a particularly clear illustration of the gap.
Cypriot employees had median gross monthly earnings of €2,145 in 2025, compared with €1,597 for non-Cypriot employees.
The median salary for Cypriot employees rose by 4.5 per cent compared with 2024, while the figure for non-Cypriot employees increased by 3.4 per cent.
Average gross monthly earnings for Cypriot employees stood at €2,625, up 4.7 per cent year-on-year.
For non-Cypriot employees, the average monthly salary reached €2,524, representing an annual increase of 3.7 per cent.
The average salary figures therefore show a narrower gap between the two groups than the median salary figures, underlining how differences in the distribution of earnings can affect the overall picture.
Cystat’s breakdown by earnings bracket also showed that non-Cypriot employees accounted for higher proportions than Cypriot employees at both ends of the distribution, among those earning a low-income salary of less than €1,500 per month and those receiving a high-earner salary of €6,000 or more.
Wide differences within economic sectors
The sectoral figures further highlighted differences between Cypriot and non-Cypriot employee salaries.
Among Cypriot employees, average gross monthly earnings ranged from €1,744 in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €4,383 in financial and insurance activities.
For non-Cypriot employees, the salary range was wider, stretching from €664 in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €6,649 in financial and insurance activities.
The figures show that salaries varied not only according to citizenship but also substantially according to the job sector in which employees worked.
They also underline why average earnings should be considered alongside median salary figures and the distribution of employees across income brackets when assessing overall pay levels across Cyprus.