Cyprus spending power tops Spain, Greece and Portugal

CYPRIOTS enjoy greater spending power than the Spanish, Greeks and Portuguese as well as a higher standard of living than several regions in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

According to statistics released by Eurostat, Cyprus has a higher average purchasing power standard than the three EU members, Spain, Greece and Portugal at 85 per cent of the current EU average, compared to 80, 67 and 74 respectively.

Calculated on figures available for 1999, the only two regions among other EU candidate countries to better the Cypriot score are Prague and Bratislava.

On the regional stakes, Cyprus outperforms England’s North East, North West and Yorkshire, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, where the percentage is as low as 80.

Cypriots also have more purchasing power than residents in outer London. The only parts of Britain that outstrip the Mediterranean island are Inner London – the richest sector of the EU with a staggering 246 per cent of average GDP – the commuter-belt South East, the Midlands, the South and Scotland.

Turkey, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania are the EU candidate countries with the lowest percentage of average GDP at 28, 28, 27 and 25 respectively.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.