Top of the class for rubbish

CYPRUS has more dentists, produces more rubbish and uses more fertilizers per capita than all the other EU acceding countries.

According to figures from Eurostat, Cypriots produce 704 kilos of rubbish per capita each year, only 45 kilos less than the average American, but 185 kilos more per person than the average European.

The lowest rubbish producer among acceding countries is Poland with only 272 kilos per person, and the Czech Republic with 277 kilos. The nearest offender is Estonia, which produces 489 kilos per person.

The use of fertilizers on the island is also way above average in Cyprus, with usage running at 157 kilos per capita compared to the EU average of 109 kilos, with Slovenia coming in a close second with 142 kilos. Lowest usage was in Latvia, which stands at 25.8 kilos.

The island’s greenhouse emissions are also high but not the highest, and remain under the EU average.

In the health sector, although Cyprus falls well below the EU average number of doctors, it has more dentists than any acceding country. With 84 dentists per 100,000 Cyprus beats the EU average of 57; of acceding countries, only Estonia comes close with 80. The US has only 62 dentists per 100,000, which is also less than the Czech Republic and Lithuania that have 65 and 67 respectively.

While the EU average for doctors stands at 348 per 100,000 people, Cyprus has 255, much less than Estonia’s 313, Latvia’s 296, Lithunia’s 380, Hungary’s 293 and Malta’s 312. The US is also well below the EU average with only 251 doctors per 100,000.

Although Cyprus might seem chock-a-block with cars, Cypriots actually have less cars per 100 inhabitants than the EU average, although the island does outdo the acceding countries, except Malta.

Thirty-seven Cypriots in every hundred have a car compared to 46 in the EU and 50 in Malta. But none can compare to the US, where 75 in every 100 people have a vehicle.

Cyprus has the second highest number people who own a personal computer amongst the acceding countries with 27 per 100. The EU average is 31, and Slovenia stands at 30.

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.