Bottom line in research, Cyprus high in services

In some areas Cyprus is doing well and following the European average, while elsewhere, such as in terms of research and development spending, Cyprus is at the bottom of the 28 EU countries.

It is a fact that the economy of Cyprus is largely based on services. Compared to other EU countries, this dependence is very high. Our island is in second place in the EU, as the tertiary sector in Cyprus with 87,1% holds one of the largest shares as a percentage of GDP in the EU. Luxembourg is in first place with 88,6%, while Malta holds the third place with 82,8%. The European average is 73,9%. We are moving low in the secondary sector with 10,5%, as the average is 24,6%.

Regarding employment, 3,6% of the potential is employed in agriculture, 27,1% in industry, while 69,3% in services. Cyprus is slightly lower than the EU average for agriculture (5%) and well above employment in industry (21,9%).

The youth unemployment rate in Cyprus rose to 32,8% and is the fifth highest in the EU, as the EU average is 20,4%. The lowest percentage is held by Germany with 7,2%, while the leaders of unemployment are Greece (49,8%), Spain (48,3%) and Italy (40,3%).

In the last place in the expenditures for research and development is presented Cyprus with a percentage of 0,48% against the 2% which is the average. In fact, while in most EU countries, more than half of research expenditure is in the business sector, in Cyprus the higher education sector predominates.

Source: Phileleftheros (Dimitra Landou)