On Cyprus, births outnumber deaths: natural increase over five years reached 15,848 people

Cyprus remains one of the few European Union countries where births outnumber deaths. According to the Statistical Service of Cyprus (CyStat), 50,433 children were born and 34,585 people died on the island between 2020 and 2024. The natural population increase over the five years was 15,848 people.

The record year for the number of newborns was 2021, with 10,309 children. The figures were close in 2023 (10,241) and 2022 (10,187). In 2020, 9,930 children were born in Cyprus, while in 2024 the figure was 9,766, the weakest result of the five-year period.

Mortality remained in the range of 6,533 to 7,307 people per year. The peak came in 2022, with 7,307 deaths; a year earlier, there had been 7,250. In 2023 and 2024, the figure fell to 6,742 and 6,753 people, respectively. Men died more often than women in every year, with the largest number of deaths occurring among people aged 85 and over, while a noticeable increase began at ages 60–64 for men and 65–69 for women. The deadliest month was January 2022, with 844 deaths.

Approximately one in five children in Cyprus is born out of wedlock: between 2,015 and 2,145 children per year. Women aged 30–34 become mothers most often, followed by the 25–29 and 35–39 age groups. Women with Cypriot citizenship give birth to between 6,000 and 8,000 children per year, while citizens of non-EU countries give birth to more than 2,000 and citizens of other EU countries to fewer than 1,500.

For three consecutive years, from 2020 to 2022, September was the month with the most births. The only month when more than 1,000 children were born in Cyprus was September 2021. The single-day record was set on 22 July 2022, when 66 newborns were recorded.

Against the backdrop of the European Union, where deaths already outnumber births, Cyprus looks better than most countries. However, the decline in births in 2024 to the lowest level of the five-year period is being described by statisticians as a factor that cannot be ignored.