Republic of Cyprus Second Voluntary National Report - Sustainable development goals

42 NARRATIVE Despite the impact of the 2013 economic crisis and the ongoing detrimental effects of the current pandemic, Cyprus continues to make progress in reducing poverty in all its forms. There has been a reduction in unemployment, increase of employment and income, and implementation of additional targeted welfare schemes of the Government. Government initiatives including the continuation of the Guaranteed Minimum Income; the adoption of generous fiscal packages and special support schemes to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic; and the implementation of AMIF projects have all played a pivotal role in combating poverty. The operation of an open reception centre for unaccompanied minors who are third country nationals, who are either beneficiaries or applicants of international protection implemented by an NGO seeks to provide asylum seekers with various services that are supportive, educational, or recreational in nature. ANALYSIS Cyprus presents its best performance in this SDG having reached almost full attainment, even though it holds the 18 th position relative to the EU, regarding the percentage of people living at risk of poverty or social exclusion with 22.3% of the population (compared to 20.9% in the EU). By looking into the individual components of this indicator, the performance of Cyprus varies. In particular, it is 11 th , among EU members, with respect to the people at risk of poverty after social transfers, 23 rd with respect to the people who are severely materially deprived, and 10 th with respect to the people living in households with very low work intensity indicators (see Figures 8 and 9). In Cyprus, 14.7% of the population, compared to 16.5% in the EU, has an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 % of the national median equivalised disposable income (estimated at 0 5 10 15 20 25 Cyprus EU Figure 8.: Multidimensional poverty People at risk of poverty or social exclusion People at risk of poverty after social transfers Severely materially deprived people People living in households with very low work intensity Figure 9.: People at risk of poverty or social exclusion 20 25 30 24.6 24.6 27.1 27.8 27.4 28.9 27.7 25.2 23.9 22.3 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 €9,729 in 2019, indicating an increase of 5.7%, compared to 2018). Additionally, 9.1% of the population (compared to 5.4% in the EU), is severely constrained by a lack of resources, as defined by Eurostat, and 6.8% of the employed population aged 18 years or more (compared to 8.3%. in the EU) is living in a household where the adults work 20% or less of their total work potential. Notably, Cyprus presents a positive trend in all the aforementioned indicators, denoting a potential for gradual improvement of its position in the future once the shocks of the pandemic have been absorbed. On a similar note, the performance of Cyprus in regard to the basic needs indicators varies. Cyprus is the country with the lowest percentage