Cyprus at a Glance_EN

Health and Social Welfare Health care in Cyprus is provided by the Government Medical Services and the private medical sector. Currently, there are six government general hospitals, two government rural hospitals, one government psychiatric hospital and 39 government health centres, as well as 74 private hospitals, clinics and day care centres and a large number of practices offering a wide range of specialised medical services. The ratio of persons per doctor was 264 in 2016. A comprehensive social insurance scheme covers every working male and female citizen and their dependants. The benefits and pensions from this scheme include unemployment, sickness, maternity, widows, injury at work, old age and death. Moreover, as part of a wider reform of the welfare and social solidarity system, the government introduced in 2014 a new Guaranteed Minimum Income scheme. There is also a broad range of welfare services provided by the government, including children’s day care centres, old people’s homes, and facilities for the disabled, the elderly, free housing for displaced persons resulting from Turkey’s military invasion, rent subsidies and financial assistance to community organisations. Education Education is provided through pre-primary and primary schooling, secondary general and secondary technical vocational schools, post-secondary non- tertiary education institutions, special schools, higher and tertiary education institutions and non- formal institutions and centres. Education is compulsory up to the age of 15. Free education is provided for pre-primary, primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education in public schools as well as for undergraduate programmes of higher education in public universities. Cyprus has three state universities: the University of Cyprus and the Open University, both located in Lefkosia, and the Cyprus University of Technology located in Lemesos. There are also five private universities and 40 colleges and institutions of higher education. Cyprus ranks high in terms of third-level education with the vast majority of those completing secondary school continuing their studies. Moreover, the international dimension of education is important in Cyprus, where international students can receive high quality higher education in a safe, friendly environment at an affordable cost. 29