Cyprus ranked third from last in the European Union in terms of the percentage of municipal waste recycled, according to data released by Eurostat.

The percentage of recycling in Cyprus comes to just 15 per cent of total production of municipal waste.

At the same time, Cyprus registered the highest waste of foods per capita in the EU bloc. The waste of food came to 397kg per person. The next worst country was Belgium, at 250kg per person.

Also, Cyprus was bottom of the heap in terms of the number of electrical passenger vehicles with batteries.

Meanwhile per capita GDP in Cyprus came to €29,590 – compared to the EU average of €35,280.

Bulgaria had the lowest per capita GDP at €12,400. Luxembourg had the highest – €119,230.

Eurostat also provided data on demographics, showing that Cyprus has the second lowest average age of population. The average age of the population was 38. By comparison, the average age in Iceland was 37, and 39 in Ireland. For the EU as a whole, the average of population was 44.

In Cyprus, people aged 14 and under accounted for 16 per cent of the population. In the EU as a whole, that age bracket accounted for 15 per cent.

The percentage of people aged 65 and above came to 17 per cent – compared to the 21 per cent EU average.

Life expectancy in Cyprus was 81 years, 80 in the EU bloc as a whole.