Support in Cyprus for leaving the European Union jumped by a whopping 12 per cent between 2019 and 2023, according to a report in French magazine Le Grand Continent using statistics from the Eurobarometer.

Cyprus was one of just six EU member states in which support for leaving the EU grew between 2019 and 2023, the others being Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Malta, and the Netherlands, though none of the other five countries saw support for leaving the bloc rise by such a large amount.

Support in Cyprus for leaving the EU now stands at 42 per cent, up from 30 per cent five years ago, making it the country with the second highest support for leaving the EU, behind just Poland, where support stands at 47 per cent.

At present, the country with the least support for leaving the EU is Denmark, where just 10 per cent of the population wishes to leave the bloc, down five per cent since 2019.

The most dramatic fall in support for leaving the EU was seen in Ireland, where support fell by 14 per cent, down from 30 per cent in 2019 to 16 per cent in 2023.

Support in Greece for leaving the EU is 29 per cent, level with France and Hungary, and down five per cent since 2019.

The two sets of data were taken either side of the United Kingdom’s leaving of the EU in 2020.

Local polling in the UK in 2019 suggested around 47 per cent of the population supported leaving the bloc, while now, just 35 per cent support remaining outside, with around 50 per cent supporting the idea of rejoining the EU .

The next European parliament elections, the first since the UK left the EU, are set to begin on Thursday, with polls opening in the Netherlands at 7.30am local time. Cyprus will vote on Sunday between 7am and 6pm, with a one-hour break between 12pm and 1pm.