Trade and tech lead the charge in Cyprus’ business growth

Cyprus saw a continued rise in business activity in 2023, with the number of enterprises climbing by 4.5 per cent to 125,152 compared with 119,816 in 2022, according to the Statistical Service (Cystat).

This increase marked the fifth consecutive year of expansion. The business register has grown steadily since 2018, when it stood at 101,323 enterprises.  

It rose by 5.7 per cent in 2019, 1.3 per cent in 2020, 3.8 per cent in 2021 and 6.5 per cent in 2022, before the latest rise in 2023. 

At the same time, the structure of Cypriot businesses remained largely unchanged. Micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees continued to dominate, making up 94.8 per cent of all businesses, a total of 118,697. 

By contrast, only 156 companies, representing 0.1 per cent of the total, employed more than 250 people. Firms with 10–49 staff accounted for 4.4 per cent, and medium-sized enterprises with 50–249 staff made up just 0.7 per cent. 

Employment figures moved in line with this trend. The number of persons employed in enterprises increased by 5.5 per cent to 498,916, extending a growth trajectory interrupted only in 2020, when jobs fell by 3.3 per cent during the pandemic.  

Since then, employment has risen each year, with an increase of 3.9 per cent in 2021, 6.4 per cent in 2022 and 5.5 per cent in 2023. 

Breaking this down by size, micro-enterprises accounted for 38.1 per cent of all jobs, employing 190,095 people. Small firms with 10–49 staff employed 100,492, equal to 20.1 per cent of the total.  

Medium-sized enterprises provided 82,313 jobs, corresponding to 16.5 per cent, while large enterprises with more than 250 staff employed 126,016, a share of 25.3 per cent. 

Turning to sectors, wholesale and retail trade, including motor vehicle repair, remained the largest in terms of the number of enterprises, comprising 16,672 firms.  

Professional, scientific and technical activities followed with 13,235, while construction ranked third with 10,311. 

At the other end, mining and quarrying counted only 46 enterprises. 

When measured by employment, trade again led the way with 77,046 jobs. It was followed by accommodation and food service activities at 57,041 and public administration and defence, including compulsory social security, at 55,067.  

Other sizeable sectors included professional, scientific and technical services, employing 42,187 people, and construction, which accounted for 39,078. 

Meanwhile, manufacturing contributed 37,078 jobs across 5,028 firms, while information and communication employed 26,654 people through 4,185 businesses.  

The financial and insurance sector engaged 23,015 persons across 5,017 enterprises, and transport and storage provided 22,330 jobs. 

By contrast, smaller sectors in terms of employment included agriculture, forestry and fishing, with 9,302 jobs in 3,511 enterprises, and arts, entertainment and recreation, with 9,382 jobs in 2,696 firms.  

Mining and quarrying was the smallest by far, employing only 580 people. 

According to Cystat, the business register is updated annually in line with EU regulations, using information from social insurance, tax and company registers.  

An “enterprise” is defined as the smallest combination of legal units that operates with a degree of autonomy in producing goods or services, while an “establishment” refers to the individual local unit where activity takes place.