Over 12.2% of people in Cyprus are unable to pay their utility bills within the stipulated time, making the island nation to have one of the highest number of individuals in the EU in this position.
A study by Eurostat has revealed that as of 2018, over 7% of households could not pay their utility due to financial problems. This included water, gas, heating, and electricity.
The island nation is currently 6th on the list, other countries above it being Slovenia, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Greece. Greece tops the list, with over 36% of its citizens defaulting on bills regularly in 2018, followed by Bulgaria at 30%.
The lowest percentage of households which defaulted on timely payment of utility bills were Czechia, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands – it is around 2% for all of them.