Overall construction activity
For 2020, it is estimated that Cyprus’ GDP shrank by 4.1% (Q3 2020 – Q3 2019).
This decrease is mainly attributed to the following sectors: "Hotels and Restaurants", “Manufacturing”, “Transport, Storage and Communication”, “Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles”, “Arts, Entertainment and Recreation” and ‘‘Other Service Activities’’.
The Output Prices Index in construction for the third quarter of 2020 reached 109.67 units (base year 2015=100.0), recording an increase of 1% over the second quarter of 2020. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the index recorded a decrease of 2.9%. By type of project, an increase of 0.3% was observed for buildings and a decrease of 12.8% for civil engineering projects.
For the period January to October 2020, the overall index (residential buildings, civil engineering projects, division of plots, road construction, big projects, small projects), registered an increase of 1.5% over the corresponding period of 2019. An increase of 1.2% was recorded in the index for buildings and an increase of 19.4% for civil engineering projects.
The total number of employed persons was 414,920 and the employment rate 57.7% (males 64.5%, females 51.5%) in comparison to 417,118 persons (58.7%) in the corresponding quarter of 2019. The number of persons employed in the construction sector in Q3 2020 amounted to 44,276 (40,697 males, 3,580 females). 27,455 of them were Cypriots, 9,565 were EU nationals and 7,257 non-EU nationals.
The number of unemployed persons amounted to 37,234 and the unemployment rate to 8.2% of the labour force (males 7.9%, females 8.6%) in comparison to 30,088 persons (6.7%) in the corresponding quarter of 2019. The number of persons unemployed in the construction sector in December 2020 was 2,060 compared to 1,155 in December 2019.
Housebuilding
In October 2020, the number of building permits authorised by the municipal authorities and the district administration offices stood at 583. The total value of these permits reached €279.4 million and the total area 239,300 m². These building permits provide for the construction of 903 dwelling units.
During the period January to October 2020, 5,689 building permits were issued compared to 5,864 in the corresponding period of the previous year. The total value of these permits decreased by 24.3% and the total area by 9.8%. Τhe number of dwelling units recorded an increase of 1.3%.
GDP 2020
BILLION
POPULATION 2020
Total investment in construction in 2020
BILLION
Non-residential construction
During the period January to October 2020, 802 building permits were issued for non-residential buildings, recording a decrease of 20.8% compared to 909 in the same period of 2019. The total area of these buildings reached 327,687 m² and the total value €404.8 million. These included 139 building permits providing for the construction of 21 hotels and 118 similar buildings, 82 office buildings, 107 industrial buildings and warehouses, 137 public entertainment buildings and buildings used for recreational, educational or medical purposes, 76 wholesale and retail trade buildings and 258 other non-residential buildings.
Civil engineering
252 building permits were issued for civil engineering projects during the period January to October 2020 (compared to 203 in the same period of 2019). The total area of these projects represented 26,520 m² recording an increase of 2.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. Their total value reached €31.5 million recording a decrease of 148% compared to €78.2 million in the previous year.
In the same period, 130 building permits were issued providing for the execution of road construction projects in addition to the above civil engineering projects, in comparison to 146 building permits issued during the corresponding period of 2019. The total value of these projects reached €16.4 million compared to €10.8 million in the same period of the previous year.
524 building permits were issued for big projects including 4,230 dwelling units (each with an area greater than 900 m²), a decrease of 5.5% compared to 553 in the same period of the previous year. The total area of these projects represented 1,868,286 m² recording a decrease of 1.1% compared to 2,071,007 m² in the same period of 2019. Their total value reached €2.2 billion recording a decrease of 32.1% compared to €2.9 billion in the previous year.
From January to October 2020, 5,165 building permits were issued for small projects including 3,479 dwelling units, an increase of 1.6%. The total area of these projects represented 761,075 m² recording a decrease of 2.2% compared to 778,055 m² in the same period of the previous year. Their total value amounted to €867.9 million recording an increase of 0.02% compared to €867.7 million in the same period of the previous year.
The number of permits providing for the division of plots during the period January – October 2020 rose to 387, recording a decrease of 0.7% compared to 390 in the same period of 2019.
| Number of building permits in residential construction | |||||||
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020a | 2021b | |||
| single dwelling | 2,302 | 2,894 | 3,239 | 2,510 | NA | ||
| collective dwelling | 2,155 | 3,098 | 5,459 | 4,730 | NA | ||
| other types of dwelling | 482 | 209 | 929 | 469 | NA | ||
| Total | 4,939 | 6,201 | 9,627 | 7,709 | NA | ||
| (Collective dwellings and other types of buildings: in number of flats) | |||||||
