Cyprus recorded a general government fiscal surplus of €770.6 million in the first seven months of 2026, equivalent to 2 per cent of GDP, according to preliminary figures released on Monday by the statistical service (Cystat).

The surplus was €11m higher than the €759.6m recorded during the corresponding period of 2025, although its share of GDP declined slightly from 2.1 per cent.

Total government revenue rose by 4.1 per cent to €8.91 billion between January and July 2026, compared with €8.56bn in the same period a year earlier.

Cystat said the increase reflected an additional €354.1m in revenue over the first seven months of 2025.

Revenue from taxes on income and wealth rose by 7.7 per cent, an increase of €157.5m, reaching €2.19bn compared with €2.03bn a year earlier.

Social contributions climbed by 7.5 per cent, adding €207.20m to reach €2.98bn, up from €2.77bn in the corresponding period of 2025.

Revenue from taxes on production and imports increased by 8.1 per cent, rising by €217.7m to €2.9bn from €2.69bn a year earlier.

Within that category, net VAT revenue recorded the largest increase, climbing by 14.7 per cent to €2.03bn from €1.77bn, a rise of €259.50m.

By contrast, capital transfers fell by €93.1m to €19.6m, down from €112.7m in the first seven months of 2025.

Revenue from the sale of goods and services declined by 7.3 per cent, falling by €45.1m to €572.4m from €617.5m.

Property income dropped by 29.4 per cent to €79.9m, a decline of €33.3m from €113.2m a year earlier.

Current transfers also declined by 24.7 per cent, falling by €56.8m to €172.8m from €229.6m.

Meanwhile, total government expenditure increased by 4.4 per cent to €8.14bn, compared with €7.8bn during the corresponding period of 2025.

According to Cystat, expenditure rose by €343.1m over the period.

Intermediate consumption increased by 11.7 per cent, rising by €91.5m to €873.3m from €781.8m.

Compensation of employees, including imputed social contributions and civil servants’ pensions, rose by 3.3 per cent to €2.31bn, an increase of €74.80m from €2.24bn.

Social benefits increased by 5.2 per cent, adding €165.2m to reach €3.36bn, compared with €3.19bn a year earlier.

Interest payments rose by 5.6 per cent to €298.8m, an increase of €15.8m from €283m.

Current transfers on the expenditure side increased by 9.1 per cent, rising by €45.8m to €549.4m from €503.6m.

The capital account declined by 5.6 per cent to €698.8m, down by €41.2m from €740m in the first seven months of 2025.

Within the capital account, gross capital formation increased by 2.1 per cent to €519.1m, a rise of €10.7m from €508.4m.

At the same time, other capital expenditure fell by 22.4 per cent to €179.7m, down by €51.9m from €231.6m.

Subsidies also declined, decreasing by 13.7 per cent to €55.6m from €64.4m, a drop of €8.8m.

The figures showed that the overall surplus came almost entirely from the Social Security Funds, which recorded a surplus of €775.1m, up from €712m a year earlier.

The central government recorded a deficit of €5m, compared with a surplus of €39.7m in the first seven months of 2025.

Finally, the local government surplus fell to €0.5m from €7.9m.