Survey: Cypriots are pessimistic about the future

International developments have made Cypriots pessimistic about the future, according to a survey conducted by the Cyprus Association of Opinion Poll and Market Research Enterprises (SEDEAK) on the topic "Views and knowledge of the public during the pre-election period 2024".

Regarding the optimism of Cypriots for the future of Cyprus in view of international developments, 55% of respondents said they are pessimistic, with the mean score of optimism at 2.34, which is below the average of 2.5, based on a five-point scale where 1 means "not at all optimistic" and 5 "very optimistic".

It is noted that young people aged 18-24 are the most optimistic age group (2.58), while people aged 55-64 are the most pessimistic (2.11). Men are slightly more optimistic than women (mean score 2.37 and 2.32 respectively). Pafos is the most optimistic district of Cyprus with an average score of 2.52, while Famagusta is the most pessimistic with an average score of 2.22.

Regarding the interest of Cypriots in the various elections taking place, it was found that Cypriots show a greater interest in presidential elections, with an average degree of interest of 3.74, based on a five-point scale where 1 means that the Cypriots are not interested at all and 5 that they are very interested. The interest of Cypriots in presidential elections is followed by their interest in parliamentary (3.43), municipal (3.34) and European elections (3.08).

Seven polling companies that are members of SEDEAK worked for the research. The survey was conducted in February 2024, covered urban and rural areas of Cyprus and included people aged 18 and over, men and women. The survey sample consisted of 792 interviews, and the selection was made by random stratified sampling.

Data were collected through telephone interviews using a structured questionnaire. The results have been weighted by age and gender to be representative of the true population structure. Men made up 48% of the research sample, while women made up 52%.