Nicosia: Non-fatal work accidents in Cyprus saw a significant decrease of 35.5% in 2022 compared to 2017, whereas fatal work-related incidents rose from 2 in 2017 to 9 in 2022, as per data released by Eurostat on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
According to Cyprus News Agency, in 2022, the European Union recorded 2.97 million non-fatal work accidents resulting in workers being absent for four days or more, alongside 3,286 fatal work-related accidents. Compared with figures from 2017, the EU observed a 4.6% decrease in accidents, equating to 143,031 fewer incidents. In Cyprus, the number of non-fatal work accidents dropped from 2,070 in 2017 to 1,335 in 2022.
In Cyprus, the majority of the 1,335 work-related accidents in 2022 occurred in agriculture, accounting for 1,184 incidents, followed by accommodation and food service activities with 289 incidents, construction with 255, and manufacturing with 236.
In contrast, within the EU, the manufacturing sector recorded the highest number of accidents in 2022, with 535,977 incidents, representing 18.0% of the total. This was followed by human health and social work activities with 469,764 incidents (15.8%), and construction with 364,486 incidents (12.2%).
In terms of accident severity, measured by the number of full calendar days a victim is unfit for work, the most frequent type in 2022 involved absences of 7-13 days, with 814,390 incidents, accounting for 27.4% of total accidents. The second-most frequent were accidents causing absences of 4-6 days, with 558,678 incidents (18.8%), followed by those resulting in 1-3 months of absence, totaling 531,936 incidents (13.3%).
In Cyprus, out of a total of 1,335 work-related accidents in 2022, the severity was unspecified for 584 incidents. For the specified cases, 225 resulted in 7-13 days of absence, while 162 resulted in 1-3 months of absence.