Cyprus ranked 40th in the Startup Blink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, which ranks countries with the best conditions for startup development.
The island nation has jumped five spots compared to last year, which is a big deal. It shows how its innovative environment is growing and maturing.
It's especially interesting that Cyprus ranked second in the world among countries with a population of less than 2 million, showing a growth rate of 28.22% for their ecosystem. This is the best result in the EU for the second year running. Cyprus has seen a huge surge in start-ups, with a 71% jump compared to 2024. This shows just how fast the entrepreneurial spirit is growing and how much interest there is in new technologies.
On top of that, StartupBlink says Cyprus is the only place with four of its cities — Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos — in the global startup index. They've all made progress, which is down to both local efforts and national policies to support innovation. When it comes to regional rankings, Cyprus is doing really well, coming in at number 4 in Southern Europe.
Cyprus is also doing well in specialised industries:
- We're top dogs in the gambling industry, second only to the big dogs.
- We're number three in the fintech sector in Southern Europe.
- We're number 9 in the EU for blockchain technology.
The report focuses on Limassol, which has become a regional technology hub, ranking eighth in Southern Europe and fifth in the EU in terms of blockchain activity. This success is down to a combination of things, like where it is in the world, the government's policies, tax breaks and programmes that encourage innovation.
Cyprus' success was officially recognised at the Reflect Festival 2025, the region's largest technology and entrepreneurship event. During the ceremony, StartupBlink CEO Eli David Rokach presented a commemorative award to Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nikodemos Damianou on behalf of the President of Cyprus.
Damianou said in his speech that Cyprus' recognition shows how far the country has come, and also shows that the government is 100% set on making it a top place for technology, entrepreneurship and knowledge. He said the main job is to support start-ups, help them grow and enter global markets, which will create jobs and grow the economy.
Thanks to some great ideas, money put into digital infrastructure and policies that help the environment, Cyprus is setting the future economy up to be all about new ideas, knowledge and technology, the minister said.
The study was done by StartupBlink, a research centre that identifies trends affecting the global startup ecosystem.
The index gives a thorough analysis of the world's leading ecosystems and emerging trends, and provides valuable information on the dynamics of entrepreneurship shaping the global economy.
They put together the report by looking at the startup ecosystems of 100 countries worldwide. The ranking was based on things like the number of innovation centres, investors, registered start-ups and acceleration programmes, including the infrastructure created for start-ups and how it's used, preferential mechanisms, innovative measures in universities, the size of the start-up market, research and other factors.