A total of 33 people lost their lives in Cyprus's waters in 2025, while an estimated 300,000 people die from drowning worldwide each year, including 75,000 children under the age of five, according to data presented on Friday at a press conference at the Ministry of Health, held ahead of National Drowning and Water Accident Prevention Day on 25 July.
The figures were presented by Eliza Karabetian, a representative of non-profit organisation Safe Water Sports, who said that of the 33 deaths recorded in Cyprus in 2025, 28 occurred at sea and five in inland waters. Men accounted for 73% of victims, while 61% were foreign nationals or non-Cypriot residents, and 15 victims were aged over 70. According to the same data, 36% of incidents occurred between 8pm and 8am. By district, ten deaths were recorded in the free Famagusta district, nine in Limassol, six in Larnaca, two in Paphos and one in Nicosia.
Karabetian said that, according to a recent World Health Organization report, drowning remains one of the world's most significant public health issues, causing around 300,000 deaths a year, and that Safe Water Sports' core aim is preventing water-related deaths through awareness and education.
Government prioritises drowning prevention
At the conference, the health and education ministers, along with the deputy minister to the president, stressed that drowning prevention is a government priority and outlined measures under the National Action Plan for Water Safety. In her address, read by an official from her office, Deputy Minister to the President Eirini Piki noted that 25 July was established two years ago as National Drowning Prevention Day, in line with the corresponding World Day, aiming to raise public awareness of a serious public health issue.
She said that despite a 38% reduction in global drowning mortality since 2000, according to the WHO, around 30 lives are still lost to drowning every hour worldwide, with nearly half of deaths involving people under 29 and one in four involving children under five.
Turning to Cyprus, Piki said data from the Health Monitoring Unit show 533 people have died from drowning over the past 21 years, with an average of 29 deaths a year over the past decade. She added that around half of deaths involve people aged 65 and over, while drowning remains among the leading causes of death for children and adolescents up to age 18. She said 51% of incidents involve tourists and non-permanent residents of Cyprus, and 68% of victims are men, adding that "every life lost in the water is a loss that could have been prevented."
National Action Plan and school programmes
Piki noted that the National Action Plan was approved by the Council of Ministers in February 2024 and is already being implemented as the main institutional framework for targeted prevention policies. She highlighted the safe swimming programme for children up to age 12, which includes eight practical in-water lessons incorporated into the school curriculum and provided free of charge. The third phase of the pilot programme is under way and due to be completed in November 2026, by which point around 1,200 pupils will have benefited, with more than 2,000 third-grade pupils having taken part since the programme began in April 2024.
"We are consciously focusing on our children and our schools, where we can cultivate the right culture and behaviour around water from an early age," she said. She also said the ministry, working with the education ministry, is exploring the creation of an interactive educational space, an "Ocean Lab," where pupils would be trained in safe water behaviour.
Piki also referred to the Accident Observatory, operating since early 2025, which collects and analyses data on water-related incidents, and to the Safe Water Sports App, which draws on Port Police data to provide the public with information on beaches, accessibility and rescue services. She noted legislative measures already introduced, including a new framework for recreational vessels in force since January 2026 and new rules governing swimming pools in force since July 2025, with a bill on recreational diving pending in parliament and modernisation of beach legislation under way.
'Drowning can happen in a matter of minutes'
Health Minister Neofytos Charalambides described drowning prevention as an integral part of public health policy, saying that protecting human life begins well before emergency services need to intervene. He said the sea is an integral part of Cypriot life, but familiarity with it should not lead to complacency, since "drowning can happen in a matter of minutes, and often silently." He urged the public never to leave children unsupervised, to follow lifeguards' instructions, to avoid swimming in dangerous conditions and to seek help immediately if someone appears to be in danger.
Education, Sport and Youth Minister Athena Michaelidou said building a culture of water safety must begin in childhood, describing swimming not only as a sport but as a basic survival skill. She said her ministry has taken an active role in implementing the National Action Plan since 2024, and that the Safe Swimming Programme teaches children both basic swimming skills and the rules of safe behaviour in water. She described the pilot programme's results as particularly positive and said the goal is to gradually expand it to every district and eventually every school in Cyprus, so that all children have equal access to safe swimming education. She concluded that the plan's progress so far shows that cooperation between the state, relevant services, the scientific community and civil society produces tangible, meaningful results.
Source: CNA
