The number of people who are in arrears on their health insurance premiums has risen 22% over the past five years to almost 300,000, the national statistics office CBS said on Friday.

Youngsters, men, people with low incomes and single parent families are more likely to default than the average, the CBS said.

The figures show one in 29 people under the age of 35 has not paid their health insurance for at least six months, compared with one in 250 pensioners. One in seven people living on welfare benefits has defaulted on their payments.