Cyprus Remains Among EU’s Lowest in Road Freight Share as Maritime Transport Dominates

Cyprus continues to rank near the bottom among European Union member states in terms of road freight transport share in 2024, underlining the country’s ongoing dependence on maritime logistics. Data released by Eurostat shows that Cyprus recorded a road freight share of 3.5 per cent in 2024, reflecting a modest rise from 3.4 per cent in 2023 and 2.7 per cent in 2022. Despite this incremental growth, the country still placed third from the lowest within the EU, excluding Malta, for which no figures were reported.

In comparison, Greece registered a road freight share of 3.4 per cent in 2024, slightly lower than its 3.5 per cent in 2023 but an improvement from 2.7 per cent in 2022. Portugal recorded even smaller proportions, with road freight accounting for 1.6 per cent in 2024, compared with 1.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.

Across the wider European Union, maritime transport continued to dominate freight activity, representing 67.0 per cent of total freight measured in tonne-kilometres in 2024. Road transport made up 25.7 per cent of the total, followed by rail at 5.4 per cent, inland waterways at 1.7 per cent, and air transport contributing just 0.2 per cent.

Looking at longer-term trends, maritime transport’s share has declined slightly by 2.5 percentage points since 2014. In contrast, road transport was the only mode to register an increase over the same period, rising by 3.3 percentage points. Rail transport experienced a marginal drop of 0.3 percentage points, inland waterways decreased by 0.5 percentage points, and air transport remained unchanged.

Among EU member states with coastlines, maritime transport remained the primary mode of freight movement in 15 out of 22 countries, with nine of those reporting shares exceeding 70 per cent. However, a total of 14 countries recorded a reduction in maritime transport’s share compared with a decade earlier. The most significant declines were observed in Finland, which fell by 12.4 percentage points, Sweden, down by 11.2 percentage points, and Romania, which saw a decrease of 7.2 percentage points.

At the same time, road freight emerged as the dominant mode of transport in 11 EU countries in 2024, signaling a broader shift toward land-based logistics. Over the past ten years, 21 countries reported increases in their road freight shares, with the most notable growth seen in Lithuania at 22.4 percentage points, Latvia at 22.0 percentage points, and Romania at 14.8 percentage points.

The figures ultimately highlight Cyprus’ structural reliance on maritime transport, a consequence of its geographic characteristics, while also pointing to a slow but steady rise in road freight activity in recent years.

By fLEXI tEAM