Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus ranked among the lowest European Union member states for road freight transport share in 2024, according to Eurostat, reflecting continued reliance on maritime transport. The country recorded a 3.5% road freight share in 2024.
Cyprus road freight share and EU ranking
Eurostat figures showed Cyprus’ road freight share rose to 3.5% in 2024 from 3.4% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2022. Despite the increase, Cyprus remained third from the bottom among EU countries, excluding Malta, for which no data was available.
Comparisons with Greece and Portugal
Greece recorded a road freight share of 3.4% in 2024, down from 3.5% in 2023 and up from 2.7% in 2022. Portugal reported a road freight share of 1.6% in 2024, compared with 1.5% in 2023 and 1.7% in 2022.
EU freight transport split in 2024
Across the European Union, maritime transport accounted for 67.0% of all freight transport measured in tonne-kilometres in 2024. Road transport represented 25.7%, followed by rail at 5.4%, inland waterways at 1.7% and air transport at 0.2%.
Changes since 2014
Compared with 2014, the share of maritime transport declined by 2.5 percentage points, while road transport increased by 3.3 percentage points. Rail transport declined by 0.3 percentage points, inland waterways fell by 0.5 percentage points, and air transport was unchanged.
Maritime transport among coastal EU countries
Among EU countries with coastlines, maritime transport remained the main mode of freight in 15 out of 22 countries, with nine countries recording shares above 70%.
How does Cyprus’ reliance on maritime freight affect your view of transport priorities on the island?
