Cyprus among top EU nations for car ownership and air travel

Cyprus ranked among the European Union’s most transport-intensive countries in 2024, placing fourth for car ownership and second for air travel per capita, according to Eurostat’s latest data report.

The figures show that Cyprus recorded 661 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants last year, well above the EU average of 578.

Only Italy, Luxembourg and Finland reported higher levels of motorisation.

By contrast, Latvia, Romania and Hungary posted the lowest rates across the bloc.

At the same time, Cyprus stood out in air travel, reflecting its strong dependence on aviation and tourism.

With 12.5 air passengers per inhabitant in 2024, it ranked second in the EU, behind Malta at 15.6. Luxembourg and Ireland followed at a distance, each with 7.5 passengers per capita, while the EU average stood at 2.3.

Eurostat notes that the indicator is based on the number of passengers travelling to and from each country relative to its resident population.

Against this backdrop, transport activity in Cyprus remained overwhelmingly domestic. Almost all vehicle kilometres recorded on the island, 97.5 per cent, concerned national transport, compared with an EU average where more than two thirds of journeys take place within member states.

Lithuania marked the opposite extreme, with just 11 per cent of vehicle kilometres linked to domestic transport.

Despite the intensity of transport use, Cyprus continued to have one of the smallest transport labour markets in the EU.

In 2024, employment in the sector accounted for just 1.7 per cent of total employment, among the lowest shares in the bloc alongside Germany.

Across the EU as a whole, transport employed 6.3 million people, or 3.1 per cent of the workforce, with France, Poland, Spain, Germany and Italy accounting for the largest shares.

Malta and Cyprus each represented around 0.1 per cent of total EU transport employment, according to the report.