Cyprus remains one of EU’s most oil-dependent nations

Cyprus remained one of the European Union’s most oil-dependent countries in 2024, with 86 per cent of the energy available on the island coming from crude oil and petroleum products, according to Eurostat’s 2026 edition of Energy in Europe.

The report, published on Tuesday, also showed that 96 per cent of Cyprus’ energy imports were petroleum products, the highest such rate in the EU, while the country’s overall energy import dependency ratio stood at 88 per cent.

At the same time, renewable sources dominated domestic energy production in Cyprus, accounting for almost all output and placing the island among the bloc’s highest performers, alongside Malta (100 per cent), Latvia (99 per cent) and Portugal (98 per cent).

Across the EU, 43 per cent of available energy in 2024 came from domestic production and 57 per cent from imports.

Crude oil and petroleum products made up the largest share of the bloc’s energy mix at 38 per cent, followed by natural gas at 21 per cent, renewables at 20 per cent, nuclear at 12 per cent and solid fuels at 10 per cent.

Eurostat said renewables remained the main source of energy production in the EU, accounting for 48 per cent of total output.

Nuclear followed with 28 per cent, ahead of solid fuels at 15 per cent, natural gas at 5 per cent and crude oil at 3 per cent.

Production patterns, however, continued to vary widely across the bloc. Nuclear dominated in France, Slovakia and Belgium, while solid fuels led in Poland, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

Natural gas accounted for the largest share in Romania and the Netherlands, while crude oil was most prominent in Denmark, Croatia, Romania and Italy.

In imports, oil and petroleum products remained the largest category in 2024, making up 67 per cent of the EU total, followed by natural gas at 24 per cent.

Cyprus recorded the highest oil import share, ahead of Malta, Sweden and Greece.

The report also showed that the EU’s main external suppliers in 2024 were the United States for oil and petroleum products, Norway for natural gas and Australia for solid fuels.

At member state level, the EU’s overall energy import dependency ratio of 57 per cent masked sharp differences.

Finally, Malta recorded the highest level at 98 per cent, followed by Luxembourg at 91 per cent and Cyprus at 88 per cent, while Estonia stood at just 5 per cent.