Cyprus among lowest in EU for road freight as maritime stays dominant

Cyprus has been ranked among the lowest member states in the European Union for road freight transport share in 2024, highlighting the country’s continued reliance on maritime transport.

According to the latest figures from Eurostat, Cyprus recorded a road freight share of 3.5 per cent in 2024, up slightly from 3.4 per cent in 2023 and 2.7 per cent in 2022.

Despite the increase, Cyprus remained third from the bottom among EU countries, excluding Malta for which no data was available.

By comparison, Greece recorded a road freight share of 3.4 per cent in 2024, down from 3.5 per cent in 2023 but up from 2.7 per cent in 2022.

Portugal reported even lower figures, with road freight accounting for 1.6 per cent in 2024, compared to 1.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.

Across the European Union, maritime transport dominated freight activity, accounting for 67.0 per cent of all freight transport measured in tonne-kilometres in 2024.

Road transport represented 25.7 per cent of freight activity, followed by rail at 5.4 per cent, inland waterways at 1.7 per cent and air transport at 0.2 per cent.

Compared with 2014, the share of maritime transport declined slightly by 2.5 percentage points, while road transport was the only mode to record an increase, rising by 3.3 percentage points.

Rail transport saw a marginal decline of 0.3 percentage points, inland waterways fell by 0.5 percentage points, and air transport remained unchanged.

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 per cent.

However, a total of 14 countries saw a decline in maritime transport compared to a decade earlier.

The largest drops were recorded in Finland, down by 12.4 percentage points, Sweden, down by 11.2 percentage points, and Romania, which declined by 7.2 percentage points.

Meanwhile, road freight transport was the main mode in 11 EU countries in 2024, reflecting a broader shift towards land-based logistics.

Over the past decade, 21 countries recorded an increase in road freight share, with the largest rises seen in Lithuania at 22.4 percentage points, Latvia at 22.0 percentage points and Romania at 14.8 percentage points.

The data underscores Cyprus’ structural reliance on maritime transport due to its geographic position, while showing only a gradual increase in road freight activity in recent years.