Cyprus’ transport system remains heavily dependent on roads, even as the country continues to outperform the European average on road safety, according to a new European Commission report on transport and tourism trends across the European Union.

Titled Transport and Tourism in the European Union – Current Trends and Issues, the report assesses the bloc’s transport performance through the lenses of sustainability, resilience, connectivity, safety, security and the social dimension of mobility. It also includes country factsheets comparing member states against EU averages across a broad range of indicators.

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Roads Dominate Passenger And Freight Movement

Passenger cars accounted for 83.5% of inland passenger transport in Cyprus in 2023, slightly above the EU average of 82.0%. Buses and coaches made up the remaining 16.5%, more than double the EU average of 8.2%.

Road dependence is even more pronounced in freight transport. According to the report, road transport accounted for 100% of inland freight movement in Cyprus in 2023, making Cyprus and Malta the only EU member states entirely reliant on roads for domestic cargo transport.

As Cyprus has no railway network, the report’s rail market competition indicators do not apply to the country.

Emissions And Congestion Remain Structural Challenges

Transport also remains a major contributor to Cyprus’ greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, emissions from the sector, including international maritime and aviation fuels, totalled 3.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, representing 37.9% of the country’s total emissions.

Across the EU, transport accounted for 31% of total greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 1,039.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Congestion remains another pressure point. The average peak-hour delay per driver in Cyprus reached 40.2 hours in 2023, well above the EU average of 28.6 hours. For businesses, those delays translate into lost productivity, slower logistics and higher operating costs.

Road Safety Stands Out Positively

Despite its heavy reliance on road transport, Cyprus recorded a strong road safety performance. The report ranked the country eighth among the EU’s 27 member states for the lowest number of road deaths per million inhabitants, with 36 fatalities per million people in 2023.

Cyprus also ranked 14th for the lowest number of road deaths per distance travelled, recording 46 fatalities per 10 billion passenger kilometres.

The figures highlight a notable contrast between the country’s reliance on road transport and its comparatively low fatality rates.

Electric Mobility Infrastructure Continues To Expand

Cyprus comfortably exceeded the minimum charging power target required under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation. The country’s target stood at 608 kilowatts, while available charging capacity had reached 15,472 kilowatts.

The findings suggest there is scope for further growth in electric vehicle adoption. At the same time, the report indicates that expanding charging infrastructure alone will not address the island’s wider transport challenges. Congestion, dependence on road transport and emissions remain structural issues requiring sustained policy action.

Airports And Ports Continue To Anchor Connectivity

Larnaca Airport remained Cyprus’ busiest airport in 2024, handling 8.876 million passengers. Overall, the country’s airports served 12.514 million passengers, equal to 0.8% of total passenger traffic across the EU.

Larnaca also handled 30.6 thousand tonnes of air freight, accounting for virtually all of Cyprus’ total air cargo volume of 30.7 thousand tonnes.

Maritime traffic was similarly concentrated. Limassol Port was Cyprus’ busiest passenger port in 2024, handling 9,000 passengers and accounting for all recorded passenger port traffic on the island.

For freight, Zygi Port handled 4.212 million tonnes of cargo, representing 47% of Cyprus’ total maritime freight volume of 8.945 million tonnes.

Transport Remains A Core European Growth Engine

Beyond the Cyprus-specific findings, the report highlights transport’s strategic importance to the European economy. The EU transport sector includes around 1.4 million public and private companies and employs approximately 10.4 million people.

Transport and storage services, including postal and courier activities, accounted for more than 5% of total EU employment and around 5% of gross value added in 2023.

According to the report, the volume of goods transported across the EU increased by 43% between 1995 and 2023, while passenger transport rose by 32% over the same period. Passenger transport was hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, falling 27% between 2019 and 2020, while freight volumes proved far more resilient.

Trade, Geopolitics And Tourism Reshape Policy Priorities

The report highlights maritime transport’s dominant role in external trade. In 2025, 74.8% of imports and exports by volume moved by sea, accounting for 45.7% of total trade value. Road transport represented 9.5% of trade volume and 22.3% of value, while air transport carried just 1.1% of volume but accounted for 22.9% of total trade value, reflecting the high-value nature of goods shipped by air.

The report also examines the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. EU Solidarity Lanes, launched in May 2022 after Russia blocked Ukrainian seaports, have enabled Ukraine to export around 214 million tonnes of goods, including nearly 91 million tonnes of grain, oilseeds and related products, while facilitating imports of around 100 million tonnes. The total value of trade handled through the initiative is estimated at about €270 billion.

According to the Commission, road transport agreements with Ukraine and Moldova have strengthened the initiative, while EU sanctions targeting air, maritime, road and rail transport have reduced Russia’s access to goods with military applications and weakened its economic base.

The report also devotes significant attention to tourism, describing it as one of the EU’s most important economic sectors and a key driver of growth, employment and regional development. The bloc recorded more than 3 billion overnight stays in tourist accommodation in 2025, the highest level on record.

The Commission is also preparing an EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism aimed at promoting a more competitive, sustainable and inclusive sector while strengthening resilience to future crises and supporting local communities.

More broadly, the report argues that climate change, technological progress, demographic shifts and geopolitical disruption will continue to reshape transport. It concludes that the challenge for policymakers will be to keep the sector accessible, efficient and connected while making it more sustainable, innovative and resilient.