Cyprus shows one of the highest levels of energy dependence on petroleum products in the European Union, according to the 2026 edition of Energy in Europe, published by Eurostat. Specifically, in 2024, 86% of Cyprus’ available energy came from crude oil and petroleum products, while the country imported 96% of its energy from petroleum products, recording the highest dependency rate in the EU.
At the same time, renewable energy sources accounted for 96% of domestic energy production, placing Cyprus among the EU countries with the highest renewable energy production, alongside Malta (100%), Latvia (99%), and Portugal (98%).
Across the European Union, in 2024, 43% of available energy came from domestic production and 57% from imports. The EU energy mix was mainly composed of crude oil and petroleum products (38%), natural gas (21%), renewable energy (20%), nuclear energy (12%), and solid fuels (10%).
It is highlighted that renewable energy sources were the dominant source of production in the EU in 2024, covering 48% of total production. This was followed by nuclear energy at 28%, solid fuels at 15%, natural gas at 5%, and crude oil at 3%.
Despite these averages, Eurostat notes that energy production varies significantly among EU countries. Nuclear energy accounts for 71% of production in France, 67% in Slovakia, and 56% in Belgium, while solid fuels dominate in Poland (65%), Estonia (51%), and the Czech Republic (39%). Natural gas has the largest share in Romania and the Netherlands (36% each), in Ireland (30%), and in Croatia (15%), while crude oil dominates in Denmark (29%), Croatia (15%), Romania, and Italy (13% each).
Regarding energy imports, in 2024, the main category was oil and petroleum products (67% of imports), followed by natural gas (24%), solid fossil fuels (4%), electricity (3%), and renewable sources (2%). The highest oil imports were recorded in Cyprus (96%), Malta (86%), Sweden (85%), and Greece (84%).
Natural gas is mainly imported by Italy (37%), Denmark (33%), and Germany and France (29% each), while solid fuels dominate in Slovakia (15%) and in the Czech Republic and Austria (11% each). Electricity imports are highest in Estonia (21%), Luxembourg (16%), and Slovenia (13%), while renewable energy imports are highest in Denmark (10%), Latvia (7%), and Luxembourg (5%).
It is noted that the main EU suppliers in 2024 were the United States for oil and petroleum products, Norway for natural gas, and Australia for solid fuels. Specifically, the EU imported 16% of its oil products from the United States, 12% from Norway, and 9% from Kazakhstan, with these countries accounting for 57% of total extra-EU oil imports.
For natural gas, 75% of imports came from Norway (30%), the United States (17%), Algeria, and Russia (17% combined). Solid fuel imports, mainly coal, were covered 88% by Australia (31%), the United States (28%), Colombia (15%), Kazakhstan (8%), and South Africa (6%).
The EU’s energy import dependency rate in 2024 was 57%, showing significant variations among member states. In Malta, it reaches 98%, in Luxembourg 91%, and in Cyprus 88%, while in Estonia it is only 5%.
(Source: CNA)
